PhD Study : Jerzy Grotowski’s legacies

Apply and key information  

Summary

This project intends to deepen our understanding of the impact of the work of the Polish theatre director Jerzy Grotowski (1933-1999), and his collaborators and followers, in the world of performance today. Grotowski is considered one of the most influential practitioners and thinkers of the 20th century, and his concepts and practice of ‘Poor Theatre’, ‘Paratheatre’, and ‘Art as Vehicle’, revolutionised the way we think of theatre and performance.

Thanks to encounters with numerous (and sometimes neglected) performers and performing communities all over the world, Grotowski and his international collaborators opened new perspectives in the transcultural studies of art as work on the self, art in relation to ritual, and art practice connected to spirituality and altered states of consciousness. However, despite the vast presence of performative and educational activities connected to Grotowski’s legacy, research specifically related to the (international) cultural, social and aesthetic impact of his methodologies around the development of the self through art is exceedingly rare in contemporary performance studies.

This project intends to help filling this gap, and propose an initiative that may cover both documentation and PaR, in international environments, with aims to detect and promote globally further understanding of the impact of the work of Jerzy Grotowski and his collaborators.

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

  • Experience using research methods or other approaches relevant to the subject domain
  • Research proposal of 2000 words detailing aims, objectives, milestones and methodology of the project
  • A demonstrable interest in the research area associated with the studentship

Desirable Criteria

If the University receives a large number of applicants for the project, the following desirable criteria may be applied to shortlist applicants for interview.

  • First Class Honours (1st) Degree
  • Completion of Masters at a level equivalent to commendation or distinction at Ulster
  • Publications record appropriate to career stage
  • Experience of presentation of research findings
  • A comprehensive and articulate personal statement
  • Use of personal initiative as evidenced by record of work above that normally expected at career stage.

Funding and eligibility

The University offers the following levels of support:

Vice Chancellors Research Studentship (VCRS)

The following scholarship options are available to applicants worldwide:

  • Full Award: (full-time tuition fees + £19,000 (tbc))
  • Part Award: (full-time tuition fees + £9,500)
  • Fees Only Award: (full-time tuition fees)

These scholarships will cover full-time PhD tuition fees for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance) and will provide a £900 per annum research training support grant (RTSG) to help support the PhD researcher.

Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Please note: you will automatically be entered into the competition for the Full Award, unless you state otherwise in your application.

Department for the Economy (DFE)

The scholarship will cover tuition fees at the Home rate and a maintenance allowance of £19,000 (tbc) per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance).

This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.

  • Candidates with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, who also satisfy a three year residency requirement in the UK prior to the start of the course for which a Studentship is held MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance.
  • Republic of Ireland (ROI) nationals who satisfy three years’ residency in the UK prior to the start of the course MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance (ROI nationals don’t need to have pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to qualify).
  • Other non-ROI EU applicants are ‘International’ are not eligible for this source of funding.
  • Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living

Recommended reading

Antarowa, K. Studioarbeit mit Stanislawski. Berlin: Henschel, 1951. Barba, E. Land of Ashes and Diamonds: My Apprenticeship in Poland – Followed by 26 letters from Jerzy Grotowski to Eugenio Barba. Aberystwyth: Black Mountain Press, 1999.

Barba, E., Savarese, N. (ed.), A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology. The Secret Art of the Performer. London: Routledge, 2003.

Benedetti, J. Stanislavski: A Biography. New York: Routledge, 1990.

Benedetti, J. Stanislavski and the Actor. New York: Routledge, 1998.

Brunton, P. A Search in Secret India. York Beach, Maine: Samuel Weiser, 1934.

Bulgakov, M. Black Snow. A Theatrical Novel. London: Vintage Books, 2005.

Campo, G., and Molik, Z. Zygmunt Molik’s Voice and Body Work – The Legacy of Jerzy Grotowski. New York and London: Routledge, 2010.

Campo, G., Acting the Essence. The Performer’s Work on the Self. London/New York: Routledge, 2022

Flaszen, L., and Pollastrelli, C., eds. Il Teatr Laboratorium di Jerzy Grotowski 1959– 1969.

Pontedera: Fondazione Pontedera Teatro, 2001.

Carnicke, Sh.M. ‘Stanislavsky. Uncensored and Unabridged’. The Drama Review 37 (Spring 1993): 33–34.

Grotowski, J. Towards a Poor Theatre. London: Methuen, 1968.

Grotowski, J. Tecniche Originarie dell’Attore. Transcribed and edited by L. Tinti. Rome: University of Rome La Sapienza, 1983.

Grotowski, J. ‘Untitled Text by Jerzy Grotowski, Signed in Pontedera, Italy, July 4, 1998’. TDR 43, no. 2 (Summer 1999): 11–12.

Grotowski, J. ‘Reply to Stanislavsky’. Translated by K. Salata, TDR 52 no. 2 (2008): 31–39.

Grotowski, J. An Attempt of a Portrait, directed by Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz. Katowice: TVP S.A./ARTE, 1999 [Film].

Inicjaly, J.G. [Initials J.G.] (Documentary on Jerzy Gurawski), directed by Miroslawa Sikorska. Katowice: TVP S.A., 1996 [Film].

Kosiński, D., ed. ‘Looks from afar’. In ‘Performer’ issue n.6/2013. Wrocław: Grotowski Institute .Accessed 14 February 2022 https://grotowski .net / performer /performer -6 /spojrzenia -z -oddali

Hoover, M.L. Meyerhold, The Art of Conscious Theatre. Amherts: University of Massachusetts Press, 1074.

Leach, R. Vsevolod Meyerhold. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Mauss, M. Techniques of the Body (1935), in Techniques, Technology and Civilisation. New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2006.

Richards, T. At Work with Grotowski on Physical Actions. Abigdon and Oxon: Routledge, 1993.

Ruffini, F. Stanislavskij – Dal lavoro dell’attore al lavoro su di s.. Bari: Laterza, 2005.

Ruffini, F. Theatre and Boxing: The Actor who Flies, trans. P. Warrington, London, Malta: Routledge/Icarus, 2014.

Schechner, R. Between Theater and Anthropology. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985.

Schechner, R., and Wolford, L., eds. The Grotowski Sourcebook. Abingdon, Oxon, and New York: Routledge, 1997.

Shevtsova, M. ‘Stanislavsky to Grotowski: Actor to Performer/Doer’. New Theatre Quarterly 30, no. 4 (2014): 333–340.

Walford, L., and Schechner R., eds. The Grotowski Sourcebook. New York: Routledge, 1997.

The Doctoral College at Ulster University

Key dates

Submission deadline
Monday 26 February 2024
04:00PM

Interview Date
mid to late March 2024

Preferred student start date
16 September 2024

Applying

Apply Online  

Contact supervisor

Dr Giuliano Campo

Other supervisors