Tomasz Rodowicz

Tomasz Rodowicz (born 1951, Poland) is an actor, director, musician, teacher, historian of philosophy, and beekeeper. He worked with Jerzy Grotowski from 1974 to 1976 before co-creating the Centre for Theatre Practices Gardzienice (1977–2004), with which he performed in An Evening Performance, Sorcery, The Life of Archpriest Avvakum, Carmina Burana and Metamorphoses. In 2004, together with Dorota Porowska and Elżbieta Rojek, he initiated the CHOREA Theatre Association, of which he is President and leader. He has directed or co-directed many of CHOREA’s performances, including the triptych: Hode Galatan, After the Birds and Bakkus (with Jim Ennis and Jessica Cohen of Earthfall Theatre in Wales), Songs of Euripides, Play(ing) Mr Cogito Games, Grotowski: An Attempt to Retreat, suremaybe (2011, with Małgorzata Lipczyńska), The Bacchae, Szpera 42 (with Ruthie Osterman, Israel), The Brain (2013), DERBY.White-and-Red (2015), The Crack (2016), and performed in most of them. He is also the director of the multiple-awarded 200-performer dance and music extravaganza Oratorium Dance Project, an initiative bringing together professional dancers, a choir and the Łódź Philharmonic Orchestra with young people, many of whom come from socially excluded groups. Rodowicz is the co-founder and artistic director of the Art Factory in Łódź (2007), and the founder and artistic director of the Retroperspektywy International Theatre Festival. He has taught at the Łódź Film School since 2011.