Lecture by Thomas Richards & Aniela Gabryel

DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT:

How does Thomas Richards work and create? What are the different approaches to work does his team utilizes at the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards? These are some of the questions that might be touched during the lecture and meeting with Mr.Richards, where in participants will witness fragments of a film documentation of "The Living Room", a performing arts opus created and directed by Richards, which is based on a specific approach to ancient songs of tradition that has been at the heart of the Workcenter research for the last 35 years. 

"The Living Room" was shot in 2019 by a  film team led byAniela Gabryel. The showing of these fragments during the Retroperspektywy Festival 2021 will be the first time that this filmed material is shared with a public. "The Living Room" was filmed by Aniela Gabryel in a radical manner - with one unique shot, with no cuts. The presentation of these film fragments will be accompanied by Ms.Gabryels' commentary, as well as Mr.Richards' commentary (online / live stream). The meeting will also be attended by students and doctoral students of the State Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre in Lodz. The Workcenter was founded by Jerzy Grotowski in 1986, and since Grotowski’s passing in 1999 its performing arts research has been intensively continued and developed by Thomas Richards.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS:  

Thomas Richards - American performer, actor, director. Son of the director Lloyd Richards. During his studies at Yale, where he was awarded his bachelor degree, he encountered Ryszard Cieślak, while in summer 1984 he was among a group of students who participated in workshops lasting several days, as part of the "Objective Drama" project. In 1985 he became a member of its reconfigured executive group and worked with Grotowski on "Main Action". Subsequently, in 1986, he moved together with Grotowski to Italy and in a relatively short time came to be considered his essential collaborator. Initially Grotowski and Richards’ work had an individual character connected to the performative structures bearing the working title "Song Action" (this structure later became a central element of "Downstairs Action") and "Pool Action". This action took the form of a "transmission" and was connected to the decision taken at the time to make Richards the leader of the group and then Grotowski’s successor and artistic heir. A particular kind of relationship developed between the artists, one that might be described as a relationship between an experienced master transmitting his knowledge to an exceptionally talented student. Gradually Richards took on the role of the leader of the group working on "Downstairs Action", in which he was also the main doer. The results of this work brought about the crystallisation of Action and the creation of "Action", of which Richards was the main creator. Recognising his key role in the Workcenter’s activities, Grotowski changed its name in 1996 to Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards. Following Grotowski’s death in 1999, Richards took over as director of the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards and together with Mario Biagini he is considered Grotowski’s universal heir. In the following years he continued the activities in the field of Art as Vehicle, developing and gradually structuring the action "The Letter" (presented between 2003 and 2006 as a "Work in Progress" titled "The Twins: Action in creation" and "Action in creation"). Together with Mario Biagini he directed the performances "One Breath Left" (1998-2002) and "Dies Irae" (2004–2006). Since 2008 he has directed the work of the Focused Research Team in Art as Vehicle on the performative structure "Living Room", which is a further exploration in the field of Art as Vehicle (locating this form of activity in the domestic sphere and domestic space). Alongside his practical work, Richard also develops academic theorisation on the experiments he is conducting. He was awarded a Master’s degree from the University of Bologne and a Doctorate from the Université Paris. He is the author of "At Work with Grotowski on Physical Actions" (1993), "The Edge-Point of Performance" (with Lisa Wolford, 1997) and "Heart of Practice: Within the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards" (2008). 

Aniela Astrid Gabriel - film director. Studied Film direction at The Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School in Łódź. Her short films have been screened and awarded at numerous festivals in Poland and around the world. Her full-length documentary debut "When Will This Wind Stop" has received the main prize for the best student documentary at the IDFA Film Festival. Aniela is working now on her next documentary film about theater group Focused Research Team in Art as Vehicle. She is also working on her full-length feature film directorial debut. In her films, she experiments and looks for new ways of narration.

LINKS: 

• https://www.theworkcenter.org

Wydarzenie odbywa się w ramach projektu Przestrzenie Sztuki. Projekt Przestrzenie Sztuki jest finansowany ze środków Ministerstwa Kultury, Dziedzictwa Narodowego i Sportu, realizowany przez Narodowy Instytut Muzyki i Tańca oraz Instytut Teatralny im. Zbigniewa Raszewskiego.

Projekt dofinansowano ze środków Urzędu Miasta Łodzi.