Singing from stones: physiovocality and Gardzienice's theatre of musicality

Wlodzimierz Staniewski, director of the Polish Centre for Theatre Practices Gardzienice, considers directing as a praxis pertaining to the field of musical composition. His pieces have been theorised as either “ethno-oratoria” or “village operas,” while the pedagogy developed by the group is a territory for the exploration of the tensions between the physical and the vocal. Building on my recent fieldwork with the company, this chapter problematizes the separation of vocality and choreographic/movement practices in performer training and uses Gardzienice’s example as a case study in physiovocality. Meanwhile, the core principles of Staniewski’s work, namely mutuality, musicality and chorality, are analyzed as points of departure from music theaters towards a theater of musicality.