Theater - I see, I hear, I understand
In the 2022/2023 season, the Lubuski Theater in Zielona Góra implemented the project "Theatre - I see, I hear, I understand" (receiving a grant in the "Culture Without Barriers" project implemented by the State Fund for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons PFRON).
It assumed a number of activities aimed at adapting the artistic and educational offer and equipment of the Lubuskie Theater in such a way that people with special needs could also take an active part in the events. The project included activities aimed at improving accessibility, reception and enabling fuller participation in events through:
- sign translation and audio description of performances,
- performative readings with PJM,
- touch tour workshops before performances,
- film and text guides to the theater,
- pre-guides to performances.
Purchase of equipment and supplies:
- receivers for audio description, typhlography,
- induction loops and noise-cancelling headphones,
- educational/sensory toys,
- evacuation equipment and creation of a relaxation area.
In addition to project events related to the implementation of the grant (performances and performative readings with facilities), as part of the theater's statutory activities, we also organized theater lessons for people with visual impairments, consisting of visiting places normally inaccessible to viewers, such as theater warehouses. These places were described by the host, the participants also had the opportunity to touch various props and get acquainted with the collections of costumes and dolls.
We also hosted schools with integration units twice for such lessons, and (also twice) children from the Kindergarten with Units for Children with Autism "Next Together". All participants bravely marched through the theater building, which gave them many positive impressions.
We also organized workshops for two groups of preschoolers on the autism spectrum using toys purchased as part of the project. After a simple physical warm-up, the children learned, among others: expressing emotions using facial expressions, drawing colorful bags with illustrations, learning about the textures of various materials, and finally playing with colorful squishy toys.
Thanks to the implementation of this project, we helped people with special needs familiarize themselves with the theater.
Art Spaces
The Lubuski Theater in Zielona Góra has been the operator of the Art Spaces program since 2020 (financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the budget of the Lubuskie Voivodeship. The program is implemented by the National Institute of Music and Dance and the Zbigniew Raszewski Theater Institute). Since then, we have managed to implement a lot of activities covering the entire voivodeship. Art Spaces are intended to take into account the needs of the local environment (primarily reach people who have limited access to culture on a daily basis), as well as support the activities of independent artists and provide creative space for art school graduates.
As part of the Art Spaces program, we also prepare various educational activities. During artistic workshops, held for children from Poland and Ukraine, two experienced instructors: choreographer and teacher Wioletta Łuczak and Ukrainian artist Anastasiia Shcherbyna, currently living in Zielona Góra, used various artistic techniques (dance, singing, acrobatics, art classes), wanting to help participants find the artistic form they are interested in. As a result, both national groups got to know each other better in an atmosphere of mutual respect for the represented cultures, traditions and life experiences.
The artistic effect of joint activities was the play Better Tomorrow, prepared by children and young people from both countries, staged in front of the Lubuski Theater, as well as in Złotnik and Budachów, in August 2022.
The project, carried out as part of the Art Space, was also part of the "Brave Kids - Children's Artistic Olympics 2022" program, initiated by Grzegorz Bral, financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund - a state earmarked fund.
For children and teenagers, we have prepared a series of theater lessons "Get to know theater professions", during which we presented individual theater-related professions. We organized meetings with directors, set designers, costume designers, actors, make-up artists, stage managers, seamstresses, stage editors, lighting engineers and employees of the impresario and administration. In this way, young viewers could learn about the work of theater people who are usually invisible to the public.
In 2022, a seminar on theater criticism was held, dedicated to young people, students and adults. Workshops and meetings with critics were held, including: with Marek Załudny (critic, dance theorist) and local reviewers of Dziennik Teatralny. During the meetings, theater was discussed, knowledge about the specifics of writing reviews was expanded, and the role and condition of dance theater in Poland were discussed.
In the fall of 2022, we also carried out the Creative Activity Festival, addressed to children, which included art workshops with Adam Borkowski, costume design with Adam Łucki, and directing workshops with Maciej Archon Michalski. In addition, there were workshops on artistic and creative photography for children and teenagers with photographers from Zielona Góra: Dariusz Biczyński and Aleksandra Łupkowska. During the classes, participants learned methods and techniques of photographic documentation of performances. They also acquired skills in creating materials and presentations on the Internet.
As part of the workshops conducted by the dancer and choreographer Paweł Matyasik under the slogan "Theatre for Health", the participants developed awareness of their own bodies in various theater spaces. Classes took place in November 2022.
In the fall of 2023, we have prepared artistic workshops for primary school students (film, scenography, art), which comprehensively stimulated their imagination. Young viewers could, among others: create a mask or come up with a scene from a horror movie in the context of Halloween.
"Theater relieves pain" - under this slogan, meetings of LT actors were organized in December 2022 with children from schools and kindergartens with integration units. Actors read fairy tales to children and presented puppets, and students could try animating them.
In October 2023, Adam Łucki, together with students of the State Secondary School of Fine Arts in Zielona Góra, prepared two exhibitions:
- Archiving firecracker - the history of the Lubuskie Theater in 24 photos
- Gusła – theater costume
Art Spaces give us, as a theater outside a large urban center, the opportunity to organize a very large number of events in which we involve many young people, independent artists and people who are culturally excluded on a daily basis. Over these few years, we have also established permanent cooperation with schools, kindergartens and local institutions conducting cultural and educational activities.
The Lubuskie Theater offers not only performances, but also educational activities that help understand our specific world. We have several options for schools, kindergartens and organized groups of all ages:
THEATER LESSONS
Are you wondering what scenography is and how it "appears" on stage? In the theater, who deals with light and who deals with music? Is theater only about actors? During a walk around the mysterious nooks and crannies of the Lubuskie Theater, you will find answers to these and other questions. During a joint tour of the theater, you will learn about the construction of the stage, theater competitions and the work of people who are not visible during the performance. We will sit in the audience, look from the balcony and find out how many people actually work on the performances. We will also take a look at theater magazines, where you will be able to see theater props and try on costume elements.
Cost: PLN 7 / 1 participant (group guardians: free entry)
Duration: 45 minutes
Presenters: Joanna Marcinkowska, Natalia Walczak-Wachowska
We invite groups of people of all ages to visit the Lubuski Theater (note: minimum 10 people!)
Pre-registration required:
j.marcinkowska@teatr.zgora.pl
tel. 664 713 587
(from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)
IMPORTANT! If a group wants to sign up for a theater lesson after a performance and there are two performances on a given day, the theater lesson takes place only after the second performance! Please take this into account when registering.
THEATER WORKSHOPS
Workshops develop creativity and "expand" theater reality, allowing participants to become familiar with theater. Therefore, we have prepared two offers for organized groups (min. 10 people):
Theater workshops accompanying performances
Do you feel unsatisfied after watching the show? Would you like to talk about the content of the show? Would you like to become an actor or a set designer for a while? Stay with us after the show. During the workshops, we will conduct theater and art tasks with you related to the content of the performance you are watching. The aim of the workshops is to enable a more conscious reception of the performance and to create a space for freely expressing one's feelings, impressions and thoughts, as well as asking questions.
Cost: PLN 7 / 1 participant (group guardians: free entry)
Duration: approx. 1 hour
Number of participants: minimum 10 people, maximum 25 people (or one school class)
Presenters: Joanna Marcinkowska, Natalia Walczak-Wachowska
Pre-registration required:
j.marcinkowska@teatr.zgora.pl
tel. 664 713 587
(from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)
Theater workshops (general, not related to the performance)
Workshops that do not refer to a specific performance. Would you like to spend your time a little differently than usual? Do you want to diversify your children's (but not only) day or organize an alternative way to spend time? We invite you to the Lubuski Theater for theater workshops. While playing together, you will learn the basics of working with an object, improvise, develop your imagination and body awareness. With the help of props and costume elements, you will feel like actors taking on a role. You will see how many associations sound can bring and how it is possible for actors to speak so clearly from the stage.
Cost: PLN 7/participant (group guardians: free entry)
Duration: min. 1 hour (time and form of workshops are agreed individually with the group)
Number of participants: minimum 10 people, maximum 25 people (or one school class)
Presenters: Joanna Marcinkowska, Natalia Walczak-Wachowska
We invite organized groups to theater workshops at the Lubuski Theater (note: minimum 10 people!)
Pre-registration required:
j.marcinkowska@teatr.zgora.pl
tel. 664 713 587
(from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)