Leon Schiller
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Leon Schiller, born Leon Schiller de Schildenfeld (14 April, 1887 - March 25, 1954), was a Polish director, film critic, and theoretician. In addition, he was a composer, songster, and wrote theatre and radio screenplays. He was born to an Austrian Christian family that received Nobilitation by the Habsburg Empress, Maria Theresa, in 19th-century Poland.
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[edit] Early career
He became famous for the interpretation of Adam Mickiewicz's dramas — the legendary Dziady, staged in the Warsaw Polish Theatre (pl. Teatr Polski w Warszawie) in 1934. It was later shown in Lviv (1932), Vilnius (1933), and Sofia (1937).
Schiller graduated from Jagiellonian University, with philosophy and Polish studies; and also studied at the Paris Sorbonne. He collaborated with the following theatres in Warsaw:
- Teatr Polski
- Reduta Theater
- W. Bogusławskiego Memorial Theater (pl. Teatr im. W. Bogusławskiego)
- Ateneum Theater
along with collaborations in Łódź and Lviv. He made his debut as a songster in Zielony Balonik (The Green Little Balloon) in 1906, and as a director in 1917 in Teatr Polski in Warsaw.
From 1930 to 1932, he was the Artistic & Drama director of Wielki, Rozmaitości, and Mały Theaters. In Lviv he developed his concept of "monumental theatre", which bore the production of great Romanticism works: Kordian - 1930; Dziady - 1932; and Sen Srebrny Salomei - 1932. At that time, he showed at three different stages: Teatr Wielki; Teatr Mały; and in a hall of the Dom Katolicki in Gródecka. He also showed at Teatr Rozmaitości on Rutowskiego Street, featuring 29 drama premieres and a dozen or so vaudeville and operetta productions. In 1933, he was the head of the Direction Faculty at The National Theatre Arts Institute - PIST (pl. Państwowy Instytut Sztuki Teatralnej). Schiller's connection with Lviv lasted sporadically until 1939 — he directed several performances at the time of Wilam Horzyca.
[edit] WWII and later life
Due to repressive measures taken after Igo Syma was shot to death in 1941, Schiller was held prisoner in the Pawlak prison and at Auschwitz-Birkenau. He was ransomed in May of that year by his sister Anna Jackowska for the 12 thousand Złotys she received for the sale of her jewelry. After World War II, he was the President of The National Drama School in Łódź — PWST (pl. Państwowa Szkoła Teatralna w Łodzi) in 1946-49. He was also the editor-in-chief of Theatre magazine, and the creator of The Theatre Memoir (pl. Pamiętnik Teatralny) in 1952.
[edit] Legacy
Essay articles:
- Teatr Ogromny (The Great Theatre), 1961
- U Progu Nowego Teatru (On the Threshold of New Theatre), 1978
Performance Screenplays:
- Pastorałka (The Pastorale), 1931
- Kram z Piosenkami (A Stall With Songs), 1977
Monumental Performances:
- Samuel Zborowski, 1927
- Kordian, 1934
- Dziady, 1934
- Nie-Boska Komedia (The Non-Divine Comedy), 1938
Zeittheater - Performances on current social issues:
- Opera Za Trzy Grosze (A Three Grosz Opera), 1929
- Krzyczcie Chiny (Speak Out, China!), 1938
- Kapitan z Koepenick (A Captain of Koepenick), 1932
Musicals:
- Dawna Czasy w Piosence, Poezji i Zwyczajach (The Old Times in Song, Poetry and Customs), 1924
- Bandurka (The Little Bandura), 1925
- Kuling (The Sleigh Ride), 1929
[edit] References
- On The Threshold of New Theater, 1908-1924 (pl. Na Progu Nowego Teatru, 1908-1924) - edited by Jerzy Timoszewicz, Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, Warsaw, 1978.
