Zespół AUTENTYCZNI ARTYŚCI powstał w 2014 roku z inicjatywy terapeutek Agnieszki Sylwii Pisuli i Wioletty Jadczak. Zespół przygotowuje przedstawienia na obchody Światowego Dnia Świadomości Autyzmu. Obecnie zespół prowadzą - Marcin Nowak, Agnieszka Sylwia Pisula, Anna Zielińska, Monika Pakuła. AUTHENTIC ARTISTS is a theatre group for children and youth in the autism spectrum from Lodz. Initially, the team was looked after by two therapists – Agnieszka Sylwia Pisula i Wioletta Jadczak. Now there are four of us – Marcin Nowak, Agnieszka Sylwia Pisula, Anna Zielińska, Monika Pakuła. We meet in a variable line-up for weekly theatre classes at our school. Preparations for the April performance start in September and continue until April. The first two performances took place at the Ariadna Community Centre - in 2014 we presented "The Little Prince - a great tale about learning", in 2015 "The week in the blue colour". The next performance "We have talents that is a beautiful and wise fairy tale about the concerns of the Hare Grajek" took place in 2016 at the Centre for Vocational and Continuing Education of Modern Technologies of the Łódź Voivodeship in Łódź. In 2016 the group also performed in Sukcesja during the meeting with Nikodem Sadłowski, the author of the book "Word on A". The next performances - "Four Cultures - One World" and the Christmas programme were staged at The Marek Edelman Dialogue Centre. And finally, our last projects - "Dreams in a backpack" and "Fairy tales (out) of this world" took place at the Grand Theatre at the chamber stage. Performing in a real theatre has always been our big dream. Only in a real theatre the illusion and magic of the theatre can happen. Over the past four years, our actors have been preparing for an even larger stage, an even larger audience and more and more numerous challenges. At the Grand Theatre we had a Chamber Hall at our disposal. The Grand Theatre in Łódź is a space full of friendly and helpful people, an amazing atmosphere and many possibilities. This year, there is another challenge ahead of us - the main stage of the Grand Theatre in Łódź. The group's greatest success is that it still exists and is doing great. What's more, it attracts many wonderful people who support it. It is already a community of members of the group, their parents, teachers from the school they attend, supporters, donors, kind and helpful people. The authenticity of our actors is contagious. We get the information that after performances, both children and adults dare to say out loud about their disorders, illnesses. It is beautiful that these people feel that they no longer have to hide, that they can share it and gain understanding, support, that they can continue to live in the truth. For us, the greatest success, and at the same time joy, is the opportunity to observe the dynamics of our children’s development. During several years of work, we noticed huge, positive changes. Children become more social, make friends, overcome their fears and barriers. They give interviews to television, radio, talk about their daily lives, interests and problems. They support people wronged by fate or institutions, they share their work for the benefit of others. We are also pleased to cooperate with our children’s parents. Parents support us very much and also perform on the stage. The creation of a community of people involved and supporting our activities is a huge success.
9. Work on the play requires a lot of effort and commitment. How do you motivate young actors to work systematically. Every year we exhibit a different play. Our goal is to show the public a fragment of the world of a person in the autism spectrum. We want children in the autism spectrum to be able to express themselves, not having to pretend anything, to be themselves and be authentic. Our performances are educational. We want to stimulate the viewers’ thinking and encourage them to verify their knowledge of the subject of developmental disorder, which is the autism spectrum. "The Little Prince - a great story about learning" is a message about what is invisible to the eyes, and most important. Children in the autism spectrum often don't show what they really are. You have to reach inside them, touch their hearts, take care of them and like them as they are - then they can feel safe and begin to bloom like a rose flower. People busy with their affairs, such as the characters that the Little Prince meets on his way, are unable to see what happens inside the other person. "The week in the blue colour" consists of seven separate scenes depicting seven typical attitudes and behaviors of people in the autism spectrum."We have talents that is a beautiful and wise fairy tale about the concerns of the Hare Grajek" is an adaptation of the therapeutic fairy tale about the strength of being in a group. That everyone in the group has their own unique talent and only when all the talents are combined, a great force appears that is capable of creation. During the performance, all sensual impressions were exaggerated. Thus, we drew attention to the fact that people in the autism spectrum perceive the world differently using their senses. "Four Cultures - One World" presents to us the essence of social isolation to which people in the autism spectrum are often doomed and the idea of acceptance. We emphasize here - acceptance, not tolerance. People in the autism spectrum would like to be accepted and be able to realize their potential in their adult life. "Dreams in a backpack" speak of both implemented and unrealized plans. Everyone has dreams, but sometimes they are very different. For a neurotypical person, normal reality is what for people in the autism spectrum is a dream, often difficult or impossible to come about. "Fairy tales (out) of this world” speak about the diversity of human worlds, both external and internal. And that the truth is what is around us. In our new performance, „ Authentic Artists in different ways about themseves” ,only young people in the autism spectrum will speak. They will show us their way of seeing the world. Our performances are enriched in an invaluable way by dance group Folk Dance, witchis provided by therapist Małgorzata Grajcar – Cieślak. The greath strength” is a highlight in our performances. It was composed and written by our colleague, a music teacher - Rafał Tomczyk. It was not written for our performance, but. It was sung by teachers, children, the opera soloist, our . The message of the song is huge. It talks about the strength and courage that every person affected by the autism spectrum must have in order to live their own way. This message made the song popular in the community. Our goals for the future - to follow the development of our talented actors. Support them in overcoming subsequent challenges, strengthen them in doing good. Provide the public with the knowledge of the autism spectrum and continue theatrical activities.
