Dionysus 360

DESCRIPTION OF THE PERFORMANCE: 

‘‘Dionysus 360" (virtual reality) is na experimental performance recorded with a 360 degrees camera on the basis of three tragedies by Euripides: ‘‘The Phoenician Women“, ‘‘The Suppliants“ and ‘‘The Bacchae“. We want to emphasize reconstruction and show the mechanism of character transformation. In this way, we will continue and develop the discoveries made as part of the artistic and research project "Dynamika Metamorfozy / The Dynamics of Metamorphosis", which we started to implement in 2012.

The subject of our studies is a never before studied sequence of roles performed by three ancient actors who played all the characters of the tragedy - therefore, there are not more than three characters on stage at once, except for the choir. It turned out that from the algorithm of entrances and exits of characters, only one "feasible" combination is possible for most tragedies. Our assumptions were confirmed that the order of changes is a carrier of meanings for the whole trilogy, it determines the selection of acting means, and directly affects the stage behaviour of the characters. Subsequent embodiments of the actors give new meanings to the myth cited in the tragedy, and the chain of changes connects all the characters played by one actor into one meta-character. Its subsequent embodiments urge one other and anticipate their appearance on stage, continuously reminding the viewer who is hiding behind the mask. The succession of the characters played allows the actor to create space in the previous one for the next, and in the situation of quoting it allows to speak to the viewer in an already known voice of the quoted character, who suddenly severely "does not match" the new mask. Euripides makes the viewer aware of how far one can identify with someone else's fate, joy or suffering and encourages it. This extraordinary inclusion of the fate of various people is done according to certain rules. The discovery and understanding of them through acting experience is the subject of this project.

Referring to the way of work of ancient actors, as well as responding to the epidemic circumstances, we decided to try a new way of working over scripts. Each of the actors worked in isolation - the first and only joint meeting will take place during the premiere. Actors working in isolation, frequently closed at their homes, will inevitably be forced to place the greatest emphasis on interpretation of the text and character, but also on understanding the mechanism of changes. The need to leave room for the partner, to predict his presence in one’s own actions, the effectiveness of which will be verified only on the day of the premiere, in front of the viewers - will allow us to better understand the workshop of an ancient actor. Thanks to the use of VR technology, the recipient of the experience is invited to actively participate in the performance, to look around the stage. Acoustically, he is still at the heart of the action, and thanks to omnidirectional cameras he can decide for himself which actor he follows, who he is watching at a given moment. This kind of audience involvement in the performance creates a completely new form of reception, which paradoxically brings us closer to ancient predecessors.

We hope that - just like before - in neTTheatree's activities - the Theatre in the Web, the first online theatre in the world originating from CHOREA, we will be able to invite a completely new viewer to the theatre.
 

INFORMATION ABOUT THE ARTISTS: 

neTTheatre - Theatre in the Web is a group established by director Paweł Passini and his collaborators, whose first premiere, the performance “Odpoczywanie” / "Requiem", took place in December 2007. The premiere took place with the participation of Internet users, and neTTheatre was hailed the first online theatre in the world. Currently, neTTheatre operates within the structure of the Center for Culture in Lublin, and also implements its projects through its Artists Association Near East. neTTheatre has been conceived out of the attempt to create a new artistic language, referring to modern forms of communication. It is a parallel, multi-faceted, unformatted message. This is also an attempt to understand the condition of a human of the beginning of the second millennium, being consciously and unconsciously in a tangle of signs and messages. For this reason, new technologies, which have appeared in the subsequent ventures of the Theatre in the Web, were used on stage for the first time (human voice visualizer, interactive virtual dancer, stage text editor controlled by actor's gesture and many others cyberrealistic tools created especially for the stage needs). Performances are accompanied by live improvised electro-acoustic music, frequently using the processed voice of actors. 

Paweł Passini - awarded Polish theatre director, playwright, composer, musician, performer and actor. One of the precursors of the interactive theatre in Poland. Founder of the world's first online theatre neTTheatre. A graduate of the Directing Department at the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw. Earlier, he studied philosophy and cultural studies at the University of Warsaw. He also graduated from the Academy of Theatre Practices in Gardzienice. As a diploma performance, he staged “Dybbuk” by Szymon An-ski at Teatr Nowy in Poznań. He has staged his performances in the following theatres: City Theatre in Gdynia, Puppet and Actor Theatre in Opole, Polish Theatre in Wrocław, CHOREA Theatre in Łódź, Wrocław Contemporary Theatre, Polish Theatre in Bielsko-Biała, Maska Thetre in Rzeszów, Juliusz Osterwa Theatre in Lublin, Polish Theatre in Warsaw, Stary Theatre in Kraków, Łaźnia Nowa Theatre in Kraków, Współczesny Theatre in Szczecin, the National Forum of Music, Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre and the Centre for Culture in Lublin. Paweł Passini is a travelling director, he worked among others in Israel, Finland, USA, India, Greece, Italy and Cyprus. He is a scholarship holder of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, winner of the Golden Mask Award for the play "Morrison/Son of Death" and "Dziady/Forefathers’ Eve" at the Opole Puppet and Actor Theatre, as well as Herald Angel and Total Theatre Award at the Edinburgh Festival FRINGE, he also received GRAND PRIX for the show "The HIDEOUT" at the International Kontrapunkt Festival in Szczecin, Konrad Swinarski Award for directing the play "Morrison/Son of Death”. Paweł Passini was nominated for Polityka Passport Award twice. Since 2009 he has been associated with Lublin, where neTTheatre moved to the Centre for Culture.

Paweł Janyst - graduate of Ludwik Solski PWST in Kraków at the Puppetry Department. Performer of several film roles, including: "Kamienie na szaniec" / "Stones on the Barricade" dir. Robert Gliński, TV series "Czas Honoru - Powstanie" / "Time of Honour - Uprising" dir. Jan Hryniak, "Szczęście świata" / "Happiness of the world" dir. Michał Rosa, "Agnus Dei" dir. Anne Fontaine. He cooperated with such theatrical directors as Wojciech Brawer and Marta Steker. Since 2015, he has been associated with neTTheatre and director Paweł Passini, for whom he played in such performances as "Biogeny" / "Poles", "Pudełko" / "Box", "Znak Jonasza" / "Mark of Jonah", "Requiem", "Dybbuk", “Hindełe, siesta Sztukmistrza" / "Hindełe, sister of the Magician” and “Widma" / "Ghosts”.

Daniel Słomiński - bass player, music producer, multi-instrumentalist. Leader of the team of instrumentalists D’Roots Brothers, cooperating with plenty of artists of the alternative music scene: Jacek Kleyff, Jerzy "Słoma" Słomiński, Damian Syjon Fam, Junior Stress. He has been cooperating with Paweł Passini for years: Gala "European Poet of Freedom" (Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre), "Requiem" (The Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute,Warsaw), "DyBBuk" (Polish Theatre in Bielsko Biała), ”Hindełe, siostra sztukmistrza” / "Hindełe, sister of the magician" (Juliusz Osterwa Theatre in Lublin), "Burza" / ”Storm” (Centrum Kultury, Lublin), “Mistrz i Małgorzata” / "The Master and Margarita" (The Ludowy Theatre in Nowa Huta), " J_D_ _ _ _ E Zapominanie" / ”J_D_ _ _ _ E Forgetting” (The Modjeska Theatre in Legnica).

Przemysław Wasilkowski - graduate of the Polish National Film School in Łódź. Between 1994 and 1999 he worked at the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards in Pontedera, he actively participated in the creative process of the Workcenter, in the development of a performative structure called ”Action”.As an actor, he has worked with the following theatres: Teatr Nowy in Łódź, Teatr Polski in Poznań, the Bretoncaffe Theatre in Warsaw, STUDIO Teatrgaleria in Warsaw, the Stanisław Wyspiański Teatr Śląski in Katowice and the Grotowski Institute, Zona Castalia in Turin, ARCAT and Atelier Monique Stalens in Paris. His original productions have been presented on festivals in Finland, France, Greece, Japan and Italy, among others.

Subsidised by the National Centre for Culture under the programme Kultura w sieci.