[2] During the first season of the Vieux-Colombier in Paris, Bing played several important roles, the most critically acclaimed of which was her Viola in an adaptation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, (Nuit des rois).
Bing continued her collaboration with Copeau as he pursued his concept for a school for actors where his ideals of respect for the text and an acting style freed of rhetorical flourishes common during the era would be taught to young people drawn to a vocation in the theater.
Her ability to work with the youngsters in a relaxed and playful atmosphere contributed to the success of this undertaking and helped Copeau in his understanding of various techniques, such as improvisation and music-based movement, that he would incorporate later into a more elaborate curriculum.
In a review, the magazine The Nation wrote on 29 March 1919: "Suzanne Bing seems to be a flame of inspiration to the group, and one comes to look for her, in however humble a capacity, in almost every performance, ..."[3] More importantly she continued to collaborate with Copeau on his idea of a school for young actors.
She participated in activities at the Children's School founded by Margaret Naumberg, Waldo Frank's wife, who put into practice many of the concepts of Maria Montessori.
[citation needed] Upon their return to Paris in 1919, Copeau did not immediately re-open the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier, but the desire to open a school for actors remained ever-present.
Although Copeau thought it best to protect his students from the influence of the professional theater, he did allow them to participate to critical acclaim in a production of André Gide's Saul in which they played masked demons.
Bing's work with her students was put on display in an adaptation of a Noh play, Katan, which they presented in 1924 before an astonished Copeau and Harley Granville-Barker.
The motley group of some thirty-five students and actors first settled in Morteuil and then finally in Pernand-Vergelesse, a village not far from Beaune, deep in the wine-producing area of Burgundy.
The masked characters, reminiscent of the commedia dell'arte, became part of their repertoire as they played in pieces written expressly for them by Copeau or that resulted from their improvisations.
As the transition from student actor to professional took place under Bing's aegis, they developed new techniques based on their improvisations and mask work.