Lectorium: documentary theater workshop

We had workshops with Catalan artist Helena Tornero, during which we learned the basics of creating documentary theater. After introductions and a brief overview, we focused on an event described in a newspaper. Based on this, we created a remarkable story where each of us had a role to play. We embodied fictional characters and performed an improvisation. We now realize the importance of the story conveyed and understand that everyone can see it through a specific frame. The next day was spent with Ewa Mikuła, a dramaturge, who helped us fully grasp the concept of documentary theater. We started with the screening of two interconnected documentaries ("The Visit" and "So It Doesn’t Hurt") directed by Marcel Łoziński. After watching them, we had lively discussions about maintaining ethics in documentary work, the art of conducting interviews, and choosing the appropriate format for such films. Ewa passionately and devotedly shared her experiences, after which we moved on to practice. We conducted interviews in pairs about travels and then narrated specific stories from our partner's perspective in front of everyone. This exercise demonstrated that even with the same topic, different aspects can be highlighted, and stories can be presented in an ethically appropriate way.