Good Stories - storytelling workshop | Brzechwałki Festival

Brzechwałki Festival is a revival and evolution of a showcase of preschool artistic work and family theatres, organized in 1997–2020 in cooperation with the Groteska Theatre and the Małopolska Teacher Training Centre in Kraków. The new format preserves the tradition of presenting stage forms and expands the offer with a series of free theatre pedagogy workshops for those working in preschool and early-school education, as well as educational-theatrical activities for the local community. The main aim of the event is to develop theatrical passions among the youngest and to raise competences in using theatre in education; it is also a space for meeting and exchanging experiences.

Workshop description:

Once people used to sit by the fire at the end of the day and explain the world to each other. Fairy tales contained the wisdom of our ancestors, which opened not only the mind but above all the heart. Wise stories, sometimes scary, sometimes funny, invited people to experience all emotions — joy, sadness, fear, anger. It can be like that today. A story has a great healing power.

“Nothing develops imagination better than a story” — Joanna Sarnecka, cultural anthropologist and storyteller. Fairy-tale storytelling has an initiatory character; both children and adults need stories. Today's young generation experiences overstimulation, so during the workshops we simplify experiences and create conditions for the “smallest theatre” and for the presence of the listener and the storyteller.

During the workshops:

• We will look at traditional fairy tales and contemporary stories and think about what moves us in them.
• We will create our own story and accompany it with sounds, and maybe songs.
• We will experience work with voice, body and object and engage the imagination.
• At the end we will sit in a circle and share a story with our preschool and school tribe.

Facilitator:

Aleksandra Barczyk — graduate in theatre studies at the Jagiellonian University and of the Academy of Theatrical Practices in Gardzienice. Theatre and circus instructor, storyteller, co‑founder of the Wszyscy Obecni Foundation; associated with the Old Town Youth Culture Centre in Kraków. Winner of awards and scholarships (including the Mayor of Kraków Award, the Minister of National Education Award, the Halina Machulska Award) and recipient of distinctions in competitions for theatrical works for children and youth.

"Good Stories" channel:

Kanał "Dobre opowieści"

Selected cooperation:

International Festival of Theatres for Children "Podskoki i wykręty" (Teatr Figur Kraków), Mała Boska Komedia Festival (Teatr Łaźnia Nowa), Opening Festival (Teatr Ludowy), Festival of Small Premières in Wałbrzych, Slot Art Festival.

Duration:

The workshop will last four hours, with a break.

Registration:

p.strzoda@okn.edu.pl; tel. +48 12 648 08 86
Let us know in your registration email if we can prepare anything to ensure your full comfort and safety during the event.

Contact:

Kuźnia — Norwid Cultural Centre
os. Złotego Wieku 14, 31-616 Kraków
tel. +48 12 648 08 86
Website: Strona
Facebook: Facebook

Accessibility information:

• The nearest public transport stops: tram and bus named Miśnieńska.
• There is no parking dedicated to visitors at the building; in the immediate vicinity there is no parking space for vehicles of people with disabilities.

Building:

• The main entrance is accessible directly from the pavement; doors are wide enough for a wheelchair; there are no steps or thresholds. A possible difficulty may be the ramp in the entrance area with quite a steep incline.
• The large hall is located on the first floor, reached by stairs. There is no elevator in the building; an alternative is a stairlift providing access to all levels. The doors to the hall are wide enough for a wheelchair; there are no steps; low threshold.