Teatr Ósmego Dnia z Poznania, realizacje zespołowe z lat 1977–1991. Praca nad spektaklem, praca nad sobą: nowe podejście do kreacji zbiorowej, wyjście poza kolaż cudzych tekstów
Theatre of the Eight Day from Poznań, Team Productions from the Years 1977–1991. Work on the Performance, Work on Oneself: a New Approach to Collective Creation, Stepping Outside of a Collage of Another’s Texts

Author(s): Juliusz Tyszka
Subject(s): Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: “writing on the stage;” collective production; actor’s improvisation; theatre script;
Summary/Abstract: Joseph Chaikin’s The Open Theater from New York (1963–1973) produced several performances in co-operation with playwrights Megan Terry and Jean-Claude van Itallie. They were responsible for the text of the production. They participated in rehearsals, observed the actors’ improvisations, and then, in co-operation with the team, wrote the final version of the script. This practice related to the theatrical and literary works of numerous classics – from Aeschylus to Brecht. It should be regarded as an important part of performative breakthrough in theatre.The most advanced on the world-scale method of „writing on the stage” was created in the second half of the 70s Theatre of the Eight Day from Poznań. Its performances were team productions based on collective improvisations of the actors, processed in latter rehearsals and eventually arranged by the whole team into a collage script. The texts uttered during the performance were a collective work of the team, improvised or written by the director or the actors, sometimes supplemented by short fragments of literary works, mainly poetry, which the group considered significant.Towards the end of the article, the author asks a question whether continuing counter-culture traditions of collective creation can take place today, and whether the requirements raised towards somebody who would wish to undertake this enterprise are not, from today’s perspective, far too high, even absurd.

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