Jerzy Grotowski

Jerzy Grotowski (August 11 1933 - January 14 1999) was a Polish theatre director and a leading figure of theatrical avant garde of the 20th century.

The Early Years

Grotowski was born in Rzeszów in Poland and lived until the age of six in Przemyśl. During World War II, the family was separated: his mother moved with him to the small village of Nienadówka, while his father served as an officer in the Polish Army and was later stationed in England. Grotowski, his mother and brother all escaped from the Nazis and stayed at the farm of his aunt and uncle. His uncle was a bishop in Krakow, and around this time Grotowski reported his first spiritual awakenings. This is important because Grotowski's career in theatre could be understood as a kind of spiritual quest, a confrontation between man and mythology.

In 1955 Grotowski graduated from the High Theatrical School in Kraków with a degree in acting. Soon after graduation he went on to Moscow to study directing at the Lunacharsky Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS). During his stay in Moscow, until 1956, he learned about new trends in theatre pioneered by leading Russian figures such as Stanislavsky, Vakhtangov, Meyerhold and Tairov. He was barely admitted, and by many accounts was an unexceptional student at this time. After returning to Poland Grotowski expanded his studies in directing at the theatrical school from which he had graduated (1956-1960).

The Professional Phase

In 1958 he made his directorial debut with the production "Gods of Rain" (based on a novel by Jerzy Krzyszton). Foreshadowing the notoriety that was to come, this production was controversial for Grotowski's bold use of text.Said Grotowski, "In terms of my attitude to the dramatic text, I think that the director should treat it solely as a theme upon which he builds a new work of art that is the theatrical spectacle." (R. Konieczna, "Przed premiera 'Pechowcow'. Rozmowa z rezyserem" / "Before the Premiere of 'The Unlucky' - A Conversation with the Director"). This approach is one that he would incorporate throughout the entirety of his career, influencing many subsequent theatre artists. Later that same year, Grotowski moved to Opole where he took over the post of director at the Theatre of 13 Rows. Here he began to assemble a company of actors and artistic collaborators that would help him realize his unique vision.

In 1965 he moved his company to Wrocław relabeling them a "Teatrum Laboratorium, in part to avoid the heavy censorship that professional 'theatres' were subject to in Poland at that time. Work had already begun on one of their most famous productions, "The Constant Prince". Debuting in 1967, this production is thought by many to be one of the greatest theatrical works of the 20th century. Ryzsard Cieslak's performance in the title role is considered the apogee of Grotowski's approach to acting.

Grotowski revolutionized theatre, and, along with his pupil, Eugenio Barba, leader and founder of Odin Teatret, is considered a father of contemporary theatre. Barba was instrumental in revealing Grotowski to the world outside the iron curtain. He was the editor of Grotowski's seminal book, Towards a Poor Theatre (1968), in which Grotowski declared that theatre should not, because it could not, compete against the overwhelming spectacle of film and should instead focus on the very root of the act of theatre: actors in front of spectators.

The Notion of a 'Poor' Theatre

Grotowski was a revolutionary figure in theatre because he helped redefine the purpose of theatre in contemporary culture. One of his central ideas was the notion of the 'poor' theatre. By this he meant a theatre in which the fundamental concern was the work of the actor with the audience, not the sets, costumes, lighting or special effects. In his view these were just trappings and, while they may enhance the experience of theatre, were unnecessary to the central core of meaning that theatre should generate. 'Poor' meant the stripping away of all that was unnecessary and leaving a 'stripped' and vulnerable actor. He contrasted this approach with the so-called 'rich theatre', which was not only a theatre of spectacle, but a theatre of assimilation, one that adopted the aesthetics of television and film instead of striving for what was 'essential' to theatre. Grotowski always maintained that theatre could never compete with cinema and that cinema offered a different experience to theatre. He wanted to bring a theatre to an audience that was confronting, challenging and experiential. It was a theatre not based so much on image (as in cinema or television) but on the presence of the actor.

Applying this principle in his 'laboratory' in Poland, Grotowski jettisoned all costume and staging and preferred to work with all black sets and actors in plain black rehearsal costumes, at least in the rehearsal process. He made the actors go through rigorous exercises so that they had full control over their bodies. What was important to Grotowski was what the actor could do with his or her body and voice without aids and with only the visceral experience with the audience. In this sense he overturned the traditions of exotic costumes and stunning staging that had driven much European theatre from the 19th century. This is not to say that in public theatrical performances he completely disregarded lights and sets, in fact, among some critics he is credited with early experiments in environmental staging, but these were secondary and never supplanted the primacy of the actors.

By gradually eliminating whatever proved superfluous, we found that theatre can exist without make-up, without autonomic costume and scenography, without a separate performance area (stage), without lighting and sound effects, etc. It cannot exist without the spectator relationship of perceptual, direct, communion. This is an ancient theoretical truth, of course, but when rigorously tested in practice it undermines most of our usual ideas about theatre. It challenges the notion of theatre as a synthesis of disparate creative discipline; literature, sculpture, painting. architecture, lighting, acting....

(Jerzy Grotowski, Towards a Poor Theatre. Simon & Schuster, 1968, p.19)

Grotowski's training regime was devised to:

1. Eliminate, not teach something (Via Negativa).
2. Enhance that which already exists.
3. Create all that is needed for the play in the actor's body, with little use of props.
4. Promote rigorous physical and vocal training of actors
5. Avoid the beautiful if it does not foster truth

To this concept of 'poor theatre' Grotowski (an atheist) added the concept of the 'priesthood' or sacredness of the actor. When the actor entered the sanctity of the performance space, then a special event occurred, much like the Mass in the Roman Catholic Church. It was in this space, in the holy relationship between the actor and the audience, that an audience was challenged to think and be transformed by theatre. In this sense, Grotowski was one of the key figures in the development of political theatre in the 20th Century. His theatrical productions often contained political and social themes. The actor, depending only on the natural gifts of voice and body, could bring the sacred rituals of theatre and the themes of social transformation to the audience. The audience became pivotal to theatrical performance, and theatre became more than entertainment: it became a pathway to understanding. This philosophy was perhaps best realized in the last production of his 'professional phase', Apocalypsis Cum Figuris.

Grotowski, as he wrote and published his work, became renowned and received numerous invitations to work in the most prominent drama schools, theatre companies and universities in Europe and America. Most of these he declined, preferring instead to stay with his actors in his small 'laboratory', in relative obscurity.

The Paratheatrical Phase

In 1970 he published "The Holiday Texts" which outlined a new course of investigation. He would pursue this 'Paratheatrical' phase throughout the 1970s. This phase is known as the 'Paratheatrical' phase of his career because it was an attempt to confront the distinction between performer and spectator. He accomplished this through the organization of communal rituals that went on sometimes for days, requiring of the participants a deconditioning of impulse.

The Objective Drama Phase

In 1983 Grotowski relocated to UC Irvine where he began a course of work known as 'Objective Drama'. This phase is characterized by an investigation into the effect of ritual on the performer. Participants in his research at this time were asked to confront ancient myths and songs in performance.

External links

• Biography
• Source material on his work

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