Born in Casablanca, Morocco, Jean-Louis Rodrigue lived and was educated in Italy and France. He began his actor training in 1967 with Herbert Berghof at the HB Studio in New York. In 1970, William Ball awarded Rodrigue a full scholarship to study in the Advanced Training Program at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. During his training and performing at ACT, Jean-Louis discovered the Alexander Technique. He spent three more years training as an Alexander teacher with Frank Ottiwell at the American Center for the Alexander Technique, also in San Francisco.
Jean-Louis has taught the Alexander Technique for the past thirty years. His unique approach to movement education and to improving the levels of performance has brought international recognition. In the music world, he was part of the faculty at the Verbier Festival and Academy for nine years, a music and theater festival in the Swiss Alps and is currently part of the faculty at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. He founded the Alexander program for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute and taught the young musicians and conductors for six years.
Jean-Louis’ unique style of acting coaching, movement training, and choreography can be seen in many feature films including “BARNEY’S VERSION” with Scott Speedman and the upcoming “J. EDGAR” with Leonardo Di Caprio and “JOHN CARTER OF MARS” with Taylor Kitsch. Other films include “W” with Josh Brolin, “HUMAN NATURE” with Patricia Arquette, “PASSION FISH” with Mary MacDonnell, “THE AFFAIR OF THE NECKLACE” with Hilary Swank and cast, “THE CAT’S MEOW” with Kirsten Dunst, “THE TIME MACHINE” with cast, “SEABISCUIT” with Elizabeth Banks, and “BEE SEASON” with Juliette Binoche. He has worked with many actors and performers including Sir Ian McKellen, Martha Argerich, Herb Alpert, Helena Bonham Carter, Keanu Reeves, Tate Donovan, Julia Sweeney, Jonathan Pryce, Simon Baker, Joely Richardson, Sally Kellerman, Courtney Thorne-Smith, and JoBeth Williams.
In theater, Jean-Louis was awarded a Fellowship grant from the Montalvo Arts Center to develop and direct a play adaptation of Bernhard Schlink’s best selling novel “THE READER”. He has most recently worked with Chris Pine in “THE LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE” at the Mark Taper Forum and with Rita Maffei in an Italian production of “THE SYRINGA TREE” at the Teatro Stabile di Innovazione in Udine, Italy. He has also worked with Gulu Monteiro on “THE BACCHAE” at the Getty Villa, the circus artists of Cirque du Soleil’s “KA” at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and he has collaborated with director Joanna Settle and Heather Raffo in her acclaimed play “NINE PARTS OF DESIRE” at the Geffen Playhouse. He has collaborated with Larry Moss on Daisy White’s “SUGAR”, Pamela Gien’s Obie award winning play “THE SYRINGA TREE” at Playhouse 91 in N.Y. and Bo Eason’s “RUNT OF THE LITTER” at the 37 Arts Theater, N.Y., in fall 2007. He has coached actors working at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Mark Taper Forum, the Geffen Playhouse, the Pasadena Playhouse, and on Broadway, as well as the artists of the Cirque du Soleil in “LA NOUVELLE EXPERIENCE” on improving their performance and preventing injuries. He is currently a member of the faculties at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, Howard Fine Acting Studio in Hollywood, and teaches regularly for Larry Moss.
January 2011
