A reflexion about the concept of contact according to Jerzy Grotowski

• Grant number: 15/22033-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2016
• End date: July 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Arts - Theatre
• Principal Investigator: Matteo Bonfitto Júnior
• Grantee: Dante Arruda Paccola
• Host Institution: Instituto de Artes (IA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In what concerns the actor's search for the dominance and mastery of his expressive resources, the notion of being in contact - reacting to the circumstances and peculiarities of his surroundings during the scene - took relevant emphasis throughout history, by the means of exercises and discussions that understood such characteristic as a significative element on the actor's performance. However, within the director Jerzy Grotowski's perspective, an erroneous assimilation of such aspect was frequently observed in the theatrical scene, as many actors linked the richness and complexity of their psychophysical apparatuses with some sort of narcissism, exalting the personal element as the only resource and goal to their work. Through the recognition and exposure of this question, Grotowski, in 1966, readapted an embracing principle to his lexicon, discourse and work procedures, synthesized by him as 'contact'. More than an abstract notion, contact proposed the concrete need to be in constant relation with a partner during the acting exercise, be this partner real or evoked by one's imagination. The goal of the present work, therefore, comprises a theoretical investigation about such concept, comprehending in its framework the period in which the concept was most explored by Grotowski (1965-1969). It is intended, thus, to promote a case study about the relevance of this aspect on the acting exercise.