Teatr Baza is a theater and actors’ studio based in Warsaw, Poland. We are an independent, non-profit organization. Our association was founded in 2007, and in 2011 we got our own space in the Sielce district, where we have been working, rehearsing, and performing. In our practice, we use methods from Russian psychological theatre (Stanislavski, Meyerhold, M. Chekhov), as well as Polish alternative groups (J. Grotowski, Gardzienice). For most of our students (age 18-25), learning in the studio is the first professional experience in theatre. We pay special attention to their personal growth. Our productions always involve a team work, so that every actor can get creative and contribute something. Our recent works include: “The Seagull” (A. Chekhov), “The Wizard of Oz” (L. Frank Baum), “Roberto Zucco” (B.-M. Koltes), “White Nights” (F. Dostoevsky), “Side Effects” (D. Bogoslavsky), “The Hesitator” (H. Levin). In our performances we try to address issues that concern ourselves, e.g. interhuman relations, adolescence and generational conflicts, modern city life, artists and their dilemmas. Our audience consists mostly of young people and locals from the Sielce district.

We want to be the first contact point for young people interested in performing arts.We want to enable young actors to meet young directors and playwrights, with the goal of working together. We would like our theater to be the place where they get their first experience in professional theater. Our students take different career paths after graduating from the studio. Some of them stay and work in our theater, and others go to state artistic schools or pursue acting careers in theater and cinema.

We are very active in the local community, organizing cultural and educational events for people of all ages:
– Our theater plays a significant role as a community center for local citizens. There are yoga and dance classes for adults, art classes for children, and a non-profit library. Locals meet here to discuss public affairs, and independent artists use our space to rehearse or show their work. There are exhibitions of art and photography, film projections, and live concerts.
– We use performing as a tool for personal growth of various groups of people: children, adolescents, disabled, immigrants and others who take part in our acting workshops.
– We organize and run urban games, so that Warsaw citizens can get to know their city and its history.
– We promote theater by doing free, outdoor performances for children, as well as acting classes where we talk about our work.

We’ve been cooperating with many organizations, both Polish and foreign. In 2012 we organized a theater festival for independent theaters from countries of the former Soviet Union. We have done artistic exchanges with foreign youth theaters (e.g., Russia, Georgia), where our students took part in collective workshops and performances. We would like to get to know other young theater groups from all over Europe to share our methods and knowledge, and to let our students get to know different approaches to acting. We are also interested in projects concerning social issues, and those involving children, elderly people, immigrants, public space, social bonds, and civil activity.

Our idea: We would like to take part in an artistic exchange with at least 2 other theater groups. The idea is to meet once a year, each time in a different country, and to have intensive theater workshops. We would like to invite experienced artists and educators from all over Europe, who are willing to share their approach to performing, and to teach our students various acting techniques. Each exchange might have a theme, and end with a performance open for the public. The project is supposed to last at least 3 years. The aim is an artistic and personal development of the participants (young actors, 18-25 years old), as well as sharing our experience related to audience development, team building and financing. We presume that each organization would play an equal part in the project and contribute in a similar extent.

We are open to your ideas as well.

Contact details:
Grzegorz Ryczywolski (grzegorz@teatrbaza.pl)
Teatr Baza, T: +48 504 471 138
w: www.teatrbaza.pl