Polski teatr na emigracji ; Theatre of polish émigrés

A great number of individual Polish actors and small theatre companies are active all over the world; sometimes, a visiting production from Poland excites the émigré audiences strengthening their ties with the mother country. Two key notions help to understand both the ethos and the history of theatre of Polish émigrés: (1) “Citizen’s theatre” is a theatre in which spiritual, human, ethical, patriotic and communal values play the most important role, while aesthetic and utilitarian values are secondary. (2) “Theatre of service”, which is created in order to serve the spectators, to help them to preserve their traditions, support their needs, and express their hopes. The structure of theatre life of Polish émigrés can be visualized as a three-layer pyramid. Its foundation is made of dense and ubiquitous “theatricality of life”, which permeates all areas of life, such as social, familial, religious, political, academic, sport, or commerce. Manifestations of “theatricality” include weddings, anniversaries, parades, jubilees, funerals, liturgies, processions, celebrations of Christmas, Easter, or Corpus Christi, and other events and activities. They use Polish imagery, symbols, costumes and/or songs. “Theatricality” employs theatre’s categories: action, characters, structuring the space and the time of the event, as well as theatre’s means of expression. Above “theatricality” is a deep layer of amateur theatre practiced at schools, parishes and various associations and organizations. Polish amateur productions in the US have been recorded since the 1870s in the cities of especially numerous Polish population such as Chicago, Buffalo, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New York. Polish amateur theatre companies can be found in many countries. The tip of the pyramid consists of the performances given by Polish professionals abroad and tours of Polish productions. Helena Modrzejewska, in America known as Modjeska (1840-1909), after stardom in Kraków and Warsaw arrived in America in 1876, and made a splendid, thirty ...