Why is Grotowski so important to the world of theatre?

He invented the term ‘Poor Theatre’: a style of performance that got rid of all extraneous parts of theatre. This meant there were no lavish costumes, complicated props or detailed sets. Relied on skill of actors and required only a few props. Grotowski enjoyed working in unconventional spaces.

What techniques did Grotowski use?

The tenets of Grotowski’s technique include:

• Acting through focus and awareness: Students of Grotowski are taught in hyperfocus, which helps them break free from mental blocks that keep them from reaching the full potential of their performing ability.
• Human contact:
• Silence:
• Memory work:
• Voice:
• Physical training:

What theatre did Grotowski create?

Grotowski first became internationally known when his Laboratory Theatre, established in Opole, Pol., in 1959, triumphantly toured Europe…

Who did Grotowski work with?

In 1955, he was studying at GITIS in Moscow, one of the main Russian drama schools. Grotowski worked with Yuri Zavadsky, who had come out of the Stanislavskian tradition. People often see Stanislavski and Grotowski as being opposed; that is a real mistake.

Where can I study Grotowski?

Wrocław
The Grotowski Institute in Wrocław (Instytut im. Jerzego Grotowskiego) is the development of the “Centre for Study of Jerzy Grotowski’s Work and for Cultural and Theatrical Research” (A.K.A.

How does Kabuki theatre differ from Western theatre?

One major difference between kabuki and much of Western theatre is that kabuki actors make less of an attempt to hide the “performance” aspect of the work. They’re fully aware that they’re performing, and the audience isn’t there to get “lost in the moment.” Everything–actors, costumes, dialogue–is larger than life.

Why did Grotowski direct mainly classic works?

The plays Grotowski chose to direct were mainly classic works, including Greek, Shakespearian and famous Polish plays. He wanted his actors to have the experience of creating great and powerful characters who commit actions of enormous, and often terrible, importance.

When did Grotowski create poor theatre?

1959
In 1962 in Opole, the Theatre of 13 Rows that he had managed with Ludwig Flaszen since 1959 became the Laboratory Theatre and moved to Wroclaw in 1965. He developed the concept of “poor theatre”, where the play and actor’s technique, inherited from Stanislavski, focused on costumes, decors and lighting.

How did Grotowski develop poor theatre?

In 1962 in Opole, the Theatre of 13 Rows that he had managed with Ludwig Flaszen since 1959 became the Laboratory Theatre and moved to Wroclaw in 1965. He developed the concept of “poor theatre”, where the play and actor’s technique, inherited from Stanislavski, focused on costumes, decors and lighting.

What is Grotowski Laboratory Theatre?

The name Laboratory Theatre refers not only to the institution directed by Jerzy Grotowski, but also to the entire so-called ‘theatrical’ period of his activity, which focused on the realisation of theatrical performances (1959–1969), as well as to the period of ‘active culture’ and Theatre of Sources (1970s and the …

Why did Grotowski call his Theatre a laboratory?

The term ‘laboratory’ was officially added to the name of the Theatre of 13 Rows on 1 March 1962, shortly after the premiere of Kordian and during work on Akropolis. This addition was connected to the pivotal change in the group’s working practice that accompanied the start of methodical research on the art of acting.

What is Jerzy Grotowski best known for?

Jerzy Grotowski: Acting Exercises. Grotowski and Theatre. – Jerzy Grotowski was a leading Polish theatrical director who was known for his odd teaching techniques and his desire to see theatre no longer compete against the tremendous spectacle of film.

What is Grotowski’s view of the role of the actor?

– In his article Towards the Poor Theatre (1968), Grotowski propagates the idea that the fundamental concern of theatre was the work of the actor with the audience. – Grotowski’s goal in his teachings was to help: “the actor achieve authentic self-hood” (Mitter, 83).

What are Grotowski’s exercises?

– Grotowski’s exercises were designed to force the actor to eliminate any: “preconceptions, cliched habits, mimetic reproductions of banal realistic behavior, and all the ‘proper’ techniques of breathing, speaking and moving taught in conventional action schools” (Wiles 146).

Is Grotowski the best alternative to traditional theatre?

The ‘traditional’ theatre has in general been quite a sedentary form – the cliché of it being talking heads is too often true. Grotowski offered an alternative to that in terms of realising the actor’s full potential. Nowadays, even if you’re going to produce an Ibsen play you can start from physicality.