Expertise • Joanna Lewicka

Beyond Theatre-Making

Apart from directing productions, I like to direct myself to places near and far to break any personal and cultural barriers.

FOUNDATION from EAST to WEST

My NGO called “FUNDACJA od WSCHODU do ZACHODU” was established in WARSAW in October 2019 as a response to global challenges, in order to apply ART, THEATRE and SCIENCE to shape intercultural conversations on human rights and sustainability. Whatever is happening, the Earth keeps spinning: due to the rotation of stars and planets it happens to spin from East to West – but wherever you are, we are all on the same boat. Thus, our international Team encourages everyone to leave their own four walls to engage in an intercultural dialogue on topics that really matter to all of us. There is simply no time to loose anymore.

From BRAZIL and EUROPE to CAMBODIA

Since 2015 I have worked regularly for Khmer Community Development (KCD) in CAMBODIA in cooperation with Gesellschaft Für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Civil Peace Service programme. I have applied the method of the Forum Theater created by the Brazilian theatremaker Augusto Boal and I have taught different ways and styles of using theatre to support the organisation in its capacity building and contribute to conflict management of the ethnic minorities in Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Reconciliation. I have also held several trainings for other local organizations such as KdK and YRDP. In 2019 – 2021 I have held trainings within the project “Growth” by the Johanniter International Assistance Cambodia (Johanniter Auslandshilfe) and since 2022 within the programme “Civil Peace” by Brot für die Welt (Bread for the World).

From POLAND to GERMANY and back

Between 2007 and 2012 I have been involved as Trainer and Stage Director in annual Youth Theater Programs organized by the Polish Institute in DÜSSELDORF in the cities of Gliwice, Kołobrzeg, Düsseldorf and Cologne. Each programme involved a group of high school students coming from different countries to learn the essentials of acting and theater production by participating in intense workshops. Each session lasted two weeks and resulted with a public performance presented to the local audience.

Additionally, in 2010 I established and directed the European Theatre Symposium at the German – Polish Artistic Terminal in Kołobrzeg, featuring prominent speakers.

2022 The German Fonds Darstellende Künste (Fonds DaKu) Scholarship within the program #TakeHeart

2021 Neustart Kultur Scholarship from the German GVL

2020 The Global Berlin Art Scholarship from The Senate of Berlin

2020 Scholarship from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage

2020 – 2022 Lecturer at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart (Principles of Acting at the Department of Theatre Arts)

2016 – 2020 Lecturer at the University of Marie Curie Sklodowska (teaching courses: Theatre in Practice at the Department of Polish Philology and Principles of Directing within the Media Studies programme at the Department of Political Science) in Lublin, Poland

2018 Social Theatre & Forum Theatre Trainer in the Erasmus+ project LovEarth Through Art co-organized by partners from Germany, Italy, Romania, Portugal and Poland

2016 Social Theatre & Forum Theatre Trainer in the Erasmus+ project Transforming Europe. WW2 And Its Consequences co-organized by partners from Germany, Netherlands, Croatia, Denmark and Poland

2015 Keynote Speaker at the International Prison Conference in the Onassis Cultural Centre in Athens
and Social Theatre Trainer at the Avlona prison in Greece

2014 Participant in Festival Wspolpracy Partnerskiej, a project bringing together artists from Poland and Ukraine

2014 Trainer in the Erasmus+ Youth Theatre Project I Feel Good. Wellbeing in the Contemporary World in Turkey

2014 Trainer in the Lato w teatrze youth theatre project organized by the Theatre Institute in Warsaw

2010 – 2016 Drama Teacher – IBO MYP Certified Teacher at the Paderewski Private Grammar School in Lublin, Poland

Beyond Theatre-Making

FOUNDATION from EAST to WEST

From BRAZIL and EUROPE to CAMBODIA

From POLAND to GERMANY and back

PRODUCTIONS

I direct theatre productions tackling human condition social issues different social contexts empowerment of women

BIO

My perspective on theatre was shaped by switching languages and crossing borders