Enrolled at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in 1923, as a student of Charles Dullin, Decroux began to envision a newly defined vision of mime and later developed an original, personal style of movement.
Students came and went, but eventually were required to commit to a full-time regime when rehearsing for performance as The Mime Theatre of Etienne Decroux.
Pieces presented at The Cricket Theatre in the Village included "The Factory," "The Trees," "All The City Works," and "Evil Spirit."
He argued that ordinary speech should be banned from the theatre for a limited period (30 years) or until the actor had "taken charge in his own house"; that is, was able to fully use his/her expressive physical abilities.
All vocal noises were prohibited for 20 years, after which the voice (and eventually intelligible speech) would gradually reappear – controlled by the actor and used only when it was necessary and not because of laziness or lack of invention.