This month our group had the chance to know more about theatre! We visited Stary Teatr, the first public theatre of Krakow, which was opened around two centuries ago. During the nazist occupation, the theatre was used by German soldiers.

Thanks to our guide, we discovered what’s behind a play. Costume designers, tailors, directors and playwrights must communicate. If they don’t listen to each other, tailors may sew something not suitable for the show, costume designers might not understand what’s actually needed and so on and so forth. Another important aspect is making as many  rehearsals as possible. This helps to see if everything works and to solve all the problems that may arise.

Then, it was our time. We had a workshop on non-verbal communication. In one activity, we had to form a line, first following the alphabetical order of our first names, then according to our birthday. What was the challenge? We weren’t allowed to speak, so we used gestures. This was our warm up, because once the line was formed, we played a non-verbal Whisper-Down-the-Lane. The first person was told a message, and had to try to depict it with body language to the person next in line. This message was then transmitted from person to person, and then we tried to guess what the original message was. It was hilarious!

In the second part, we wrote a comic with a special method. We were divided into two groups. Each member of the group had to choose and collect an object from a basket. Then, each of us drew two panels, including the selected object in the illustration.

In the second part, we wrote a comic with a special method. We were divided into two groups. Each member of the group had to choose and collect an object from a basket. Then, each of us drew two panels, including the selected object in the illustration. We followed a predetermined order and we couldn’t talk to each other, so we could just look at what had already been drawn. At the end, each group tried to put the panels of the other group in the correct order, according to the storyline. In both cases, we couldn’t reconstruct the original plot. This activity demonstrated that in a show, the audience doesn’t necessarily interpret what’s displayed as it was in the director’s mind. According to his or her background, a person can perceive a play in many different ways.

It was a remarkable day together! We could discover how a theatre works and about the Stary Teatr here in Krakow. After the meeting, we felt able to use non-verbal communication more effectively.