 jerzy grotowski (/'jÉÊÉ¨ grÉ'tÉfskÊ²i/; 11 august 1933 â 14 january 1999) was a polish theatre director and innovator of experimental theatre, the "theatre laboratory" and "poor theatre" concepts. grotowski was born in rzeszÃ³w, poland on 11 august 1933 and died in pontedera, tuscany, italy on 14 january 1999, aged 65.the new york times ==biography== jerzy grotowski was born august 11 1933 in the city of rzeszÃ³w, poland. when the war came in 1939, the strong familial bond that the family shared was severed. his father entered the war and did not return, and his mother, brother and himself moved to the small village of nienadÃ³wka. it was in nienadÃ³wka that the young grotowski had several essential experiences that would shape him and his work in the future. his mother of also of great influence with her strong opinions on unity and community. ===career=== ==== theatre of productions ==== grotowski made his directorial debut in 1958 with the production 'gods of rain' which introduced grotowski's bold approach to text, which he continued to develop throughout his career, influencing many subsequent theatre artists. later 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. it was also there that he began to experiment with approaches to performance training which enabled him to shape the young actors - initially allocated to his provincial theatre - into the transformational artists they eventually became. among the many productions for which his theatre company became famous were "orpheus" by jean cocteau, "shakuntala" based on text by kalidasa, "dziady (forefathers' eve)" by adam mickiewicz and "akropolis" by stanisÅaw wyspiaÅski. this last production was the first complete realization of grotowski's notion of 'poor theatre.' in it the company of actors (representing concentration camp prisoners) build the structure of a crematorium arou
1933_births 1999_deaths Acting_theorists Drama_Desk_Award_winners MacArthur_Fellows People_from_RzeszA3w Polish_theatre_directors State_Prize_laureates_(Polish_People\'s_Republic) Theatre_practitioners