Everything about Jerzy Grotowski totally explained
Jerzy Grotowski (
11 August 1933 –
14 January 1999) was a
Polish theatre director and a leading figure in
avant garde theatre of the 20th century. Most notable for his work in the mode known as 'poor theatre', Grotowski is significant for advancing the work on psychophysical actions pioneered by
Constantin Stanislavski, for his pioneering exploration of environmental theatre, and for investigating performative ritual in ways that that eventually helped give rise to the field of performance studies. He played a major role in theatre history and is considered a pioneer among others such as
Constantin Stanislavski and
Bertolt Brecht.
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
. 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
Kraków, and around this time Grotowski reported his first spiritual awakenings. This is important because Grotowski's career in theatre has come to be seen as a kind of spiritual quest.
In
1954 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 attended for only one year, studying most closely with Yuriy Zavadsky, a close collaborator of both Vakhtangov and Stanislavsky. Zavadsky remarked on the pronounced similarity between what he observed of Grotowski's directing style and his memories of Stanislavsky's way of working.
Theatre of Productions (1957-69)
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's the theatrical spectacle." (R. Konieczna, "Przed premierą 'Pechowców'. Rozmowa z reżyserem" / "Before the Premiere of 'The Unlucky' - A Conversation with the Director"). This approach is one that he'd incorporate throughout the entirety of his career, influencing many subsequent theatre artists. Later that same year, Grotowski moved to
Opole where he was invited by theatre critic and dramaturg Ludwig Flaszen to serve as director of 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, and began to experiment with approaches to performance training able to help him shape the young actors initially allocated to his provincial theatre into the transformational artists they eventually became.
Among the many productions for which his theatre company would soon become famous were "Orpheus" by
Jean Cocteau, "Shakuntala" based on text by
Kalidasa, "Dziady" by Adam Mickiewicz and "Akropolis" by Stanislaw Wyspianski. This last production was the first complete realization of Grotowski's notion of 'poor theatre'. In it the company of actors (representing concentration camp prisoners) build the structure of a crematorium around the audience while acting out stories from the bible and Greek mythology. This conceptualization had particular resonance for the audiences in Opole, as the Auschwitz concentration camp was only sixty miles away. "Akropolis" was a play that received much attention, and could be said to have launched Grotowski's career internationally due to inventive and aggressive promotion among visiting foreign scholars and theatre professionals. A film of the production was made with an introduction by Peter Brook, which constitutes one of the most accessible and concrete records of Grotowski's work.
In 1964 Grotowski followed success with success when his theatre premiered "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" based on the Elizabethan drama by Marlowe, featuring Zbigniew Cynkutis in the title role. Foregoing the use of props altogether, Grotowski let the actors' bodies represent different objects, establishing an intimate dynamic of relation between actors and spectators by seating audience members as the guests at Faust's last supper, with the action unfolding on and around the table where they were seated.
In
1965 Grotowski moved his company to
Wrocław relabeling them a "Teatr 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. Ryszard Cieslak's performance in the title role is considered the apogee of Grotowski's approach to acting. In one of his final essays, Grotowski detailed how he worked individually with Cieslak for more than year to develop the details of the actor's physical score before combining this central element of the performance with the work of other actors and the context of torture and martyrdom intrinsic to the play.
1969 saw the last professional production from Grotowski as director. Entitled "Apocalypsis Cum Figuris" it's widely regarded as one of the best theatre productions of the twentieth century. Again utilizing text from the bible, this time combined with contemporary writings from authors such as T.S. Eliot and Simone Weil, this production was cited by members of the company as an example of a group 'total act'. The development of
Apocalypsis took more than three years, beginning as a staging of Slowacki's
Samuel Zborowski and passing through an entirely separate stage of development as a staging of the Gospels,
Ewangelie (elaborated as a completed performance though never presented to audiences) before arriving to its final form. Throughout this process, Grotowski can already be seen abandoning the conventions of traditional theatre, straining at the boundaries of what he later termed Art as presentation.
Grotowski revolutionized theatre, and, along with his first apprentice
Eugenio Barba, leader and founder of
Odin Teatret, is considered a father of
contemporary experimental 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.
Theatre - through the actor's technique, his art in which the living organism strives for higher motives - provides an opportunity for what could be called integration, the discarding of masks, the revealing of the real substance: a totality of physical and mental reactions. This opportunity must be treated in a disciplined manner, with a full awareness of the responsibilities it involves. Here we can see the theatre's therapeutic function for people in our present day civilization. It is true that the actor accomplishes this act, but he can only do so through an encounter with the spectator - intimately, visibly, not hiding behind a cameraman, wardrobe mistress, stage designer or make-up girl - in direct confrontation with him, and somehow " instead of" him. The actor's act - discarding half measures, revealing, opening up, emerging from himself as opposed to closing up - is an invitation to the spectator. This act could be compared to an act of the most deeply rooted, genuine love between two human beings - this is just a comparison since we can only refer to this "emergence from oneself" through analogy. This act, paradoxical and borderline, we call a total act. In our opinion it epitomizes the actor's deepest calling. From 'Towards a Poor Theatre' by Grotowski
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 wasn't 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 experimental.
Applying this principle in his 'laboratory' in
Poland, Grotowski jettisoned all costume and staging and preferred to work with minimalist 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'd 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 isn't to say that in public theatrical performances he completely disregarded lights and sets, in fact, among some critics he's 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 can't 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:
- Eliminate, not teach something (Via Negativa).
This can be described as a basic philosophy for actor training that essentially says the actor's main task involves not accruing skills so much as eradicating obstacles that get in the way of being true.
- Create all that's needed for the play in the actor's body, with little use of props.
- Promote rigorous physical and vocal training of actors
- Avoid the beautiful if it doesn't foster truth
To this concept of 'poor theatre' Grotowski added the concept of the 'priesthood' or sacredness of the
actor, a concept he later articulated in relation to a "secular sacrum." 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 "Theatre of Productions" phase,
Apocalypsis Cum Figuris.
Debut in the West
The year 1968 marked Grotowski's debut in the West. His company performed the Stanislaw Wyspianski play
Akropolis/Acropolis (1964) at the Edinburgh Festival. This was a fitting vehicle for Grotowski and his Poor Theatre because his treatment of the play in Poland had already achieved wider recognition, and was published in
Pamiętnik Teatralny (Warsaw, 1964),
Alla Ricerca del Teatro Perduto (Padova, 1965), and
Tulane Drama Review (New Orleans, 1965). It marked the first time many in Britain had been exposed to "Poor Theatre". The same year his great book called
Towards A Poor Theatre in English appeared in Danish, published by Odin Teatrets Fortag. It appeared in English the following year, published by Methuen and Co. Ltd., with an Introduction by Peter Brook, then Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. In it he writes feelingly about Grotowski's private consulting for the Company; he/they felt Grotowski's work was unique but equally understood that its value was diminished if talked about too much, if faith were broken with the consultant.
The Paratheatrical Phase (1969-78)
In 1970 Grotowski published "Holiday," which outlined a new course of investigation. He would pursue this 'Paratheatrical' phase until 1978. This phase is known as the 'Paratheatrical' phase of his career because it was an attempt to transcend the separation between performer and spectator. Grotowski attempted this through the organization of communal rites and simple interactive exchanges that went on sometimes for extended periods, attempting to provoke in participants a deconditioning of impulse. The most widely circulated description of one of these post-theatrical events (a 'beehive') is voiced by
Andre Gregory, Grotowski's long-time friend and the American director whose work he most strongly endorsed, in
My Dinner with Andre. Various collaborators who had been important to Grotowski's work in what he termed his "Theatre of Productions" phase had difficulty following him in these explorations beyond the boundary of conventional theatre. Other, younger members of the group came to the foreground, notably Jacek Zmysłowski, whom many would consider Grotowski's closest collaborator in this period. Theatre critics have often exoticized and mystified Grotowski's work on the basis of these paratheatrical experiments, suggesting that his work should be seen in the lineage of
Antonin Artaud, a suggestion Grotowski strongly resisted. Later in life, he clarified that he quickly found this direction of research limiting, having realized that unstructured work frequently elicits banalities and cultural cliché from participants.
Theatre of Sources (1976-82)
In this period of his work, Grotowski traveled intensively through India, Mexico, Haiti and elsewhere, seeking to identify elements of technique in the traditional practices of various cultures that could have a precise and discernible effect on participants. Key collaborators in this phase of work include
Włodzimierz Staniewski, subsequently founder of
Gardzienice Theatre Association, Jairo Cuesta and Magda Złotowska, who traveled with Grotowski on his international expeditions. His interest in ritual techniques linked to Haitian practice led Grotowski to a long-standing collaboration with Maud Robart and Jean-Claude Tiga of Saint Soleil. Always a master strategist, Grotowski made use of his international ties and the relative freedom of travel allowed him to pursue this program of cultural research in order to flee Poland following the imposition of martial law. He spent time in Haiti and in Rome, where he delivered a series of important lectures on the topic of theatre anthropology at the University of Rome La Sapienza in 1982 before seeking political asylum in the United States. His dear friends
Andre and
Mercedes Gregory helped Grotowski to settle in the US, where he taught at Columbia University for one year while attempting to find support for a new program of research.
Objective Drama (1983-86)
Unable (despite the best efforts of
Richard Schechner) to secure resources for his projected research in Manhattan, in 1983 Grotowski relocated to UC Irvine where he began a course of work known as 'Objective Drama'. This phase of research was characterized by an investigation of the psychophysiological impact of selected songs and other performative tools derived from traditional cultures on participants, focusing specifically on relatively simple techniques that could exert a discernible and predictable impact on the doer regardless of her belief structures or culture of origin. Ritual songs and related performative elements linked to Haitian and other African diaspora traditions became an especially fruitful tool of research. During this time Grotowski continued several important collaborative relationships begun in earlier phases, with Maud Robart, Jairo Cuesta, and Pablo Jimenez taking on significant roles as performers and research leaders in the project. He also initiated a longstanding creative relationship with American director James Slowiak and discovered the individual to whom he'd ultimately pass responsibility for his life-long research, Thomas Richards, son of legendary African-American director
Lloyd Richards.
Art as Vehicle (1986- )
In 1986, Grotowski was invited by Roberto Bacci of the Centro per la Sperimentazione e la Ricerca Teatrale to shift the base of his work to Pontedera, Italy, where he was offered an opportunity to conduct long-term research on performance without the pressure of having to show results until he was ready. Grotowski gladly accepted, taking with him three assistants from Objective Drama research (Richards, Jimenez and Slowiak) to help in founding his Italian Workcenter. Robart also led a work-team in Pontedera for several years, after which time funding cuts necessitated downscaling to a single research group, led by Richards. Grotowski took the term used to describe his final phase of research from a talk by
Peter Brook, who coined the phrase "art as vehicle" to characterize the focus of his attention. "It seems to me," Brook said, "That Grotowski is showing us something which existed in the past but has been forgotten over the centuries. That is that one of the vehicles which allows man to have access to another level of perception is to be found in the art of performance." The culmination of Grotowski's life-long research involving the potential efficacy of ritual performance, Art as Vehicle focuses on the subtle process of energy transformation that can be activated within an appropriately skilled and prepared doer working with vibratory songs linked to ritual traditions, in the framework of a precise and repeatable artistic structure. Grotowski articulated one of the most lucid and concise explanations of his work, specifically his interest in performance as a vehicle for pursuing what he termed "verticality," in an essay printed in appendix to Thomas Richards first book,
At Work with Grotowski on Physical Actions. The work of Grotowski's final phase thus represents a synthesis of his early insistence on craft and emphasis on an acting process rooted in Stanislavski's method of physical actions with the results of his extensive investigation of bodily techniques. Richards became Grotowski's "essential collaborator" in this research, working intensively alongisde him for 13 years in an intimate and rigorous dynamic described by Grotowski as a unique, singular process of "transmission," understood in the sense of traditional initiatory practices. One of the primary concerns of Grotowski's latter years was that the research that had been the focus of his lifework shouldn't die with him, but rather be passed on to other hands, so that this knowledge shouldn't be lost. Toward that end, he drove Richards to take on increasingly greater responsibility and leadership in the work, until he wasn't only the primary doer in the practice of Art as Vehicle, but also its leader and "director" (if such a term can be accurately used) of the performance structures created around these Afro-Caribbean vibratory songs, most significantly
Downstairs Action (filmed by Mercedes Gregory in 1989) and
Action, on which work began in 1994 and continues to the present. Italian actor Mario Biagini, who joined the Workcenter shortly after its founding, also became a central contributor to this research. In 1995, Grotowski changed the name of the Italian center to the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards to signal the unique and central place Richards held in his work. Although Grotowski died in 1999 at the end of a prolonged illness, the research of Art as Vehicle continues at the Pontedera Workcenter, with Richards as Artistic Director and Biagini as Associate Director. Grotowski's will declared the two his "universal heirs," holders of copyright on the entirety of his textual output and intellectual property.
Bibliography
Towards a Poor Theatre (Introduction by Peter Brook) (1968)
The Theatre of Grotowski by Jennifer Kumiega, London: Methuen, 1987.
At Work with Grotowski on Physical Actions by Thomas Richards, London: Routledge, 1995.
The Grotowski Sourcebook ed. by Lisa Wolford and Richard Schechner, London: Routledge, 1997.
Further Information
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