MARIO BIAGINI WORKSHOP

During August, 2006, NACL hosted a 5 day workshop led by Mario Biagini from the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards in Pontedera, Italy. This was indeed a rare and amazing opportunity as Mario Biagini and Thomas Richards do not often come to the USA to work.  Mr. Biagini came to NACL's Highland Lake, NY Theatre to work with NACL and guest performers August 7-11, 2006.  The workshop focused on performer training through voice and song.   Participants lived and worked at NACL theatre and the artists residence.

Mario Biagini, Associate Director of “Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards” (Pontedera, Italy) has been a central contributor to the practical research of the Workcenter for twenty years, arriving to the Pontedera research center at its founding in 1986. Born in Florence, Italy in 1964, after several professional experiences as actor in France and in Italy, began work in 1986 as a member of the practical research team of the Workcenter. He became an early key member of the Workcenter research known as “art as vehicle” working in the team led by Thomas Richards. Mr. Biagini was doer in Downstairs Action (filmed in 1989 by Mercedes Gregory), and is presently a principal doer in Action (filmed in 2000 by “Trois temps deux mouvements”, and in 2003 by “ACCAAN”), performative opus at the Workcenter in the domain of “art as vehicle”.
 
Mario Biagini also is a leader in Project The Bridge: Developing Theatre Arts, which comprises  a new branch of the Workcenter research. He was main director and actor of One Breath Left, and presently is the main director and actor of Dies Iræ: The Preposterous Theatrum Interioris Show (both of which are performative works created within Project The Bridge).
 
Earlier, in 1997 and 1998, without interrupting his participation in Workcenter research, Mario Biagini assisted Jerzy Grotowski in the preparation of lessons and conferences for the Collège de France. Since 1990 Mr. Biagini has conducted a personal and autonomous research - based on original texts and sources - on theatrical and ritual traditions of India, special concentration being placed on the Hindu and Buddhist tantric lineages of Northern India. Such research runs parallel to Workcenter research, at times enriching the exploration of texts and work done within the Workcenter, as can be witnessed in Project The Bridge: Developing Theater Arts.
 
Beginning relatively early in his residency at the Workcenter, Biagini was entrusted by Grotowski with significant artisanal and pedagogical responsibilities, leading one of three working groups active during the Workcenter’s early years and guiding development of a large-scale performative structure referred to as “Macro Version,” rooted in narrative motifs drawn from Gnostic literature. Biagini’s interest in performance craft and development of his own directorial skills led Grotowski to suggest he work as director for Theatre OX, a company comprised of four Singaporean actresses selected for residency at the Workcenter in 1998. The research initiated during this period has been pursued consistently throughout the intervening years, eventually articulating itself in the framework of Project The Bridge: Developing Theatre Arts, for which Biagini exercises primary creative and pedagogical responsibilities. This line of research has been pursued through ongoing development embracing profound dramaturgical evolution, as well as markedly significant accomplishments and breakthroughs in deepening and refining the actors’ scores.
 
Biagini is an engaging and generous teacher and workleader, with extensive experience in practical creative instruction in both workshop formats and more inventive artistic residencies. Through the Workcenter’s extensive interactions with international theatre artists and companies in the format of work exchange, Biagini has had the opportunity to develop a challenging yet affirming mode of critique that identifies and emphasizes creative possibilities in the work of students and artists while also rigorously challenging each individual to push past the limits of his or her respective capacities.

With attention to singing, physical training, and an approach to developing performance material rooted in the principles of Stanislavski’s Method of Physical Actions, Biagini’s work sessions provided a rare and valuable opportunity for North American artists and students to engage with the practical work of such a significant and innovative performer and teacher.