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Nik Wardzynski
Via Marcona 107, 20129 Milan, Italy. Mobile: +39 348 5531430 e-mail: [email protected]
Since graduation from the R.S.A.M.D. in 1984, a wealth of professional experience and research knowledge has been gained,
enabling successful initiation, devising and delivering of dynamic training in the field of Drama.
The highest standard of work has been achieved through twenty five years of professional employment as actor, lecturer,
instructor, workshop facilitator, playwright, director and Community Theatre Officer,.
A passionate ability to deliver clear instruction, inspire confidence, create trust, educate, motivate and praise within classes, are
a culmination of long hours, hard work and a dedication to the craft.
The blend of experience and a sustained passion for Drama, has empowered confidence and ability to communicate and share
to all who have a desire to learn.
Date of Birth:
Education:
28/07/1960 – Ayr, Scotland UK
BA Dramatic Studies (Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama / Glasgow University) 1981-1984
Drama & Theatre Arts Professional Experience
(Please note that any gaps in employment can be justified by reference to the accompanying Acting CV)
Acting Studio – Milan
2002 – Present
Founder / Artistic Director
90hr Comprehensive course in Theatre Arts, culminating in public performance. (All students’ English mother tongue /bilingual)
Consisting of two groups of 10 students: Group A Beginners, Group B Experienced
Students are given the opportunity to explore various ‘techniques’ of Acting, without forced dogmas of Acting.
Exploring theories of acting, its styles, influences, traditions and innovations. Stanislavsky, Grotowski.
Performance, Physical Theatre, Acting Shakespeare.
Suggested course reading: The Empty Space by Peter Brook, True and False by David Mamet.
Acting:
Stage-craft. Classical and contemporary approaches to acting, including Stanislavsky, Grotowski, Meisner.
What is required of the actor in performance and rehearsal paying particular attention to the technique
of ‘thinking on the line’. How to connect with the script, and to each other.
Voice Training & Vocal Expressivity: Vocal exercises, poetry and monologue. How to use the voice to fully express creative
impulses. How the voice can reflect and amplify meaning, clear use of language and
expression.
Acting to Camera: Exploring key differences between stage and screen acting, concentrating on acting performance in front of
the camera. Scenes recorded, played back and analysed. Involves using published screenplays and
shooting scripts.
Text work:
Sight Reading & Verse Reading. Modern playwrights including Henrik Ibsen, Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter,
Tom Stoppard, Edward Bond, David Hare, Bertolt Brecht, Luigi Pirandello, Dario Fo,
Arthur Miller, David Mamet. Classical playwrights including Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe.
Movement:
Communication through the language of our bodies. Physical Theatre, Stage-Fighting, Yoga.
The potential of telling stories without using text.
Focus on physical poise, relaxation and presentation.
Improvisation: Exploring and developing the imagination of the actor.
The Monologue:
Final Performance:
Both as tool for audition and vehicle for practice.
The experience of a live audience.
A selection of work based on research of classical and contemporary playwrights and relevant authors.
Monologues and new writing created within studio.
Current research for performance: No More Heroes. Western society’s abandonment of the Mythic Hero.
Source material: The Hero Journey by Professor Joseph Campbell, The Science of Mythology by C.G. Jung & C. Kerenyi,
Oedipus The King by Sophocles, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller.
Università Statale – Milan
Shakespeare in Rehearsal 2003 – Present
Visiting Drama Lecturer
For undergraduate and postgraduate students, Faculty of Arts, Dept. of Languages & Literatures, University of Milan.
The challenges of performing Shakespeare - engaging research with practice.
60 hour workshop, designed to give the students an insight into the rehearsal processes of staging Shakespeare.
“Bringing to life” the texts through textual interpretation, verse speaking, directing and in-depth analysis relevant to performing
Shakespeare.
Films shown as resource material: Othello - directed by Oliver Parker. Macbeth - directed by Roman Polanski.
Romeo and Juliette – directed by Franco Zeffirelli. Julius Caesar – directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
Istituto Gonzaga – Milan
2003 – Present
Visiting Drama Lecturer
Annual 30 hour week intensive course, for students (19yrs), involving 2 groups of 16 students respectively.
An introduction to the craft of acting through text analysis of modern and classical playwrights, stage-craft, sight-reading, verse
reading, movement, improvisation and interpreting Shakespeare.
Final performance includes scenes from the works of Shakespeare, Pinter, Mamet, and my own writing.
2002 – Present
International Language School
Peripatetic Tutor of Business English as a Foreign Language
Tailored Training for Corporate Groups: Designed to meet the needs of individual companies.
Effective coaching and support for senior people and key company personnel whose level of English is intermediate and above.
Voice & Language Coach: Providing individual assistance in diction, pronunciation and interpretation for non English speaking
actors and presenters in the field of media.
British Council – Milan
Stations New Writing Initiative – Ongoing Project
Author / Network Facilitator / Performer
Launch hosted at the British Council and initiated by Margaret Rose, Associate Professor in Theatre Studies and British Literature, University of Milan.
Cultural exchange between new playwrights from Scotland and Italy.
European Identities: cultures divided and united by immigration.
Area of Research: immigration records, family histories, impact on immigrant and native communities, assimilation.
Train of Thought by Nik Wardzynski – play in progress, exploring the project’s themes.
Coordinated rehearsed readings, gave talk introducing and elaborating on research involved in Train of Thought at launch.
75th Birthday of Harold Pinter March 2005
Hosted seminar on the influences, the continuing relevance and the humour within Pinter’s work.
Gave rehearsed readings including extracts from The Birthday Party, Betrayal and The Caretaker.
Theatre Flux – Glasgow
1997 – 2000
Co-Founder / Manager / Workshop Designer & Facilitator / Actor
Theatre management competences included: applying for external funding to support research.
The Jewish Diaspora in the UK: its origins, influences, communities, religion, culture and heritage.
Resource material: new playwright research, liaison with the Jewish Council in Glasgow, access to immigration archives within
Glasgow’s only Synagogue.
Difficult People by Israeli playwright Yosef Bar Yosef – UK Tour. Character played: Simon.
Research succeeded in hosting author from Israel, who advised in rehearsals, gave seminar to Theatre Flux’s Studio for Actors,
fielded questions from audiences, following performances of the UK tour. Michael Frayn was present for the London production.
Urban Identity: Project exploring the Multi-Personality Complex, the seeking of and the loss of identity, criminal underworld,
sub-cultures and urban myths, linking Glasgow, New York and Chicago.
American Buffalo by David Mamet – The Arches, Glasgow. Character played: Teach.
Zoo Story by Edward Albee
– The Arches, Glasgow. Character played: Jerry.
In the Lie of the Beholder by Nik Wardzynski & Emily Harris – Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow. Character played: Actor.
Motherwell Civic Centre
1989 – 1993
Community Theatre Officer / Director
Pioneered & Initiated Community Outreach Programme:
Displacement: an exploration of the causes and consequences of forced migration.
The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht.Multi-Media production involved: staging in the round, live music, mask work,
costumes designed for production.
Female Transport by Steve Gooch.
Trash by Nik Wardzynski.
References:
Professor Margaret Rose – Associate Professor in Theatre Studies and British Literature.
Dept. of Languages & Literatures, Università Statale di Milano. E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: +39 025455522 Mobile: +39 333 9087404
Professor Franca Dattrino – Dept. of English Languages & Literatures, Istituto Gonzaga, Milan.
Mobile: +39 349 7239967 E-mail: [email protected]
Andy Arnold – Artistic Director Tron Theatre, Glasgow (Formerly Artistic Director of The Arches Theatre, Glasgow)
Mobile: +44 7740859085 E-mail: [email protected]