As evidence to your answers above, each student must include:
- at least 1 video in your research.
- at least 3 quotes (1 from a primary and 2 from secondary sources)
- a link to a published article

Cite your sources for each answer. 
Each answer needs to be completed in a separate box.
Every student must answer all questions plus their own. 

He was an innovative polish theater director and theorist who has significantly influenced theater today. He is best known for his intense actor training processes. 

He was a polish theater director and theorist. He founded a company and it went extremely well that he got invited to work in America. He also won the Drama Desk Award in 1970. However, he felt uncomfortable working in North America so he went to Italy and did what he does like usually but secretly for almost his last 25 years on Earth.

"Jerzy Grotowski." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2017.

League, The Broadway. "IBDB.com." – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2017.

Jerzy Marian Grotowski, who was born in 1933 and died in 1999, was a Polish theatre director and theoretician, educator as well as a creator of acting methods. Graduating from the State Higher School of Theatre with a degree in acting, he would then go to study directing and acting at the Ludwik Solski Academy of Dramatic Arts in Kraków, then the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts in Moscow. Grotowski went on collecting numerous awards and distinctions throughout his life.


"Jerzy Grotowski | Twórca." Culture.pl. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2017.

Grotowski had a very different and unique idea of what theatre was about compared to other directors/actors at the time. He often didn't like/disagreed with performing and acting where a play would normally take place; stages, auditoriums, opera houses, etc. He highly preferred for plays to take place in more common areas like apartments and simple rooms where the audience could make themselves comfortable in a familiar space by surrounding the performers, therefore gaining a new point of view and comprehension of the performance as a whole; you could say that his approach to theatre was minimalist. He then developed the idea/theme of "poor theatre", a type of theatre where he would get rid of unnecessary props and luxurious costumes. Grotowski's "poor theatre" was created to focus on method acting and developing acting skills.


Cash, Justin. "Poor Theatre Conventions." The Drama Teacher. N.p., 23 Nov. 2016. Web. 12 Jan. 2017.

Grotowski wanted actors to be able to become more aware of their surroundings while on stage; not the props or the set itself, but the audience, for them to be aware that they were there to create an impact on the audience, to make them feel something and to be able to successfully deliver a message to the audience through their acting skills and method(s). He would teach his theatre/acting students to approach theatre physically as well as spiritually and he wanted them to be able to develop a kind of bond between them (the actors) and the audience. Grotowski would also teach them to use a minimal amount of props, lighting and costume so that they wouldn't be distracted from acting.

Jerzy Grotowski was a polish theatre directer and theorist, educator and creator of acting method.

He experimented theatre techniques by focusing on the actor physically, vocally and psychically, so that during performances they might transform themselves as demanded by the play. Actors had to learn to give of themselves freely, and expose themselves psychically when necessary, abandoning all notions of narcissism or exhibitionism. 

1971 - Appointed Full Professor of the Ecole Supérieure d'Art Dramatique in Marseille

1972 - State Award 1st class in the realm of art for 'creative activities with the Laboratory Theatre on staging and research into the art of acting'; Diploma of Merit from the National Museum of the USA 'for exceptional contributions to the development of world theatre';

1973 - Creation of the American Institution for Research and Studies into the Oeuvre of Jerzy Grotowski, whose primary objective was to 'popularize Grotowski's artistic discoveries and ideas in the USA'; Honorary Doctorate of the University of Pittsburgh;

1975 - Winner of a Wrocław City Prize for 'his creative activities in the realm of theatre'

1985 - Honorary Doctorate of the University of Chicago

1991 - Honorary Doctorate of the University of Wrocław

1997 - Professor of the College de France

By the 1960s and 70s, Grotowski had become an intense actor instructor and trainer. He would make his acting students go through specific, challenging and sometimes strange types if training. Yoga and breathing exercises were often part of the actors' training to help the actors be aware of their movements and the impact that they can have as well as attempting to connect to theatre spiritually. Grotowski would experiment with the physical, spiritual and even ritualistic aspects of theatre in Opole, Laboratory Theatre.

 

he wants to explore the new form of theatric expression without spoken a word. This program is called Acropolis. 

·     1972 - State Award 1st class in the realm of art for 'creative activities with the Laboratory Theatre on staging and research into the art of acting'; Diploma of Merit from the National Museum of the USA 'for exceptional contributions to the development of world theatre';

·     1973 - Creation of the American Institution for Research and Studies into the Oeuvre of Jerzy Grotowski, whose primary objective was to 'popularize Grotowski's artistic discoveries and ideas in the USA'; Honorary Doctorate of the University of Pittsburgh;

·     1975 - Winner of a Wrocław City Prize for 'his creative activities in the realm of theatre'

·     1985 - Honorary Doctorate of the University of Chicago

·     1991 - Honorary Doctorate of the University of Wrocław

·     1997 - Professor of the College de France”·     “1971 - Appointed Full Professor of the Ecole Supérieure d'Art Dramatique in Marseille

·     1972 - State Award 1st class in the realm of art for 'creative activities with the Laboratory Theatre on staging and research into the art of acting'; Diploma of Merit from the National Museum of the USA 'for exceptional contributions to the development of world theatre';

·     1973 - Creation of the American Institution for Research and Studies into the Oeuvre of Jerzy Grotowski, whose primary objective was to 'popularize Grotowski's artistic discoveries and ideas in the USA'; Honorary Doctorate of the University of Pittsburgh;

·     1975 - Winner of a Wrocław City Prize for 'his creative activities in the realm of theatre'

·     1985 - Honorary Doctorate of the University of Chicago

·     1991 - Honorary Doctorate of the University of Wrocław

·     1997 - Professor of the College de France”

§  Who was Jerzy Grotowski?

He was a polish theater director whose theatrical approaches have influenced the theater today. He was born in Rzeszów, in South-eastern Poland in 1933 and studied acting and directing at the Ludwik Solski Academy of Dramatic Arts in Kraków and Russian Academy of Theatre Arts in Moscow.

§  What was his contribution to theatre?

He was invited to go to America and teach and direct theater there. He felt very uncomfortable in America, so he moved to Italy and stayed close by the Pisa and worked there almost in secret for 20 years and passed away due to leukemia.

§  How did he want actors to approach performance? 

He wanted the actors to approach theater physically, spiritually and ritualistic aspects of theater, the nature of role and the relationship between actor and spectator.

§  What practical activities did he use with his actors? 

Yoga was introduced as a part of the daily routine of Grotowski's actors. The yoga "asana" (poses or movements) was presented as a physical warm up before the work, and breathing exercises known as "Pranayama" were also added. 

§  Pose 2 of your own research questions and answer them.

Where did he rehearse with the actors for a performance? 

As a director, Grotowski preferred to perform works in non-traditional spaces such as buildings and rooms, instead of mainstream theater houses with traditional stages. Typically, the audience was placed on many sides of the action or in and amongst the action, itself. 

 

What was he most famous for?

He was known for creating the poor theater; instead of using props, he employed people to act as props.