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Never stop learning about yourself, discovering what makes you happy.
Could you explain how has your acting career been?
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I used to perform since I was a child. I was already enjoying making up stories, just free performing to my relatives and they used to tell me that I had an acting talent and I was going to be an actress. So it was the approach that people had towards me but also a way of expressing myself. During school I participated in every theater and dance group.
When it was time to go to University I did not know if I could do an acting career because it is difficult, but I followed my heart so I went to study in Scotland and I obtained my Degree in Stage for Performance and Screen.
One of the subjects I took was teaching theater which I really enjoyed. It was one of the best times in my life. I did not reach Hollywood but since then I haven't stopped teaching it every time I have the chance
How long are you living in Amsterdam?
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I came 4 years ago and three of them I’ve been working with Act Attack *
(*) An International Theatre School which is also in Barcelona.
How have your classes developed since the beginning? What do you think that has worked?
Besides learning technique, for me, teaching philosophy is very important to understand the principles behind the theater discipline. One of these principles is how to be in a group in order to create a community and at the same time being fulfilled as an individual, not thinking what should I be but rather who am I. And I think that’s what really hooks people in.
The classes haven’t changed much, people come back and enjoy participating in the course, it is a space where friendships are created, that's also why I enjoy doing it. I don’t really care if at the end of the day you are able to name 5 roles of improv or you know all the theater practitioners I mentioned because that’s the theory, but theater is about performing, it´s about acting.
What has influenced you?
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I think it is my own experience. It's what I learned during my training, how my perception of the world was expanding, how my capacity of understanding myself and others and my empathy was growing.
I also learned a lot from people attending the courses who gave me the best feedback. At the end of every exercise you can see if participants are more connected. So reflection for me is the key to how I approach theater. Is not about the teacher explaining what or how to feel about a certain situation, but participants embodying those principles and outcomes for themselves.
How do you think theater influences your daily life?
The main influence in my daily life is that for me is easy to perform in front of people, I don’t have the little voice in your head that says ¨you’re going to look stupid¨ or ¨don’t say that¨. I really feel free to express myself. For me, life is just more enjoyable this way because I know I can count on myself.
Another thing is actually a course, you become skilled at working in collaboration with others. Because, for me, it is something that we should learn, it's not something given to us. If you have done theater your approach when working in group in a project you have an open mind, you are able to imagine all the ideas and you include all the members in the discossions. At the end of the process nobody is the owner of the idea but everyone is accountable and takes responsibility for executing it.
Last aspect is that suddenly you develop more empathy, critical thinking and the ability of reflection. When you study for a role you learn what happened to that person before the moment when the play is taking place in order to understand how that person developed their personality. You learn cause and effect and you are able to see the complexity around that character and their inner life.
Is it also a way to understand our own contradictions…
Exactly, you learn that life is not black and white, you learn to observe all the different shapes and colors and how to navigate them. In a play we made about World War II I had to play the Nazi General role thats raids a bar during a party, where Jews were actually hidden. So I prepared myself to understand that this general thought that what she was doing was the best thing to do, that she belived she was protecting her people and conuntry, and she also wanted to fulfill herself in life. I actually came out on the stage full of positive sensations like pride, sense of duty and happiness and that was what made me evil.
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How was the transformation of the Grazyna that started to the one I have in front of me?
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I think it is still an ongoing journey, and that’s beautiful, I can keep on playing still discovering what the rules are in life.. The transformation is enormous but the more you learn about yourself and others the more you have to realize that there´s still more to be learned.
What is your message for our readers?
To take a theater or improv course, honestly it can teach you a lot about emotions, what you feel, how you shape your own thoguhts because you need to do it in order to portray a human. If you already have that key of understanding you will be also able to use it in your real life.
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And to end I would say never stop learning about yourself, discovering what makes you happy, and when you are at your best just continue because we have one life here and I can be beautiful. It can be so joyful if we just give ourselves permission.
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