Schulz: Loop

DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT:

"Schulz: Loop" is a creative interpretation of Bruno Schulz's prose, which becomes both the starting point and the backbone of the entire story.

By searching and crossing the boundaries between human body and matter, we enter the creative process suggested by Jacob - the character of Schulz's „Mannequin Treaty” and other stories. We try metaphorically to enter into the competence of the Creator to create a man on the stage "in the image and likeness of a dummy" with all the consequences of this abuse. Our usurper vision will lead us through experiences that will examine the consequences of this act.

We touch and explore the subject of memory, how it shapes our physicality and how it affects the spiritual aspect of our being. We want to create a metaphor of the world, aiming to the sources, aiming at exploring the root causes, along with the characters, and knowing that this is an impossible goal. We treat this inability as a privilege of our imagination, which, while searching for answers, constantly provides us with various hypotheses. We want to reach our individual mythologies, trying to cope with the reality that surrounds us, and to discover our founding myth.

The performance is a philosophical and poetic reflection on our forefathers, myths, our cornerstones. We are not looking for answers, we keep asking. We are trying to get to what constitutes us, we are watching how individual stories and our shared history shapes us. 

We are trying to read between Bruno Schultz’s lines to get inspiration about the story of our lives. We keep track of how those stories meander and transpire through one another. In the performance, following the author's suggestion, we are trying to go through and pursue the process that he describes in the manifesto of "Mythization of reality". We are trying to get to our etymology, by putting this process to the test, knowing that the ambiguity of memories and impressions will not allow us to do so anyway.

The performance is an implementation of the theory of parallel theaters,  adopted in "Schulz: Loop", according to which we strive to play on the border of separate narratives: the one that is on the stage, and the one that you create in your own imagination using our images and suggestions.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Konrad Dworakowski - director, actor, occasionally stage designer, musician. Graduate and teacher at Department of Puppets at The Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw, the branch in Białystok. Moreover, a teacher at AST National Academy of Theatre Arts in Wrocław, Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz University of Music in Łódź, and Theatre Education Course of Study at the Institute of Polish Culture at the University of Warsaw. Directing at puppet and drama theatres home and abroad. In 2003-2005 he was the artistic director of Guliwer Puppet Theatre in Warsaw. Between the years 2009-2019 he was a theatre director of Teatr Pinokio in Łódź. An author of screenplay of performances and song lyrics, he writes both for children and adults. He also conducts his own original workshops on the theatre of form. He has directed in puppet and dramatic theatres in Poland and abroad. The most important productions: "Mikrokosmos / Microcosm", "Hydrokosmos / Hydrocosm" of the Pantomime Theatre in Wroclaw, ”Balladyny i romance / Balladynas and Romances", ”Historia występnej wyobraźni / History of Tricky Imagination", ”Chłopcy z Placu Broni / The Boys of Paul Street”, „Don Kichot” of Pinokio Theatre in Lodz, ”Król Maciuś I / King Matt the First” of Banialuka Theatre] in Bielsko-Biala, ”Dumanowski side A & B” of Stary Theatre in Krakow, “Golem” at AST National Academy of Theatre Artsin Krakow, branch in Wroclaw, “Schulz: Scraps" and "Schulz: Loop" at CHOREA Theatre in Lodz, "Władczyni much" / "Lady of the Flies" at Ludowy Theatre in Krakow. The creator of projects related to social and cultural revitalization in Polish cities - Lodz, Walbrzych and Katowice (including "Punkty Kultury / Culture Points", "Wjeżdżamy w bramy / We enter the gates", "Bramogranie / Playing at the gates"). The originator and artistic director of the International Festival "Teatralna Karuzela / Theatrical Merry-go-round” in the years 2011-2019.

CHOREA Theatre - is a thriving, uncountable and unpredictable group of artists, performers, musicians, dancers, actors, practitioners, theatre and drama theorists. We create interdisciplinary artistic, educational and social projects: concerts, workshops and performances. We employ innovative, original work methods, going beyond the cultural mainstream. We direct our work, projects, actions and activities to: adults, youth and children, those who are regular theatre-goers, those with limited access to art, and those looking for alternative cultural initiatives. We put emphasis on team-building, joint cooperation, partnership, group dynamics, interrelations, the awareness of body, voice and musicality in our work.
CHOREA Theatre was founded in 2004 in Lublin, as a result of collaboration between two groups of performers. First group, 'The Ancient Orchestra', was developing musical and rhythmical work. Second group, 'Dances of the Labyrinth', was experimenting on movement and dance. Since 2004, before they found their residence in Lodz in 2007, they have been working in several locations. The company was first based in Naleczow, Srebrna Gora and Warsaw, they cooperated with Erthfall Dance Theatre in Cardiff (Wales). Since 2007 they established a permanent base in the city of Lodz, co-founding with Lodz Art Centre a cultural institution named Fabryka Sztuki (Art Factory) and they own an amazing industrial theatre spaces (for rehearsals, performances and workshops) situated in the 19th Century factories, named Art_Inkubator in Fabryka Sztuki in Lodz.
During 16 years of activity CHOREA Theatre fully developed its educational and artistic work. CHOREA artists organized many international workshop sessions, transnational artistic projects, several 10 of their own International Theatre Festival Retroperspektywy and nationwide Theatre Festival Perspektywy, and created more than 40 theatre productions, performances, and concerts. In 2015 CHOREA artists recorded a musical album 'Lullabies' and published actors training handbook 'Actors physical training. From individual to group actions'. In 2020 we recorded our second musical album "Gilgamesh" - concert for a choir, jazz trio and string quartet. CHOREA group collaborates with artists from all over the world: USA, Great Britain, Israel, Spain, India, Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Syria, Japan, Russia, Belarus, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Georgia, Moldova, etc.
During last years CHOREA Theatre presented their performances, concerts and intensive workshop sessions all over the world. In 2009 CHOREA performed on International Meeting on Ancient Drama Festival in Delphi, (Greece). In 2010 we cooperated with Rosanna Gamson Worldwide Theatre in Los Angeles (USA). In 2011 we presented our work in Escena Contemporanea Festival in Madrid (Spain) and in Mayerhold Theatre Centre in Moscow (Russia). In 2012 we visited Stage Centre in Tel Aviv (Israel). In 2011, 2012 and 2013 we performed on Bharat Rang Mahotsav - the biggest international Theatre Festival in India. In 2014 and 2015 we showed our performances in Art Carnuntum Verein für Kunst Geschichte Theater Kultur Festival in Art Carnuntum (Austria). In 2015 we presented our work in Luxembourg (Luxembourg) and in Chisnau (Moldova). In 2015 and 2016 we performed in Tbilisi International Festival of Theatre (Georgia). In 2017 we performed in Berlin (Germany), Stockholm (Sweden) and in St.Petersburg (Russia). In 2018 we visited Baerum Kulturhus and sandvika Teater in Oslo (Norway), we leaded an intensive workshop session, in terms of "Polish Theatre Days” during II International Theatre Festival TheATRIUM 2018 in Drama Theatre in Klaipeda (Lithuania), performed in Danube Bend Theatre in Vac (Hungary) in terms of V4 Festival and Theatre Meeting 2018, and performed on Festivalul International de Teatru Pentru Publicul Tanar in Iasi (Romania). In 2019 we visited NUKU Theatre in Tallin (Estonia), where we performed on Visual Theatre Festival NuQ Treff, and again performed in Danube Bend Theatre in Vac (Hungary) in terms of V4 Festival and Theatre Meeting 2019. In 2020 we leaded intensive workshop session in Akademija za umjetnost i kulturu, in Osijek (Croatia), and leaded a big international project 'Ukraine - Poland: The borderland of theatre cultures'.

LINKS: 

• Watch the trailer by Rami Shaya / HOLLYBABA
  
  
• Watch the photos by Rami Shaya / HOLLYBABA
  
  
• Watch the photos by Agnieszka Cytacka fotografia