I cannot see why not

Dear Sirs,

My name is Katarzyna Bogucka and I come from Poland.
I am a film director, a screenwriter and a social activist in the field of culture and art. Currently, within the frames of my engagement in social problems I am making a research on blind actors. I focuse on possibilities of their cooperation with professional theater groups.

I am looking for pros and cons of such cooperation, also from the point of view of a theater director. I am interested whether theater people see any values in such cooperation and how they should work having a blind or partially sighted actor in a group.

At present I am collecting opinions of those who are involved in such theater activities and would like share their experiences. I got involved in this topic 8 years ago when I met Scena Moliere‘a theater group which consists of blind and sight disabled actors and with whom professional actors occassionally work. Since then I have been watching the achievements of Scena Moliere‘a and keep being impressed by the involvement of the actors in the artistic work.

Although Scena Moliere’a does not have its permanent seat, the actors prepare performances on a proffessional level and make profit from giving guest performances around Poland.

Scena Moliere’a does not receive any financial support from the related authorities because is not treated by them seriously.

After so many years of working on a stage the actors with sight disabilities would wish to have a school educating the future proffessional blind actors. But has their wish a chance to come true?

These actors have been doing their best to convince the authorities and generally the whole society that the education of people with sight disabilities does not have to be limitted only to the basic adaptation to life but should also consider the natural talents and interests of each person and create a chance to develope them.

In the theater environment, among directors and actors a question may now arise whether they are ready and willing to work with blind actors. Or maybe a „new brench“ of a theater , only for blind actors should be established.

Therefore I would like to ask all those who have had a chance to work with blind actors to share the experience and give opinions. Also any hints relating the methods of leading / guiding an actor with sight disfunctions in work would be very valuable.

And I also encourage those theatre people who have had no experience in this field yet to give some thought to this topic and to present opinions.

Sincerely Yours,
Katarzyna Bogucka

Katarzyna Bogucka, born in 1969; graduated from Leon Schiller Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School in Lodz, Poland, completed a one-year screenwriting course at the Warsaw Film Academy and participated in workshops on mediation and the equality-diversity in a couch work; enjoyed a scholarship granted by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage; from 1998 active in the theatre and film work; had a chance to learn from well-known masters like Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Zanussi, Maciej Wojtyszko, Laco Adamik and Jerzy Grzegorzewski; an author of theatre plays, a film director, a journalist and documentary reporter; occasionally a poet, an author of song lyrics and stories for children; fond of social studies and psychology, an engaged social activist; a founder of the PI-stacja Association for creative people on „life’s turns“, an editor of „Gazetownia“ a monthly social-cultural magazine.