About lab le jeu

lab le jeu
circus 
serious fun.

lab le jeu is a training facility for aspiring  performers in the extremely physical arts of aerial circus, juggling, stilt walking, tumbling,improvisation and le jeu: the fundamentals of performing for audiences.  

The lab provides for young people a strong foundation in what is required to perform professionally not only as  circus performers but also as actors through its structured programming, giving students the edge needed to be successful in entering what has become a highly competitive field. 

Our programme teaches "le jeu" both as a seperate class and also within our skills based classes because we believe that it  is fundamental to developing a well rounded performer.  Circus by definition only happens in front of an audience, whether it is modern circus, with story, theme or political message, or traditional circus with flashy tricks and old school clowns, a performer who has learned to manage her/his performance energy, play with and for audiences honestly and who can improvise with  an open mind will always stand out.  

Your child may or may not choose performing as a career as they grow and their interests change, but our programme  through strong role modeling and excellent training aims to keep sharp the bodies and imaginations of young people  This of course has life long benefits.  

Why choose lab le jeu for your child? What sets us apart?

Please read our bios's, we are a dream team of well educated, experienced artists. We are all still performing. Our training includes places like the National Theatre School, The School of Physical Theatre, American Ballet Theatre, Ecole Etienne Decreux, and Instructors with Masters and PhD's in the Performing Arts. We have been on stages as large as the National Arts Centre and the Canadian Opera Company, and as small as a little hill in the British Virgin Islands. 

As successful performing artists we share the vision that  a well rounded  training leads to good results. Each of us has had to find our way to stand out as performers, and we are now working together to pioneer pre-professional training in theatre and circus in the way that Institutions like The National Ballet School and The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School have done for dancers.

We do not use senior students to teach your child. 

What about little kids?

"petit jeu,  run by Karin Randoja is aimed at story based play in our 1750 square foot facility.  Karin will take your 2-3 year olds, 3-4 year olds or 5-6 year olds on a weekly story adventure where they can use their bodies in combination with their imaginations for a full hour of play based training.  Each week, another classic story, such as Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz, etc. will be explored and adapted based on the children's ideas and spontaneous reactions. Also, very basic circus skills, such as rolling, stretching, skipping will be utilized throughout the story play. Without ever telling children how or what they are learning, (this doesn't mean there is no structure) petit jeu trains the naturally curious and open minds and bodies of children, preparing them for the next step of skill based training." 

I have a teenager who wants to do Circus or become an Actor.

In most serious theatre schools, physicality and the ability to create imagery with the body is included in training. Most people refer to this as Mime. We hope you don't think of Mime as that guy with the striped t-shirt stuck in a box. Meryl Streep attended the Ecole du Mime Jacques le Coq in Paris, and she credits her disciplined ability to develop strong characters with her  time there.  le jeu is "play". and it provides our students with a strong foundation in the language of physicality, fitness and imagination training. Our students will be  well prepared for their post secondary journey.

Improv and Acting Workshops are in development! If you don't see them on the schedule, please email us, we will add these classes soon.

We do offer Beginner Aerial classes for older children and teens, and unlike ballet, kids can start later and still be successful!

Installment Six: Meet an Instructor Dr. Giuseppe Condello.

Dr. Giuseppe Condello, a native of Southern Italy is recognized internationally as a professional actor, corporeal mime, producer and educator.  He is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, and studied under the tutelage of the father of modern mime Etienne Decroux.  He counts as a personal friend the late Marcel Marceau, who encouraged him to study with Decroux.  He holds an Interdisciplinary Doctorate of Philosophy in Theatre and Mime Education, a Masters of Education and a Bachelor of Education.

Dr. Condello's mission is to foster and preserve the legacy of Corporeal Mime while elaborating and exploring the art form by drawing on a crosscultural fusion of Artistic Disciplines.  This interest in keeping the art form not only alive but evolving fits beautifully with the foundation training for modern Circus and Theatre Artists at lab le jeu.

Installment Five Meet an Instructor Noam Markus

NOAM MARK

Noam Markus

A graduate of the School of Physical Theatre (LeCoq technique) under the direction of Ron East, Noam has been teaching physical theatre for more than twenty years.  His expertise and exacting teaching style promote excellence in the fundamental performing arts skills of tumbling, timing, pratfalls, combat and falls, and corporeal mime as well as cirque style balances and lifts.

Noam has performed professionally with the Canadian Opera company in productions directed by Robert LePage, with whom he has a long working relationship, as well as with Kaeja d'Dance, Metaphysical Theatre, Skylight Theatre, Mime Unlimited, and in many fringe festivals Internationally.

Noam is a well loved teacher at Claude Watson School for the Arts, University of Toronto  and Internationally at The Nurit Katzir Theatre Center jerusalem and the Canadian International School in Hong Kong.