| Abstrakt: |
In Eugenio Barba and Nicola Savarese's 1991 publication The Secret Art of the Performer, the faces of two of Jerzy Grotowski's actors, Zbigniew Cynkutis and Ryszard Cieslak, sit side by side with a Japanese Noh mask (1991, p. 118). In a subsequent section Antoni Jaholkowski (also a member of Grotowski's company) is captured in a strenuous position from the training exercise 'the cat' (p. 202). This photograph of Jaholkowski is in close proximity to a picture of the fundamental body position kamae used in Noh and Kyogen. In an earlier chapter an image showing the technique of walking used by the actors in Grotowski's Akropolis is preceded by a series of photographs of the sliding step (suriashi) common to several forms of Japanese theatre (p. 120). Barba's anthology of performative knowledge juxtaposes two traditions which are both centuries and continents apart but which somehow share the same enduring preoccupation with the body's ability to go beyond itself, to perform 'miracles'. This paper examines a potential turning point in Grotowski's quest to create descriptors which signify the ontology of his performer. In drawing on particular concepts from Noh theatre during his Objective Drama phase, Grotowski appears to effect a significant paradigm shift. This study examines how such descriptors may contribute to a reappraisal of Grotowski's performer during the Theatre of Productions phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
