Work session of Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski & Thomas Richards

DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT: 

This open work session allows interested individuals to witness the work of Thomas Richards on songs of tradition with members of his Workcenter team. Practical work on songs of tradition was initiated at the Workcenter in 1986, and has been carried forward in continual development over the last 35 years. Such sessions serve the team members to help widen their knowledge of a “work on oneself” that can be carried out through a specific approach to song and action. In this sense, this worksession on songs of tradition is not a spectacle, it belongs to the domain of performing arts research known as Art as vehicle, wherein, as in certain old traditions, work on song and action goes together with an approach to the interiority of the human being and of its potentialities. These sessions of work become a means of awakening subtle aspects of inner experiencing, and a tool for the transformation of the artist’s perception and presence. The event will be followed by a discussion between Thomas Richards and the audience.

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 Bologna 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).  

The Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski - was founded in 1986 in Pontedera, Italy at the invitation of the Centro per la Sperimentazione e la Ricerca Teatrale in Pontedera, Italy (now part of Fondazione Teatro della Toscana). It is here that for the last thirteen years of his life Grotowski developed a line of performance research known as Art as Vehicle, which he continued until his death in 1999. Within this creative investigation, he worked very closely with Thomas Richards whom he called his “essential collaborator,” eventually changing the name of the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski to include that of Richards. During these thirteen years of intense practical work, Grotowski transmitted to Richards the fruit of his lifetime research, what he referred to as “the inner aspect of the work.” Grotowski entrusted Richards and Mario Biagini, a key member of the Workcenter team since its beginnings, as the sole legatees of his Estate, which includes his entire body of written work. Grotowski specified that this designation constituted a confirmation of his “family of work.”  Since 1999, acting as the Workcenter’s Artistic Director and Associate Director, respectively, Richards and Biagini continue to develop the Workcenter’s line of performance research. Today, the Workcenter is comprised of 25 artists from 15 countries.

LINKI:

• 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.