Workshops on creative expression of the body and voice

Let’s take a journey into our bodies and allow them to express and communicate freely.
During this short workshop, led by an actor specializing in puppet theatre and physical theatre, participants will have the opportunity to engage their bodies and voices in a creative process.

The program includes:

• exercises to develop body awareness and stage presence,
• elements of acting training based on free movement and breathwork,
• activities stimulating imagination and creativity,
• exploration of form, rhythm, and space in theatre,
• the idea of dialogue and attentiveness to a partner.

The workshop is open to anyone interested in theatre and in exploring the creative potential of their body. Please bring comfortable clothing and a positive attitude. :)

Mateusz Smaczny – actor, theatre educator. Since 2011, primarily associated with the Białystok Puppet Theatre, although he has also collaborated with institutions such as the Jerzy Grotowski Institute and the Danuta Baduszkowa Musical Theatre in Gdynia. His main areas of expertise include puppet, physical, and musical theatre.

He is the co-creator and co-director of several acclaimed productions developed in collaboration with independent artists (including Son, Three Quarters to Death, and Forest Tales).

He has received numerous awards for his work, including Best Actor at the International Puppet Theatre Festival SPOTKANIA in Toruń (for Little Miss), Best Supporting Actor in a radio play at the Dwa Teatry Festival in Sopot (Life on the Bumper), and a special mention in the POLUNIMA poll for the most promising young puppeteer (Maidens’ Vows).

He has been honored with national awards, including the Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis and the Bronze Cross of Merit. The performances he has co-created have been presented and awarded at many prestigious festivals in Poland and abroad.

Since 2012, he has been a lecturer at the Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art. He received his PhD in Theatre Arts for his dissertation The Body Awareness of a Puppet Actor, later published by the Academy as an ebook.
He is also a recipient of the Minister of Education’s Scholarship for Outstanding Young Scientists.