“Benefits to be gained from the Alexander Technique include release of restrictions, increased coordination, effortless movement, fuller capacity of breath, improvement in the use of voice and speech, increased tone in the musculature, and a stronger sense of presence.
JEAN-LOUIS RODRIGUE & KRISTOF KONRAD
Who is Alexander Techworks?
Jean-Louis Rodrigue and Kristof Konrad are the team that make up Alexander Techworks. They are internationally known as two of the most sought after acting coaches and performance experts, collectively teaching the Alexander Technique in theater, film, television, and beyond for the past 38 years.
They have worked with many top actors, directors, and writers, including Leonardo Dicaprio, Margot Robbie, Ang Lee, Christian Bale, Hilary Swank, Lawrence Kasdan, Josh Brolin, Rachel McAdams, Chris Pine, and many, many others.
JEAN-LOUIS RODRIGUE
Founder
Born in Casablanca, Morocco, Jean-Louis Rodrigue is an acting coach, movement director, teacher of the Alexander Technique, and pioneer in the application of the technique to theater, film, and television. He has taught the Alexander Technique for the past 38 years and his unique approach to movement education and improving the levels of performance has brought international recognition.
Jean-Louis began his actor training in 1967 with Herbert Berghof at the HB Studio in New York. In 1970, William Ball awarded Jean-Louis a full scholarship to study in the Advanced Training Program at the American Conservatory Theater (ACT) 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 and Giora Pinkas at the American Center for the Alexander Technique, San Francisco.
He has studied extensively with master teachers Marjorie Barstow, Walter Carrington, Patrick McDonald, and Dilys Carrington.
Jean-Louis has most recently worked with Margot Robbie in I, Tonya and Mary Queen of Scots, Christian Bale in Backseat, Rachel McAdams in Disobedience, Matt Bomer in Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart for HBO, and Paul Dano in Love and Mercy and Okja for Netflix.
He coached Leonardo DiCaprio for his acclaimed performance in J. Edgar and collaborated with Ang Lee and screenwriter David Magee in the development of the tiger movement for the Academy Award-winning Life of Pi. He also coached Scott Speedman in the award-winning Barney’s Vision, Citizen Gangster, and ABC's Last Resort.
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.
Jean-Louis has worked with many actors and performers, including Zoey Deutch, Sir Ian McKellen, Paul Dano, Luke Kirby, 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 has most recently worked with the cast of Long Day’s Journey into Night starring Alfred Molina at the Geffen Playhouse. He 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 coached Chris Pine in The Lieutenant of Inishmore at the Mark Taper Forum, and collaborated with Rita Maffei, Pamela Gien, and Larry Moss in an Italian production of Gien’s The Syringa Tree at the Teatro Stabile di Innovazione in Udine and at Il Piccolo Teatro di Milano, Italy. For her performance, Maffei won the Gold Medal from the President of the Italian Republic.
Jean-Louis 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 April 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, Geffen Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, and on Broadway, as well as the artists of Cirque du Soleil's 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.
In the music world, Jean-Louis was part of the faculty at the Verbier Festival and Academy (a music and theater festival in the Swiss Alps) from 1998-2005, and he is currently part of the faculty at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. He founded the Alexander Technique program for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute and taught the young musicians and conductors for six years.
KRISTOF KONRAD
Partner
Born in Poland, Kristof Konrad is an actor, acting coach, movement director, teacher of the Alexander Technique, and co-director of Alexander Techworks with Jean-Louis Rodrigue. For over twenty years, he has successfully worked as an actor in both the United States and Europe, which gives him the unique opportunity to better understand and serve his students and clients, as he truly knows what it's like to be an actor.
Kristof trained as an actor at the National Dramatic Academy in Warsaw, Poland (M.F.A. in Theatre) and the Alexander Fersen Academy in Rome, Italy. While in Poland, he studied and worked with theatre and film masters Jerzy Grotowski and Andrzej Wajda. Kristof discovered the Alexander Technique while working in the USA. He was fascinated by its effectiveness in improving the level of acting and coping with the stress associated with performing and everyday life. He spent three years training as an Alexander Technique teacher with Jean-Louis Rodrigue and many others at Alexander Training Institute of Los Angeles, where he also received his certification.
Kristof helped Lymari Nadal to embody Eva, the love interest of Denzel Washington in American Gangster. Past and current students include: Kenneth Branagh, Cobie Smulders, Justin Chatwin, Michael Welch, Jennifer Siebel-Newsom, JoBeth Williams, Eric Dane, Sharon Lawrence, and many more.
Kristof worked with the cast of King Lear and The Seagull of The Royal Shakespeare Company; helped Sharon Lawrence to create Vivien Leigh in Orson's Shadow at the Pasadena Playhouse; worked with the cast of Electricidad at the Mark Taper Forum; and worked with the artists of Cirque du Soleil’s Ka on improving performance and preventing injuries.
Kristof has taught for the Berlin International Film Festival, Verbier Festival & Academy in Switzerland, and the UBS Verbier Youth Orchestra.
For the past ten years, Kristof has successfully worked as an actor in film and television in the United States and Europe. Some of his TV credits include: Scorpion, Zoo, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., House of Cards, Nikita, Scandal, Undercovers, E-Ring, Alias, The Unit, The Agency, JAG, Gilmore Girls, and many others. Some of his film credits include: Red Sparrow, Angels and Demons, Independence Day, Hotel California, Chernobyl Diaries, and Operation Samum. In the U.S., Kristof has worked with directors Kenneth Branagh, Francis Lawrence, Ron Howard, and Roland Emmerich. For a complete list of credits, visit his IMDB page or personal website: www.kristofkonrad.com.
Jean-Louis and Kristof are not only experts in the theory and application of this incredible technique but they also pursue their work with a vibrant, contagious love. They create a beautiful work environment: safe, rigorous, personal — and sprinkled with a healthy dose of humor.
Kristof works with you at such a core level that you are bound to grow as a human being and artist all at once. He is so caring and sensitive to my needs and how to help me. I carry our work together throughout the day/week, regardless of whether or not I am working as an artist. I recommend his work to anyone serious about a future in the arts.
Whether Jean-Louis and I are exploring the physicality of a character, the emotional landscape of a scene, or the textual insights of a script, in every scenario, he possesses a depth of curiosity, sensitivity, and expertise that have helped me, time and time again, breathe real life into the characters I’ve played on-stage and on-screen.
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