The actor in amateur theatre

The author of the article discusses the phenomenon of amateur theatre, its sources and types, as well as the mode of being of the actor-amateur in life and on stage. The notion of amateur theatre may be construed in two ways: firstly, as non-professional theatre, and secondly, as theatre pursued out of passion, by volunteers. In the first half of the 20^th century, Poland had two models of amateur theatre, one descendant from the creators and activists of The Union of Country-Folk Theaters and Choirs (Lvov 1907), and the other from Jędrzej Cierniak and his concept of folk theatre. The first model consisted in an imitation of professional theatre and acting, thus representing non-professional dramatic theatre. On the other hand, Cierniak’s model was based on the creative expression of the actor-amateur, who ought not to imitate professional acting, but create one’s own art. These two models still function in modern amateur theatre, sometimes co-existing within one theatrical group. In the light of these considerations, what approach should be adopted when analysing the phenomenon of non-professional acting? The author proposes a phenomenological method, which requires the scholar to eliminate their own judgements and previous knowledge in order to let the thing-in-itself speak. Only on the interpretation stage, once the research has been concluded and its results analysed, can one contrast the findings with the broader context of previous knowledge and one’s own understanding.