In the heart of Étampes, France, a unique school challenges its students to embrace failure as a fundamental lesson. Welcome to the École Philippe Gaulier, where the philosophy of comedy and clowning revolves around the joy of embracing one's inner idiot.
Imagine a stage lit brightly, with a group of red-nosed clowns in various costumes, performing a ritual that has defined this school for over four decades. It's a place where doctors, priests, and actors from around the world gather to learn the art of comedy, guided by the school's founder, Philippe Gaulier.
But here's where it gets controversial: Gaulier believes that comedy isn't about jokes; it's about the pleasure of being ridiculous. And this is the part most people miss.
Take Brazilian actress Gabriela Flarys, for instance. She's on stage, dressed in an oversized flamenco dress, earning the nickname "orange broccoli" from her instructor, Carlo Jacucci. Her act, involving a love triangle with a Roman warrior and a mariachi, is not going as planned.
"Welcome everyone to the worst moment of the class," Jacucci declares. "We reached it."
This moment of failure has a name at the school: le flop. It's a moment dreaded by all, but it's also where the real learning begins.
Jacucci singles out Flarys, telling her to express more emotion. What follows is almost like an exorcism as she shouts, "Carlo! I'm pissed off!" Her anger builds, and then something shifts. She calms down and, with a shaving cream pie, throws a comedic punch at the mariachi's face. The room erupts in laughter, even Jacucci looks stunned.
"Me, I am shocked," he says. "I didn't know you could change."
Jacucci, a former performer himself, found the experience at Gaulier's school painful but refreshing. He says, "[Gaulier] had no problem telling me the truth of what he saw."
And the results speak for themselves. The school's alumni include Oscar-winning actors Rachel Weisz and Emma Thompson, as well as Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen.
But it's not just about the famous graduates. It's about the transformation that occurs within each student. Take Zach Zucker, for example. After working for Baron Cohen's production company, he attended a Gaulier workshop and was hooked.
"Other places teach you how to succeed," Zucker says. "Gaulier teaches you how to fail."
Zucker's traveling vaudeville show, Stamptown, embodies this philosophy. His alter ego, Jack Tucker, embraces failure on stage, turning it into a comedic masterpiece.
Julia Masli, another student, found her success at the Edinburgh Fringe festival with her one-woman show, "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Despite initial struggles, Gaulier's brutal training prepared her for the journey ahead.
Gaulier himself, born in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1943, discovered that audiences laughed whenever he appeared on stage. He went on to study and work with mime teacher Jacques Lecoq, eventually founding his own school in 1980.
Gaulier believes that the "pleasure to be ridiculous" is a gift given to only a few. His wife and former student, Michiko Miyazaki Gaulier, now runs the school's operations, promising that everyone leaves with something valuable.
"People come here to change," she says. "Maybe they don't know what—but they want to change."
So, what is it that keeps students like Flarys coming back?
"Nothing is a mistake if you play with it," she says.
And that, my friends, is the heart of the École Philippe Gaulier's philosophy. A place where failure is not just accepted but celebrated as a stepping stone to success.
