The Watermill Center is pleased to announce a special workshop introducing the work of revolutionary Polish visual artist and theatre director Tadeusz Kantor (1915-1990).
An artistic pioneer and chief influence to Robert Wilson, Kantor gained international acclaim for defying theatrical convention in the 1960s and 70s with stage “happenings” that combined living and dead characters, emphasizing abstract behavior and manipulated realities. His famous production Dead Class proposed a “Theatre of Death” that negated traditional forms of representation, focusing instead on the persistence of memory and its influence on our perceptions of time and history. Kantor’s artistic spirit lives on at the Watermill Center, with several works in the Collection. Many of Robert Wilson’s works have been inspired by his aesthetics, most recently a collaborative homage to Kantor’s “Panoramic Sea Happening” with Marina Abramovic at the 2013 Sackler Foundation Conference (See photos HERE).
Join us in a creative encounter with Kantor’s innovative approach led by Bogdan Renczyński, a multi-disciplinary artist and actor trained by Kantor in Krakow. After studying and performing in Kantor’s productions for a decade, Renczyński has gone on to pursue a career as a theatre director, curator, and co-founder of the Parisian Association Le Retour d’Ulysse, specializing in art education and Kantor’s philosophy.
This Master Class will take place on Sunday, February 15th, from 12 to 6 PM in the Watermill Center Rehearsal Space. We will begin with a screening of Kantor’s last production, “Today Is My Birthday,” followed by exercises examining text, action, and performance through unconventional lenses inspired by Kantor’s school of thought. Attendance will be limited to 40 participants. As this is a movement-based seminar, we suggest comfortable attire, and invite you to bring a picnic lunch for the afternoon. In order to support this program and other programs at the Center, our suggested donation is $15.
This event is a part of Kantor’s Centennial with the patronage of the Polish Culture Institute New York and the Yale Univeristy Theatre Studies Program.
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