He was a Theatre Director, Actor Trainer and Theorist whose work was split into 5 phases:
1)Theatre of Production- (1957-1969)
In 1958 Grotowski moved to Opole where he was invited by the theatre critic and dramaturg Ludwik Flaszen to serve as Director of the Theatre of 13 Rows.There he began to assemble a company of actors and artistic collaborators which would help him realize his unique vision. He explored the actor's and audience's relationship, and developed his methods and idea's of what an actor and theatre should be. After a few of his productions it was then his realization now known as Grotowski's notion of 'poor theatre.
Stripping everything away from the actor and stage, to the point of no props, no make up and simple costume was something that Grotowski believed to be real theatre, the bare truth in a sense.
2)Paratheatrical phase- (1969-1978)
Grotowski did not perform after his theatre of production, during this time he took his journey towards self discovery within himself and other actors and groups, there was no audiences during any of these meetings. It was more of a training process in a sense, in search of the truth beyond theatre, where only creativity was sought, asserting the purity of nature and openness and opposing the falseness of society. 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.
3)Theatre of Sources- (1976-1982)
During this phase Grotowski returned to working with small groups, this helped for his continuous research in human self discovery.
He travelled far and wide across the world, intensely 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. With the help of good friends helped Grotowski managed 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.
4)Objective Drama- (1983-1986)
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.
5)Art as Vehicle (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.
Here he reached into the past to find old ritual songs that had a deep imp[act on the heart, the head and the body. He wanted the ancient history to connect back to man today and to reach the truth through original rituals.
A quote By Peter Brooks.
"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."
Below - Jerzy Grotowski
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