Dzieci Theater Presents Fool's Mass

Dzieci (djyeh-chee) is an international experimental theatre ensemble dedicated to a search for the "sacred" through the medium of theatre. "Dzieci" is the Polish word for "Children".

In Dzieci, we believe the creative act must, primarily, have a transformative effect on the artist himself. We make no pretensions of altruism. If others are involved in our efforts - as students, audiences, patients, (or even fellow group members) - it is because a relationship with them is a natural extension for us to make in the context of our own development. Ultimately, the only gauge each of us has for measuring the effects of our work is our individual evolution, as artists and as human beings.

Using techniques garnered from such theatre masters as Jerzy Grotowski, Eugenio Barba and Peter Brook, ritual forms derived from Native American and Eastern spiritual disciplines, and an ethic based securely in Humanistic Psychology, Dzieci aims to create a theatre that is as equally engaged with personal transformation as it is with public presentation.

Towards this aim, the ensemble balances its work on performance with work of service, through creative and therapeutic interaction in hospitals and a variety of institutional settings. Dzieci believes helping others generates a profound healing effect that not only serves
the patient but also strengthens the ensemble's work.

Dzieci is firmly dedicated to process. Our theatrical creations come organically over a long period of time, and a relationship with the world around us is essential. Therefore, public demonstrations of the work in progress are offered along the way, along with para-theatrical workshops, which invite participants to experience the work underlying our most current investigations.

Fools Mass
In this work, a motley group of medieval village idiots are forced to enact their own Mass, due to the untimely death of their beloved pastor. Though it sounds grim, Fools Mass is full of buffoonery and comic audience participation. This, along with choral singing of sacred hymns and chants from the 8th through the 17th centuries, combines to create a work which travels from the ridiculous to the sublime.

www.dziecitheatre.org