The Inauguration of the Tadeusz Kantor Centennial by Yale School of Drama at Yale University

The Kantor Centennial at Yale University will be inaugurated by screenings of Kantor's work, followed by conversations with two of his actors and collaborators: Andrzej Welminski and Bogdan Renczynski.

Tadeusz Kantor - one of the most significant European artists of the 20th Century - was born in the Galician village of Wielopole in 1915 and studied at the Fine Arts Academy in Krakow from 1934-1939. After graduation, he founded the Independent Theater - an underground theater that continued to be active in the cellars of Kraków during the Nazi occupation of Poland. In 1955, Kantor, along with a group of visual artists, formed the Cricot 2 theater, which toured widely and first became known in the United States through its performances at La MaMa E.T.C. in 1979. Perhaps best known for his notion of the Theater of Death exemplified by the 1975 production of The Dead Class, Kantor's prolific practice spanned set design, painting, directing, manifestos, and assemblages, and has had a profound influence on the theater and visual art worlds internationally.

Attention to Kantor has increased in the last decade, as his work prefigured contemporary trends in hybrid performance, manifesto forms, and performing objects. Like later directors such as Richard Foreman and Richard Maxwell, Kantor pioneered his own acting philosophy, often foregoing trained professionals onstage in favor of amateurs and friends. He became fascinated with altering the role of the actor from that of an agent to that of a machine or scenic element: the "Bio-object." He reduced his performers to props, while raising props to the level of performers, partly to convey the terrifying modern displacement of the subject.

Kantor's uncanny performance worlds can tell us much about the world we are just now learning to live in.

A special Master Class will take place at The Watermill Center. It 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.

Friday, February 6th at 7 PM
SCREENING OF WIELOPOLE, WIELOPOLE
followed by a discussion with Cricot 2 actor Andrzej Welminski.
Moderated by Marc Robinson.
Room 101, Linsly-Chittenden Hall, 63 High Street, New Haven, CT

Friday, February 13th at 7 PM
SCREENING OF TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY
followed by a discussion with Cricot 2 actor Bogdan Renczynski.
Moderated by Krystyna Illakowicz.
Room 101, Linsly-Chittenden Hall, 63 High Street, New Haven, CT

Sunday, February 15th, from 12 to 6 PM
A MASTER CLASS LED BY BOGDAN RENCZYNSKI
The Watermill Center Rehearsal Space
39 Watermill Towd Road, Water Mill, New York 11976
REGISTRATION

www.polishculture-nyc.org