The article discusses the results of the research carried out in theatres in the Silesian Region of Poland among the technical and administrative staff. The research concerned a crisis situation of director change, often a turning point in the life of each theatre. We examined the employees’ attitudes, emotions, and opinions associated with the change. We selected teams that were lower in the theatre hierarchy than the artistic team. It turned out that, contrary to popular opinion, the change in the directorial seat has a certain impact on these employees, who are extremely aware of the processes taking place in the organization. The empowerment of theatre employees postulated in discussions about culture coincides with the results of our research. It creates an opportunity for the traditionally-managed theatres to transform themselves into so-called learning organizations.  

The article is an attempt to look at the principles of operation and the resulting organizational practices characteristic of the Cricot and Cricot 2 Theatres. By recalling the work of the pre-war Cricot Theatre, the author puts forward a thesis that the theatre had developed practices and modes of action typical of the contemporary artistic collective. The cooperating group of artists, with Józef Jarema as an undoubted leader, was quite a flexible constellation, re-established in different configurations with each subsequent undertaking. This mode of operation strongly influenced the aesthetics of particular performances and artistic evenings. The further part of the article raises the issue of the impact of Jarema’s theatre on its post-war successor, the Cricot 2 Theatre. It turns out that the initial Cricot 2 performances stemmed from similar concepts of theatre group organization. When describing also Tadeusz Kantor’s later work in this context, the author emphasizes the artist’s perverse takeover of the collective modus operandi, which he consciously utilized in the realization of his own authorial vision of theatre. The disputes which emerged over the artistic heritage of the Cricot 2 Theatre immediately after Kantor’s death are also discussed. By raising questions about the status of creators and co-creators of the Cricot and Cricot 2 Theatres, and thus about the type and distribution of power in these organizations, the author observes certain organizational mechanisms which, in these cases, took or could have taken place. 

In 2019, a call for a new director for Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium – Odin Teatret was published. This, however, did not mean that the artistic leader of the group theatre Odin Teatret, Eugenio Barba, was to be replaced completely – there is a distinction between the laboratory and the theatre. In this article, we explore the problem of the passing on legacy and tradition from one generation to another in group theatres such as Odin Teatret. We ask: (1) How would it have been possible to continue after such a visionary director retired? (2) Would the next step be continuation or something new? In search for the answers we discuss the history, method, and dramaturgy of Odin Teatret and Barba, as well as the process of generational change in the laboratory, using documents which assess the situation of the organization and analyzing Barba’s theoretical writings. We consider them in terms of transformational leadership theory. In conclusion, we deliberate on possible scenarios of the generational change in group theatres that could provide a balance between keeping the tradition and implementing the new vision. 

The position (today the profession) of a puppet theatre director appeared on a large scale after the WWII and, with the development of institutional state puppet theatres, to a large extent determined the artistic shape of theatres. From the very beginning, this position generated considerable tensions in the milieu. The author discusses the main conflicts around the puppet theatre directorial positions in the Polish post-war period and analyses the reasons behind personnel shuffles. Because he was the head of two different puppet theatres in the 21st century, the author also shares his personal experience and reflections.

Models of theatre management in Poland are a widely discussed issue, given the fact that no satisfactory role model of a theatre leader and manager has yet been developed. This paper proposes a critical view of one of the most famous directorial tenures in Polish theatre, i.e. the management of Maciej Nowak at the Wybrzeże Theatre in Gdańsk (2000–2006). In this context, it aims to identify the most urgent problems related to theatre management and to answer the question of how they can be prevented. Maciej Nowak’s managerial practices are analysed in the context of the management paradigms developed by Peter Bendixen [2008] and in relation to the three-part (artist–priest–manager) leadership model proposed by Mary Jo Hatch, Monika Kostera, and Andrzej K. Koźmiński [2010].

The article focuses on the presentation of the circumstances under which Izabella Cywińska resigned as the Artistic Director of the Ateneum Theatre. The author tries to discover the roots of this notorious failure by comparing Cywińska’s activities with those implemented by Stefan Jaracz. The comparative analysis of the two management strategies covers the managers’ previous experience, repertoire and personnel policies, and internal and external conflicts. Cywińska’s turbulent three-year tenure provides a good opportunity to take a look at the situation when new repertoire and personnel changes argue with the expectations of actors accustomed to different methods and embodying different values. The paper attempts to answer the question of why the changes described by Cywińska as evolution could have been perceived by the artists as revolution. The confrontation of the two management styles gives one a chance to look at her tenure from a broader and less obvious perspective. Moreover, it shows that the intention of carrying out Jaracz’s last will and testament was doomed to fail. 

A theatre is where the audience meets the art, a place of culture, but also an organisation typically managed by a strong artist-leader. This organisation, along with its management, have already been examined and discussed from many different angles. In their book The Three Faces of Leadership: Manager, Artist, Priest, Mary Jo Hatch, Monika Kostera, and Andrzej K. Koźmiński deliberate management from the perspective of a theatrical metaphor. By analysing reality through a theatrical interpretation, it is possible to look at the life of the organisation as a closed system with its elements closely intertwined and participating in various types of interactions. In this paper, the observations made by the three researchers will be used to analyse the management tenure of Jacek Głomb at the Helena Modrzejewska Theatre in Legnica. 

Teatr i władza.  Recenzja książki Thomas Schmidt, Macht und Struktur im Theater. Asymmetrien der Macht

Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2019, 444 ss., ISBN: 978-3-658-26450-5