
Impulse Company
France
SCOTT WILLIAMS
​Scott Williams, acting coach et metteur en scène américain, est le fondateur d'Impulse Company à Londres.
Il a découvert la technique Meisner très jeune quand il a étudié directement auprès de Sanford Meisner, et cette passion, qui ne l'a jamais quitté, l'accompagne au quotidien.
C'est Scott Williams qui a importé cette technique en Europe le premier, lorsqu'il est venu s'installer à Londres dans les années 1990, après une carrière à San Francisco en tant que professeur, metteur en scène et directeur artistique.
Fort de ses multiples expériences professionnelles, Scott a ensuite fait évoluer cette méthode, et propose aujourd'hui un training inédit – plus pure donc plus efficace.
Son livre, “After Meisner: A 21st Century Acting Technique” va être publié en 2018 par Methuen/Bloomsbury Press, la prestigieuse maison d’édition Londonienne.
Ce qui fait la spécificité de Scott Williams, c'est son extrême bienveillance vis-à-vis des acteurs, et son attitude toujours positive et encourageante, créant un environnement privilégié, sain et confortable, propice au lâcher-prise.
Il vit aujourd'hui entre Londres et Paris, enseigne toujours à l'international (Londres, Paris, Sydney, Melbourne, New York, Hong Kong, Japon, Danemark, Belgique, Irlande...) et continue à partager sa passion avec des milliers d'acteurs professionnels, en les accompagnant pour qu'ils puissent donner le meilleur d'eux-mêmes et maîtriser leur art.
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Habité par sa passion, Scott Williams voit plusieurs pièces de théâtre par semaine. Il voyage sans relâche dans de nombreux pays et se rend aux endroits les plus prestigieux pour actualiser constamment sa connaissance du métier et des techniques existantes. Dans ce cadre, il enseigne aux acteurs et collabore avec des professionnels de la comédie aux quatre coins du monde.
Scott s'est formé très jeune auprès de deux maîtres incontestés du théâtre: Sanford Meisner et William Ball.
Scott a commencé à mettre en scène au théâtre à 17 ans, lorsqu'il a dirigé, pendant deux ans, le programme théâtre et éducation alors qu'il suivait sa formation au Foothill College sous la direction de Doyne Mraz et à l'A.C.T (American Conservatory Theatre), sous la direction du légendaire William Ball.
Mais à 19 ans il déménage à NYC pour étudier avec Sanford Meisner à l'école Neighborhood Playhouse.
Après avoir passé ses diplômes - licence d'art en littérature et master d'art en littérature dramatique à l'université de San Francisco, il est nommé président du Département Théâtre du Foothill College.
Peu de temps après la publication de sa thèse sur Shakespeare, Beckett et Shepherd, il se fait remarquer avec sa mise en scène d'En attendant Godot, ce qui mène à sa nomination au poste de directeur associé de l'ACT, une troupe de théâtre professionnelle du sud de San Francisco. Il y a dirigé de nombreuses productions.
En 1988, il est nommé directeur artistique du Hillbarn Theatre près de San Francisco. Au Hillbarn, il revitalise le programme des représentations, et crée un second espace de représentation dans la salle de répétition du théâtre: the Chamber Stage, qui devient le berceau de dizaines de productions excitantes de nouvelles pièces, de classiques revisité, de comédies musicales, et qui a commandé une adaptation du classique d'Elisabeth von Arnim "Avril enchanté", dont la première a lieu à Broadway en avril 2003.
Sur la scène principale du Hillbarn, the Main Stage, Scott a produit et mis en scène sept saisons de représentations novatrices de grande qualité.
Désormais, il a siégé au conseil de nombreuses fondations de charité, notamment Theater Bay Area, la Chambre du Commerce, la Croix Rouge et le Directors Guild of Great Britain.
Scott a rassemblé un grand nombre d'interprètes, auteurs, metteurs en scène et enseignants dans le monde entier, qui ont tous une approche dynamique et unifiée de la performance.
Combinant les inspirations de ses mentors, William Ball et Sanford Meisner, Scott, avec Impulse Company London s'engage auprès d'Impulse Company France pour créer un conservatoire et une troupe de théâtre pour le 21ème siècle.
Sanford Meisner
Scott a étudié à New York à la légendaire Neighborhood Playhouse, directement auprès du maître lui-même, génie du théâtre du 20ème siècle qui a créé sa propre technique basée sur la répétition.
Son travail est reconnu dans le monde entier et il est considéré comme l'un des pédagogues les plus importants du 20ème siècle. La technique de Meisner est enseignée dans les grandes écoles d'Art dramatique (RADA, LAMDA) et est considérée comme « la barre au sol » de l'acteur contemporain.
William ("Bill") Ball
Premier mentor de Scott Williams, Bill Ball est le fondateur de l'American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), à San Francisco.
A la fois conservatoire et troupe de théâtre, l'A.C.T. est connu pour son engagement dans l'excellence du training de l'acteur, et dans la relation entre l'enseignement, la représentation et le public.
L'A.C.T., qui a gagné, en 1979, un Tony Award pour l'excellence de leur enseignement et de leurs représentations théâtrales ("outstanding theater performance and training") , se caractérise par son engagement dans la formation continue des acteurs de sa compagnie.
Bill Ball voyait l'enseignement et l'apprentissage comme partie intégrante du métier d'acteur, et recommandait fortement que celui-ci soit pratiqué avec autant d'attention et de respect que ceux de la médicine, de la science, ou de la loi. Cette approche a beaucoup influencé le jeune Scott Williams, et continue à influencer ses décisions tout au long de sa carrière.
Lisa Vanco, conseiller artistique et pédagogique d’Impulse Company France, a été formé pendant cinq ans par Scott Williams et est désormais coach certifié de la Technique Meisner de l’Impulse Company. Scott et Lisa forment un duo complémentaire très efficace, à la fois complice et professionnel.
"The Impulse technique of acting is so profound that it is deeper than the imagination."
- Scott Williams​
Le curriculum vitae de Scott Williams
Founder/Teacher/Artistic Director :
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Artistic Director of Impulse Company, Melbourne (2013-present)
Artistic Director of Impulse Company France (2009-present)
Artistic Director of The Impulse Company, Sydney (2006-present)
Artistic Director of The Impulse Company, London (2000-present)
Associate Artist of International Institute of Performing Arts (IIPA), Paris/New York (1999-2008)
Resident Artist at the Actors Centre North-East, Newcastle (1998-2003)
Regular tutor of acting at the Actors Centre, London (1996-present)
Visiting Professor of Drama, College of Notre Dame, California (1994-1995)
Artistic Director of Hillbarn Theatre, California (1989-1996)
Founder and Professor of Foothill College Theatre Conservatory, California (1993-95)
Professor of Drama at Foothill College, California (1987-1999)
Associate Artistic Director of L’ACT, California (1986-1995)
Freelance teacher of acting throughout the world: California, New York, Manchester, Leeds, Galway, Belfast, Barcelona, Nice, Berlin, Paris, Hong Kong, Sydney, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Boulder, San Francisco, Tel Aviv, Brisbane, Auckland, Wellington, Brussels, Adelaide, South Africa, Istanbul, Dublin, Lyon (1975-present)
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Education/Training :
Master of Arts, Dramatic Literature San Francisco State University (1983-87)
Bachelor of Arts, English Literature San Francisco State University (1981-83)
Advanced Study Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, New York (1977-78)
University Study Foothill College, California (1975-77)
Advanced Study American Conservatory Theatre (ACT), San Francisco (1973-83)
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Director/Producer/Writer/Adapter/Performer :
2017
Director Un mari idéal (Oscar Wilde) Théâtre le Ranelagh, Paris (1)
2016
Director An Ideal Husband (Oscar Wilde) Théâtre le Ranelagh, Paris (2)
Director Top Girls (Caryl Churchill) Actors Centre, London
Director Picked (Christopher Shinn) Actors Centre, London (3)
Director A Streetcar Named Desire (Tennessee Williams, translated by the Company) Hong Kong APA, Hong Kong (4)
2015
Director The Heiress (after Henry James) Actors Centre, London
Director Picnic (William Inge) Actors Centre, London
Director Cloud Nine (Caryl Churchill) Actors Centre, London
Director Les caprices de Marianne (Alfred de Musset) Impulse Company France, Paris
2014
Writer/Director iD (Scott Williams and the Company) Blue Teapot Theatre, Galway (5)
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2012
Director Art (Yasmina Reza) The Impulse Company, London
Director Sleeping Dogs (Brenda Gottsche) Barons Court Theatre, London (6) Director The Good Doctor (Neil Simon) The Impulse Company, London
2011
Director Agnes of God (John Pielmeier) The Impulse Company, London
Director Doubt (John Patrick Shanley) The Impulse Company, London
Director Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Sarah Ruhl) The Impulse Company, London (7)
2010
Director Dancing at Lughnasa (Brian Friel) The Actors Centre, London
Director Measure for Measure (Shakespeare) Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Boulder
Director Misalliance (George Bernard Shaw) The Impulse Company, London Director Glengarry Glen Ross (David Mamet) The Impulse Company, London Director Top Girls (Caryl Churchill) The Impulse Company, London 2009
Director Twelfth Night (William Shakespeare) The Impulse Company, London Director Three Sisters (Anton Chekhov) The Impulse Company, London
Director Dangerous Corner (J. B. Priestley) The Impulse Company, London
2008
Director Closer (Patrick Marber) The Impulse Company, London
Director Boston Marriage (David Mamet) The Impulse Company, London
Director Ancient Lights (Shelagh Stephenson) The Impulse Company, London Director Pursuit of Happiness (Stuart Spencer) Edinburgh Festival, Edinburgh (8)
2007
Director Strange Bedfellows (Stuart Spencer) The Impulse Company, London (9) Director Worlds Apart: Party Time/Mountain Language The Impulse Company, London (Harold Pinter)
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2006
Performer The Critic and His Wife (Stuart Spencer) The Impulse Company, London (10)
Director The Heidi Chronicles (Wendy Wasserstein) The Impulse Company, London
Director Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Edward Albee) The Impulse Company, London
2005
Director Painted from Memory (Stuart Spencer) New York Stage and Film, New York (11)
Director The Blue Room (David Hare) The Impulse Company, London
Director Chekhov in Shorts (Chekhov, et al) The Impulse Company, London Director Diary of Anne Frank (Hackett) The Impulse Company, London
Director The Lady from Dubuque (Edward Albee) The Impulse Company, London
2004
Director School for Wives (Molière) The Impulse Company, London
Director The Enchanted April (Matthew Barber) The Impulse Company, London (12)
Director Stepping Out (Richard Harris) The Impulse Company, London
2003
Director Blue Window (Craig Lucas) The Impulse Company, London
Performer The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? (Edward Albee) The Impulse Company, London (13)
Director/Adapter Requiem for a Nun (Scott Williams, after William Faulkner) The Impulse Company, London
2002
Director Lip Service (Philip Sington) Edinburgh Festival, Edinburgh (14)
Director Painted From Memory (Stuart Spencer) Spontaneous Combustion, London (15)
Director The Bergman Project (Ingmar Bergman) Spontaneous Combustion, London (16)
2001
Director Inkle ‘n’ Yarico (McAuliffe/McConnel) Howard University, Washington DC (17)
Director The Fulham Jesus (Brenda Gottsche) The Actors Centre, London (18)
2000
Director Ancient History (David Ives) Caught in the Act, Hong Kong (19)
Director Falsettos (William Finn) The Impulse Company, London
1999
Director Five O’Clock Angel (Kit Hesketh-Harvey, from Tennessee Williams) Edinburgh Festival/Hampstead Theatre/Kings Head Theatre/UK tour (20)
1998
Director Thérèse Raquin (Emile Zola) The White Bear, London (21)
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1997
Director/Writer Round Robin (Scott Williams and the Company) Théâtre Antibea, France (22)
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1996
Writer A Forster Omnibus (Unproduced screenplay)
1995
Producer CYcles (Cy Coleman) Hillbarn Theatre, California (23)
Director Measure for Measure (William Shakespeare) College of Notre Dame, California
Director Private Lives (Noël Coward) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director Falsettos (William Finn) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director Six Degrees of Separation (John Guare) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director Cabaret (Kander/Ebb) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director Arms and the Man (George Bernard Shaw) Hillbarn Theatre, California
1994
Director The Misanthrope (Molière) College of Notre Dame, California
Director Indulgences in the Louisville Harem (John Orlock) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director Side by Side by Sondheim (Stephen Sondheim) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Producer The Enchanted April (Matthew Barber) Hillbarn Theatre, California (24)
Director A Streetcar Named Desire (Tennessee Williams) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director Speed-the-Plow (David Mamet) Hillbarn Theatre, California
1993
Director Orphans (Lyle Kessler) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director Ghosts (Henrik Ibsen) L’ACT, California
Director Bedroom Farce (Alan Ayckbourn) College of Notre Dame, California
Director Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director Antigone (Jean Anouilh) Foothill Conservatory, California
Director The Philadelphia Story (Philip Barry) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director Prelude to a Kiss (Craig Lucas) Hillbarn Theatre, California
1992
Director The Baker’s Wife (Stephen Schwartz) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director Children of a Lesser God (Mark Medoff) L’ACT, California
Director Rough Crossing (Tom Stoppard) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director The Elephant Man (Bernard Pomerance) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director Tintypes (Mary Kyte) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director Tartuffe (Molière) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director The Road to Mecca (Athol Fugard) L’ACT, California
Director Me and My Girl (Noel Gay) PCLO, California
Director The Cherry Orchard (Anton Chekhov) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Producer Double Standards (Ronnie Klein) Hillbarn Theatre, California (25)
1991
Director She Loves Me (Bock/Harnick) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director Light Up the Sky (Moss Hart) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare) Hillbarn Theatre, California Director The Boys From Syracuse (Rogers/Hart) Foothill Theatre, California Director Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Christopher Hampton) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director On Golden Pond (Ernest Thompson) L’ACT, California
Performer Hay Fever (Noël Coward) Hillbarn Theatre, California
1990
Director The Signal Season of Dummy Hoy (Meyer) Performing Arts Alliance, California (26)
Performer A Thousand Clowns (Herb Gardner) L’ACT, California
Director George Washington Slept Here (Kaufman/Hart) L’ACT, California
Director Hay Fever (Noël Coward) L’ACT, California
Director The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Rupert Holmes) Hillbarn Theatre, California Producer Harry Who? (Ronnie Klein) Hillbarn Theatre, California (27)
Director Quilters (Barbara Damashek) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Edward Albee) Hillbarn Theatre, California
1989
Director Chapter Two (Neil Simon) L’ACT, California
Director A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Stephen Sondheim) L’ACT, California
Director Cabaret (Kander/Ebb) Foothill Theatre, California
Director Educating Rita (Willy Russell) L’ACT, California
Director Design for Living (Noël Coward) L’ACT, California
1988
Director Da (Hugh Leonard) Hillbarn Theatre, California
Director The Rivals (Richard Brinsley Sheridan) Foothill Theatre, California Director The Country Girl (Clifford Odets) L’ACT, California
Director Light Up the Sky (Moss Hart) L’ACT, California
Director Time and Again (Matthew Barber) SCP, California (28)
1987
Director Old Times (Harold Pinter) Performing Arts Alliance, California
Director The Sea Gull (Anton Chekhov) Foothill Theatre, California
Director A Little Night Music (Stephen Sondheim) SCP, California
Director The Shadow Box (Michael Cristofer) L’ACT, California
1986
Director Deathtrap (Ira Levin) L’ACT, California
Director Waiting for Godot (Samuel Beckett) Performing Arts Alliance, California Adapter/Director The Phantom Tollbooth (Scott Williams after Norton Juster) Tokyo Theatre for Children, Japan (29)
1985
Director Baby (Maltby/Shire) SCP, California
1984
Writer/Director The House of Tomorrow (Scott Williams and the Company) SCP, California (30)
1983
Director East of the Sun, West of the Moon (Cornelison) CYPT, California (31)
1982
Director West Side Story (Bernstein/Sondheim) SCP, California
Director Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare) SCP, California
1981
Director Promises, Promises (Simon/Bacharach) SCP, California
Director Babes in Toyland (Victor Herbert) SCP, California
1980
Director Two by Two (Rodgers/Charnin) MPG, California
Director Once Upon a Mattress (Mary Rogers) SCP, California
1979
Assistant We Never Thought a Wedding (Duberstein) Theatre for the New City, New York (32)
1978
Performer One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Ken Keysey) L’ACT, California
Assistant The Solid Gold Cadillac (George S. Kaufmann) L’ACT, California
Performer Hay Fever (Noël Coward) L’ACT, California
Adapter/Director Charlie! (Scott Williams, based on "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" after Roald Dahl) Foothill Theatre, California (33)
1977
Assistant The Two-Character Play (Tennessee Williams) Foothill Repertory, California (34)
Performer A Thousand Clowns (Herb Gardner) Foothill Repertory, California
Performer Cradle Song (Gregorio Martinez Sierra) Foothill Repertory, California
Performer A Cry of Players (William Gibson) Foothill Repertory, California
Director Cinderella (Rogers/Hammerstein) LAYT, California
Performer Tartuffe (Molière) Foothill Theatre, California
Performer Kiss Me, Kate (Cole Porter) Foothill Theatre, California
1976
Adapter How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Scott Williams, after Dr. Seuss) LAYT, California (35)
Director Homer Price (author unknown) LAYT, California
Director Twelfth Night (William Shakespeare) LAYT, California
Director The Thirteen Clocks (James Thurber) LAYT, California
Director The Fantasticks (Schmidt/Jones) LAYT, California
Director Story Theatre (Paul Sills) LAYT, California
Producer The House at Pooh Corner (A.A. Milne) LAYT, California
Director Once Upon a Mattress (Mary Rogers) LAYT, California
1975
Director Oliver! (Lionel Bart) LAYT, California
Director You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Gessner) LAYT, California
Director Trudi and the Minstrel (Mary Melwood) LAYT, California
Director Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain) LAYT, California
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Written Works
"After Meisner: A Twenty-First Century Acting Technique," Bloomsbury Press (2018)
iD, script/concept (2014)
Round Robin, script (1997)
Sandy Who?, or, The Meisner Technique, Callboard Magazine (1991)
So That Heaven’s Vault Should Crack: King Lear’s Tragic Legacy, SFSU Press (1990)
The Phantom Tollbooth, musical numbers/script (1986)
The House of Tomorrow, musical numbers/script (1984)
Charlie!, musical numbers/script (1978)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas, musical numbers/script (1976)
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(1) World premiere adaptation by Scott Williams, translated by Rotem Jackman
(2) Adapted by Scott Williams
(3) London premiere
(4) Translated into Cantonese by Scott Williams and the Company
(5) World premiere, written by Scott Williams and the Company
(6) World premiere
(7) London premiere
(8) World premiere
(9) World premiere
(10) World premiere
(11) New York premiere
(12) London premiere
(13) First authorised reading
(14) Edinburgh premiere
(15) World premiere
(16) Adapted from Scenes from a Marriage, A Doll House, and Miss Julie
(17) World premiere musical
(18) World premiere
(19) Asia premiere
(20) World premiere, performed in Edinburgh then toured England
(21) World premiere adaptation
(22) World premiere, written by Scott Williams and the Company
(23) World premiere musical
(24) World premiere adaptation
(25) World premiere musical
(26) California premiere
(27) World premiere musical
(28) World premiere musical
(29) Script adaptation and original music by Scott Williams
(30) World premiere musical, written by Scott Williams and the Company
(31) World premiere adaptation
(32) World premiere
(33) World premiere musical, script and music by Scott Williams
(34) World premiere
(35) World premiere musical, script and music by Scott Williams
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Crédit photos: Helen Tange