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Teatr Piesn Kozla and its integration into Western European theatre training

This article explores the potential of integrating the Polish work of Teatr Piesn Kozla into an apparently contradictory context of UK actor training. Teatr Piesn Kozla is a company whose process is based in training and teaching. It has created a body of work which as it has developed has become the source of exploration for a subsequent rehearsal process and eventual production. In the first instance the article defines the central principles and philosophy of the training work created by Teatr Piesn Kozla. It acknowledges the extent to which the training is bound into a particular training and rehearsal process. The article examines the difficulty of introducing that process into a predominantly Stanislavski based actor training. It proposes that it is possible to apply satisfactorily the principles of this work within the time and curriculum constraints of UK actor training. It documents a programme designed and delivered in a UK HEI by the author with Teatr Piesn Kozla which compresses the seven-year process into a one-year postgraduate programme. The article examines the effectiveness of this model and the influence of the work in UK.

The article examines how the impact of the relationship has been reciprocal and considers how the work of the company has also been highly influenced by the relationship to working within UK actor training, which values the integration and co-ordination of body, voice, text, rhythm and presence. The article assesses how Teatr Piesn Kozla has structured its own work and rehearsals differently as a result of the collaboration. It concludes that the company has integrated principles of Alexander Technique and bodywork into its practice, and has, thus, developed attention to meaning rather than treating text as if it were solely a rhythm.