Doorways

Founded in 1986 in Pontedera, Italy, Jerzy Grotowski's Workcenter provided the site for the final stage of the legendary Polish director's artistic research, a praxis he called "Art as Vehicle". Grotowski's legacy differs markedly from that of other key Western performance researchers and theatrical directors in that his legacy was consciously constructed as an unfinished book, the final chapter of which must be read in the acts and accomplishments of a subsequent generation of theatre artists, most notably through the acts and accomplishments of Thomas Richards and those colleagues working most closely with him. Drawing together a range of texts by Grotowski, previously unpublished in English, with original essays that address the current praxis of the Workcenter, this collection presents a comprehensive view of the Workcenter's activity throughout the first 20 years of its history, examining both projects developed under the rubric of "Art as Vehicle" ("Action and An Action in Creation") and the ongoing research of "Project the Bridge: Developing Theatre Arts" ("Dies Irae").