Dzieci Theater Fool's Mass

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. Dzieci (djyehchee) 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 paratheatrical workshops, which invite participants to experience the work underlying our most current investigations. Matt Mitler (Company Director) was initially trained in Humanistic and Existential Psychology, before discovering the healing potential of theatre. He considers his therapeutic study with such masters as R.D. Laing and Carl Rogers to be equal to his theatrical study with Jerzy Grotowski and Eugenio Barba. Combining these two pursuits, he began to lead workshops in a variety of settings including Hutchings Psychiatric Center (NY); The National Theatre School of Sweden; and the graduate school of The University of Psychology of Warsaw, where, in 1980, his essay, "Art and Therapy" was published in the anthology, New Directions in Psychotherapy. To date, Matt has designed and directed over 70 theatrical productions, appeared on numerous television programs, and starred in over a dozen independent feature films. Though continuing to act, teach, and direct, Mr. Mitler's primary focus is on Theatre Group Dzieci, which he founded, here in New York City, in 1997. He and Dzieci are featured in the book, Working on the Inside: The Spiritual Life Through the Eyes of Actors by Retta Blaney, and profiled in the current edition of The Encyclopedia of Religion. General Admission $16.00