Jerzy Grotowski

Jerzy Grotowski (1933-1999)

- the director, educator and reformer of the theater.

The Theatre Laboratorium (Laboratory) founded by him is one of the most important institutions of the art of the 20 century.

In the year 1968 formulated the manifest issued in the United States titled:"Towards A Poor Theatre"-theater which does not need multimedia connections, doesn't need electronic attractions, and the play and the expression of the actors should be only devices. On the stage only "instruments"are: a voice, move of the body and facial expression.

The Laboratory wasn't a classical theatre. Grotowski suggested the program of "the theatre of participation"or "paratheather"

In his performances not actors or text,but emotions which freed themselves became most important between artist and a spectator. The artistic actions of Grotowski with time became more and more immediate not with art,but an anthropology.

In the last period of working in Poland, in 1978-1982 , he created a program called

"Theatre of Sources".This required him to travel and research to India and South

America,to examine shared rituals for the entire mankind, behaviours o which one should discern as origin and common.

"I am not a scholar, not even a scientist. Am I an artist? Probably. I am a craftsman"-

talked about himself.