In my theatrical practice,
with each subsequent project,
I was getting closer and closer to the idea
of transforming a performance into
a complete work of art,
fully defined.
It can be seen in particular
in “Empire of Shadow,”
where my involvement
in every aspect of the performance
has become
thoroughly meticulous.
This also applied to
the actor,
whom I locked into a strict
corset of choreographed behaviors,
tailored to fit
the character being embodied.
It is here
where each element
of the actor’s stage expression
(including eye movements)
has been thoroughly defined,
transforming the actor
into a kind of model character
– “a model of my imagination.”
This is clearly shown by
solo scenes in:
“The Madness of a Chain of Incarnations,”
or “Caress a Constant Threat.”
However, this concept
involved
painstaking,
lengthy
work with the actor.
This approach
became my tribulation,
especially in the context
of demanding additions
and the decomposition
of the theater troupe.
This has occurred all too often
in more than three years
of my work on “The Empire of Shadow.”
On the other hand,
this performance
made me realize
the huge impact
of a machine-object
brought
onto the stage,
especially through
the compelling connection
of the actor entangled in it.
He,
trying to overcome
the limitations
imposed by the object,
animates it
– visualizing the correlation.
And it is this marriage
that becomes a vehicle for the message,
an attribute
that creates a stage character,
paradoxically making the machine
“a psychological object“
– an emblem of my “Theater of Madness.”
The above-described relationship
occurred on stage.
On the other hand,
the expressive power of the object as such
was proven by its independent
shows in various galleries.
It turned out
that also in this context
it loses nothing
of its message,
because, as I wrote:
“it doesn’t need an actor to have a meaning.“*
All of the above
observations and reflections
have raised in me
an increasingly nagging question.
And what if we
eliminate the actor
– instead, turning an object into
the main figure onstage?
Such performance
would be a weapon striking
at the evanescence of theater,
which, as a visual artist,
I felt so strongly
– after all, making
creations
that overcome time.
Anyway,
my theater,
which already constituted
a kind of installation onstage,
now would have a chance
to be turned into it
par excellence.
