Kazimierz Braun (born June 29, 1936) is a Polish director, writer, and scholar.
Education
Braun was born in
Mokrsko Dolne. He earned a master's degree in Polish literature from
Poznań University
Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...
in 1958 and a master's in directing from the
in 1962. He earned a Ph.D. in letters from Poznań University in 1971, a
habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
in theatre from
Wrocław University
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, ro ...
, and a habilitation in directing from the Warsaw School of Drama in 1988.
Career
Braun became a tenured professor at the
University at Buffalo in 1989. He made his debut as a professional theatre director in 1961, and as a professional television director in 1962. He has directed works at the
Polish Theatre in Warsaw
Polish Theatre in Warsaw ( pl, Teatr Polski im. Arnolda Szyfmana w Warszawie) is a theatre in Warsaw, Poland. It is located at ul. Karasia 2. The current artistic director is Andrzej Seweryn.
The theatre was initiated by Arnold Szyfman and desig ...
, Teatr Wybrzeże in Gdańsk, the
Juliusz Słowacki Theatre
Juliusz Słowacki Theatre ( pl, Teatr im. Juliusza Słowackiego w Krakowie) is a 19th-century Eclectic theatre-opera house in the heart of Kraków, Poland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Erected in 1893, it was modeled after some of the best ...
in Kraków, and Teatr Solskiego in Tarnów, as well as in Canada, Germany, Ireland, and the United States. He was the artistic director of Teatr Osterwy in Lublin from 1967 to 1971, and general and artistic director there from 1971 to 1974. He was general and artistic director of the Contemporary Theatre in Wrocław from 1975 to 1984, but was fired by the Communist authorities because of his oppositional activities.
Since 1985, Braun has lived and worked in the United States. He has directed at the
Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles, the Chicago Actors Ensemble, and Kavinoky Theatre in Buffalo. His best-known directorial works include plays by
Cyprian Norwid
Cyprian Kamil Norwid, a.k.a. Cyprian Konstanty Norwid (; 24 September 1821 – 23 May 1883), was a nationally esteemed Polish poet, dramatist, painter, and sculptor. He was born in the Masovian village of Laskowo-Głuchy near Warsaw. One of h ...
(13 shows),
Tadeusz Różewicz (19 shows),
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
(12 shows in Polish and English), and
Adam Mickiewicz (two shows). He has taught at the
University of Wrocław
, ''Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Breslau'' (before 1945)
, free_label = Specialty programs
, free =
, colors = Blue
, website uni.wroc.pl
The University of Wrocław ( pl, Uniwersytet Wrocławski, U ...
,
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
,
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...
, the
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California syste ...
, and the University at Buffalo.
Braun has translated works from
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, and
Italian into
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
, and from Polish, French, and
Russian into English.
Personal life
Braun's father, Juliusz Braun, was a lawyer, professor of ecology, Catholic activist, and
political prisoner
A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention.
There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...
under
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
. His mother was Elżbieta Korwin-Szymanowska. They both died in 1990.
Braun is married to Zofia Reklewska-Braun, a writer and theatre historian. They have three children (Dr.
Monika Braun, a writer and academic;
Grzegorz Braun, a filmmaker, writer and right-wing extremist; and Dr. Justyna Braun, an academic) and five granddaughters (Anna, Joanna, Aniela, Zofia, and Elżbieta).
Credits
Between 1961 and 2016 Braun directed 155 of theatre productions in Poland, the United States, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, Germany and other countries, including:
* 1961: ''Karol /'' ''On the Sea /'' ''Strip-tease'' (
Sławomir Mrożek
Sławomir Mrożek (29 June 1930 – 15 August 2013) was a Polish dramatist, writer and cartoonist.
Mrożek joined the Polish United Workers' Party during the reign of Stalinism in the People's Republic of Poland, and made a living as a politica ...
), Gdańsk
* 1962: ''The Ring of a Great Lady'' (Cyprian Norwid), Warsaw
* 1962: ''Two Theatres'' (
Jerzy Szaniawski
Jerzy Szaniawski (Zegrzynek, 10 February 1886 – 16 March 1970, Warsaw) was a Polish writer, playwright, and essayist; an elected member of the prestigious Polish Academy of Literature in the interwar period. He is best remembered for his series ...
), Warsaw
* 1963: ''Caucasian Chock Circle'' (
Bertolt Brecht
Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...
), Gdańsk
* 1963: ''
Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
'' (William Shakespeare), Warsaw
* 1965: ''The Wedding'' (
Stanisław Wyspiański), Toruń
* 1967: ''November's Night'' (Wyspiański), Gdańsk
* 1968: ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' (Shakespeare), Lublin
* 1968: ''Kleopatra and Cezar'' (Norwid), Lublin
* 1970: ''Interrupted Act'' (Tadeusz Różewicz), Lublin
* 1970: ''Behind the Wings'' (Norwid), Kraków
* 1971: ''The Ashes'' (
Stefan Żeromski), director's adaptation, Television Theatre
* 1972: ''The Deliverance'' (Wyspiański), Lublin
* 1973: ''The Old Woman'' (Różewicz), Lublin
* 1977: ''Operetta'' (
Witold Gombrowicz
Witold Marian Gombrowicz (August 4, 1904 – July 24, 1969) was a Polish writer and playwright. His works are characterised by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and absurd, anti-nationalist flavor. In 1937 he published his f ...
), Wrocław
* 1978: ''
The Forefathers' Eve'' (Adam Mickiewicz), Wrocław
* 1979: ''Birth Rate'' (Różewicz), director's adaptation, Wrocław
* 1982: ''The Forefathers' Eve'' (Mickiewicz), director's adaptation, Wrocław
* 1982: ''
Twelfth Night
''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...
'' (Shakespeare), Wrocław
* 1983: ''
The Plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pe ...
'' (
Albert Camus
Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...
), director's adaptation, Wrocław
* 1984: ''The Trap'' (Różewicz), Wrocław
* 1986: ''Rhinoceros'' (
Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century. Ionesco inst ...
), Minneapolis
* 1987: ''The Hunger Artist'' (Różewicz), Buffalo
* 1988: ''The Shoemakers'' (
Witkacy), Los Angeles
* 1989: ''
King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.
It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...
'' (Shakespeare), Buffalo
* 1990: ''Immigrant Queen'' (Braun), Toronto
* 1991: ''
As You Like It
''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...
'' (Shakespeare), Buffalo
* 1995: ''Tango'' (
Sławomir Mrożek
Sławomir Mrożek (29 June 1930 – 15 August 2013) was a Polish dramatist, writer and cartoonist.
Mrożek joined the Polish United Workers' Party during the reign of Stalinism in the People's Republic of Poland, and made a living as a politica ...
), Knoxville, Tennessee
* 1996: ''
A Man for All Seasons'' (
Robert Bolt), Buffalo
* 1999: ''
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
'' (Shakespeare), Buffalo
* 2003: ''Europe'' (Jerzy Braun), Tarnów
* 2004: ''Paderewski's Children'' (Braun), Buffalo
* 2006: ''The Fall of a Stone House'' (Brandstaetter), Tarnów
* 2006: ''Card Index Scattered'' (Różewicz), Buffalo
* 2008: ''The Tales of Pola Negri'' (Braun), Toronto
* 2010: ''The Book of Christopher Columbus'' (Paul Claudel), Steubenville, Ohio
* 2011: ''Father Maximilian's Cell'' (Braun), Tarnów
* 2012: ''Ordonka's Mysteries'' (Braun), Toronto
* 2012: ''
The Power and the Glory'' (
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
), director's adaptation, Buffalo
* 2014: ''
The Tempest'' (Shakespeare), Buffalo
* 2016: ''Norwid Returs (Braun)'', Tarnów
Scholarly books
* 1967: ''Teofil Trzciński'' (with Zofia Reklewska-Braun), PIW, Warsaw
* 1971: ''Cyprian Norwid’s Theatre Without Theatre'', PIW, Warsaw
* 1972: ''Theatre of Communion'', Wyd. Literackie, Kraków
* 1975: ''New Theatre in the World'', WaiF, Warsaw
* 1979: ''The Second Reform of Theatre'', Ossolineum, Wrocław
* 1982: ''Theatre Space'', PWN, Warsaw
* 1984: ''The Great Reform of Theatre'', Ossolineum, Wrocław
* 1994: ''Polish Theatre 1939-1989'', Semper, Warsaw
* 1996: ''A History of Polish Theatre 1939-1989'', Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut
* 2000: ''Theatre Directing'', Mellen Press, Lewiston, New York
* 2003: ''A Concise History of Polish Theatre'', Mellen Press, Lewiston
* 2005: ''A Concise History of American Theatre'', Wyd. UAM, Poznań
* 2010: ''Lady Designer'', Jadwiga Pożakowska, Muzeum Narodowe, Gdańsk
* 2011: ''Brothers Adamowicz'' (with Zofia Reklewska-Braun), Wyd. Uniw. Rzeszowskiego
* 2013: ''My Różewicz’s Theatre'', Wyd. Uniw. Rzeszowskiego
* 2014: ''My Norwid’s Theatre'', Wyd. Uniw. Rzeszowskiego
* 2015: ''Direccion teatral: Arte, etica, creatividad'', Universitado Nat. Aut., Mexico
* 2019: ''The Bright Light of Gietrzwałd'' (with Zofia Reklewska-Braun), Wyd. Osuchowa
* 2019: ''The Great Reform of Theater'' (with Justyna Braun), Mellen Press, Lewiston
* 2020: ''Theatricality of Lif''e, Wyd. A. Marszałek
* 2022: ''The Second Reform of Theatre'' (expanded edition), Wyd. Volumen
* 2023: ''Cyprian Norwid on Frederyk Chopin and His Music'', (translations and essays), Literary Waves, London
Novels and plays
* 1989: ''The Monument'', Instytut Literacki, Paris
* 1993: ''Helena: The Story of Modjeska'', High Park Press, Toronto
* 1996: ''Farewell to Alaska'', PAX, Warszawa
* 1996: ''The Story of Norwid: A One-Man Drama'', Bernardinum, Pelplin
* 1999: ''Day of Witness'', Wyd. 4K, Bytom
* 2003: ''A Bird on Stilts: Short Stories'', Wyd. A. Marszałek, Toruń
* 2005: ''Day of Witness'' (expanded edition), Wyd. Św. Wojciecha, Poznań
* 2006: ''Radiation'', Archiwum Emigracji, Toruń
* 2008: ''Ten Days in People's Poland'', Norbertinum, Lublin
* 2011: ''Maximilianus'', Wyd. Bratni Zew, Kraków
* 2011: ''Tarnów’s Wind of Freedom'', Wyd. Biblioteka Publiczna, Tarnów
* 2013: ''Good Priests'' (with Zofia Reklewska-Braun), Bernardinum, Pelplin
* 2016: ''The Alarm Bell'', Volumen, Warszawa
* 2018: ''A Rehearsal of the Apocalypse'', Wyd. A. Marszałek, Toruń
* 2021: ''Paderewski’s Children. Paderewski Returns'' (a bilingual edition), Inst. Dziedzictwa I Myśli Narodowej, Warszawa
* 2022: ''Dramas 2022'', Wyd. A. Marszałek, Toruń
* 2022: ''Anticipation. Poetry'', 3DOM, Częstochowa
* 2023: ''The Pyramid. Memoires'', Volumen, Warszawa
Additionally: Books—interviews:
* 1989: ''The Languages of the theatre'', with Tadeusz Różewicz, Wyd. Dolnośląskie, Wrocław
* 1993: ''A Torn Courtain, conversation'' Stanisław Bereś, Wyd. Aneks, London
In total, in 1967-2023, Kazimierz Braun published 78 books.
Awards and honors
* 1963: Best Director, ''Caucasian Chock Circle'' (Brecht), Toruń Theatre Festival
* 1964: Best Director, ''Enchanted Circle'' (Rydel), Television Theatre Festival
* 1965: Best Director, ''Actor'' (Norwid), Television Theatre Festival and Kalisz Theatre Festival
* 1966: Best Director, ''The Wedding'' (Wyspiański), Toruń Theatre Festival
* 1970: Best Director, ''Interrupted Act'' (Różewicz), Kalisz Theatre Festival
* 1971:
Medal for Merit to Culture
A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...
, Poland
* 1976: Medal for Educational Theatre, Poland
* 1978:
Gold Cross of Merit
The Cross of Merit () is a Polish civil state decoration established on 23 June 1923, to recognize services to the state.
History
At the time of its establishment in 1923, the Cross of Merit was the highest civilian award in Poland. It was awa ...
, Poland
* 1979: Award for the Mise-en-Scène, ''Operetta'' (Gombrowicz), International Theatre Festival, Sitges, Spain
* 1980: Golden Fredro Award for Director, ''Birth Rate'' (Różewicz), Wrocław
* 1980: Japanese Foundation Award
* 1984: Golden Fredro Award for Director, ''The Plague'' (Camus), Wrocław
* 1985: Independent Culture Award, Poland
* 1990: Guggenheim Foundation Award, United States
* 1996: Director, Best Production in Buffalo, ''A Man for All Seasons'' (Bolt)
* 1997: Chivalry Cross of the Polish Order of Merit
* 2001: Aurum Literary Award, Toronto
* 2001:
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
, United States
* 2003: Turzański Foundation Award, Canada
* 2004: Minister of Education Award, Poland
* 2005: Polish-American Congress Annual Award
* 2005: Medal for Merit to Culture, Poland
* 2005: Officer's Cross of the Polish Order of Merit
* 2007: Medal for Merit to Culture, Poland
* 2011: Golden Owl Award, Austria
* 2011: Commander's Cross of the Polish Order of Merit
* 2016 Commander’s Cross of the Order Polonia Restituta
References
External links
* Webpage: Kazimierz Braun: http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~kaz/ (includes several photographs)
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Kazimierz
1936 births
Living people
Officers of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
Polish theatre directors
People from Jędrzejów County
University at Buffalo faculty
Recipient of the Meritorious Activist of Culture badge