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Braun, Kazimierz
About the author: Kazimierz Braun is a director, writer, playwright, and scholar. He received his Master of Letters degree at Poznan University, Poland, an MFA in Directing at Warsaw Theater Academy, PhD in Philosophy at Poznan University, and PhD in Theater at Wroclaw University. He was director, artistic director, and manager at theaters in Poland, and he has taught at the universities and schools of drama in Poland and the United States. He also directed plays for television. He published 23 books on theater history, novels, poetry, collections of essays, and plays. His most memorable productions include: Birth Rate by Rozewicz, Anna Livia based on Joyce, and The Plague based on Camus in Wroclaw, Poland; The Old Woman Broods by Rozewicz in Dublin, Ireland; Rhinoceros by Ionesco at The Guthrie, in Minneapolis; A Man for All Seasons by Bolt, in Buffalo; and Dummies Ball by Jasienski at SUNY Buffalo. He has also directed plays by Shakespeare, Moliere, Brecht, Pirandello, and the Polish classical and modern authors. Recipient of several artistic and scholarly awards, Braun was characterized by Thomas Leff as “an especially creative force” in Polish theater, and by Richard Burns as “one of the leading world directors.” Currently, Kazimierz Braun is Professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
2003 0-7734-6791-2Nominated by the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS)
for the Orbis Prize 2004
This study narrates a millennium long record of Polish theater, focusing on the theatrical annals of cities, productions and their styles, major theater artists – actors, directors, and designers – acting and directorial instruction, theater buildings and stage design, and the changing audiences. The book includes many illustrations.
2019 1-4955-0787-4
This book traces a movement in European theatre history known as the Great Reform of Theatre. This movement unfolded roughly between 1880 and the late 1930s. It developed against the background of dramatic political, technological, and cultural changes in the entire western world. The Reform transformed all facets of European theatre including play-writing, mise-en-scene, performance, production, criticism, and social significance.
2000 0-7734-7828-0
This book is a presentation of a directorial style and a method of teaching directing. First, the book presents, for the first time in English, the directorial studies, training and steps of a directorial career in Poland. Second, the book introduces, explains, and describes a method of teaching and exercising a ‘creative directing’ – based on imagination, oriented toward the unknown, asking fundamental existential, philosophical, moral, and political questions, as to opposed to ‘functional directing’ which focuses on the technical, practical, and managerial aspects of directing. The book is oriented toward readers interested in 20th century theater, but at the same time, it is a textbook for directing students, and can serve teachers on both high school and college levels. Supplemented by 60 photographs from various productions directed by the author.