Krzysztof Cicheński (1986) is an interdisciplinary artist, independent producer, and academic lecturer. He works primarily as an opera director, dramaturge, and librettist. He designs events that intersect spatial activities, sound art, and performance (including opera installations). He also creates set designs, music, and artistic projects based on research.
From 2005 to 2018, Cicheński led the Automaton Theatre, an independent artistic group, with which he staged over a dozen performances based on his own scripts. These performances were produced and presented as part of Poznań cultural events (including the International Theatre Festival "Maski," the Spring Festival, Scena Robocza, and the Malta Festival).
In 2014, Cicheński made his debut as an opera director at the Stanisław Moniuszko Grand Theatre in Poznań, with the chamber production "The Angel of the Odd" by B. Coli. Subsequently, he directed productions such as R. Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci" in Poznań, G. F. Handel's "Ariodante" at the Warsaw Chamber Opera, and M. Kosecka's "Klothó – the Thread of the Tales" at the Croatian National Theatre in Rijeka. These productions were presented at festivals in Budapest, Zagreb, and Vienna. In 2019, the artist directed the children's opera "Gwiezdnik" by J. Kordaczuk at the Children's Art Centre in Poznań and "Ophelia" by J.F. Wojciechowski at the Grand Theatre in Poznań. In 2024, Cicheński directed Zygmunt Krauze's opera "Ślub" at the Grand Theatre in Poznań, for which he also wrote the libretto based on Witold Gombrowicz's drama and co-designed the set design (with Julia Kosek). The production was co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage as part of the "Composing Commissions" program, implemented by the National Institute of Music and Dance. The performance was also shown at the Grand Theatre - National Opera in Warsaw, and was recorded on TVP Kultura, as part of the TVP Television Theatre, and on the Opera Vision platform.
Since 2020, Cicheński has been creating original opera projects based on his own scripts: during the pandemic, the project "Isolation: Carmen / Don Giovanni / Don Pasquale" was presented online, live from the Poznań Opera House. In 2021, he created the chamber performance "Don Pasquale" based on the opera by G. Donizetti, and the installation "Carmen. Toujours la mort" with music by G. Bizet and T. Rożynek. In May 2022, as part of the 7th edition of the Outpost program at the Theatre Institute. At the Zbigniew Raszewski Artistic Center in Warsaw, Cicheński completed the research and artistic project "Devil's Mill. Biography of a Forgotten Work" based on the work of Ludomir Różycki, and in 2023, the sound art installations "Callar y quemarse" and "LANDSCAPE (...when meadow, grove, and stream...)".
Cicheński also leads theater workshops and academic classes (including Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań 2011-2016, the Academy of Music in Poznań 2018-2019, and the Children's Art Center in Poznań 2015-2019) and supports individual and collective creative processes through various forms of tutoring and artistic mentoring. He also participates in numerous audience development initiatives. Since 2014, Krzysztof Cicheński has been associated with the Magdalena Abakanowicz University of Arts in Poznań, where he teaches Scenography. After defending his doctorate, since 2025 he has been employed as an assistant professor at the Department of Scenography at the Faculty of Interior Design and Scenography.
OPERA:

• "The Marriage," by Z. Krauze, libretto (based on the play by W. Gombrowicz), direction, co-author of the set design, Grand Theatre, Poznań 2024. The performance was also presented at the Grand Theatre - National Opera in Warsaw and recorded and broadcasted live by Polish Television, presented online through the Opera Vision portal and as part of the Television Theatre program on TVP Kultura.

• "Don Pasquale," by G. Donizetti, dramaturgy, direction, Grand Theatre, Poznań 2021. This touring performance was also presented in smaller cultural centers in Greater Poland.

• "Paria," by St. Moniuszko, directed by Graham Vick, assistant director, Grand Theatre, Poznań 2019

• "Gwiezdnik" (The Stargazer), by J. Kordaczuk, direction, Children's Art Center/Common Stage, Poznań 2019. Second version (direction, lights) was created in 2025 in Olsztyn during 7th Sonikalia Festival. 

• "Ophelia" (Ophelia), by J.F. Wojciechowski, direction, Grand Theatre, Poznań 2019.

• "Klothó. The Thread of the Tales" by M. Kosecka, direction, Music Biennale Zagreb/Croatian National Theatre in Rijeka, Croatia 2017. The performance was also presented at the Armel Festival at the MuTh in Vienna and broadcast live by Croatian National Television from Zagreb and recorded and streamed online by Arte TV from Vienna.

• "Die Fledermaus" by J. Strauss (son), dramaturgy, direction, Grand Theatre, Poznań 2016
• "Ariodante" by G.F. Handel, direction, co-author of a set design, Warsaw Chamber Opera, Warsaw 2016

• "Pagliacci" by R. Leoncavallo, direction, Grand Theatre, Poznań 2015
• "The Angel of the Odd" by B. Coli, direction, Grand Theatre, Poznań 2014. The performance was also presented at the F. List Academy in Budapest, the A. Fredro Theatre in Gniezno, and as part of the Opera Festival in Kudowa-Zdrój.
PERFORMING ARTS AND INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS:

• "Songs of Miranda," direction, co-author of set design and music, 29th Shakespeare Festival, Gdańsk 2025

• "Bolezlavus: Chronicles, Artifacts, Haplogroups," script and direction of the outdoor performance, Foundation Asocjacja, Poznań 2025. The performance was presented as part of the Poznań celebrations of the 1000th anniversary of the coronation of the first king of Poland (ICHOT), as well as the International Street Theatre Festival in Jelenia Góra (C.K. Norwid Theatre) and in Głogów (A. Gryphius Theatre).

• "Act III of Lorca's Bloody Wedding," installation, as part of the In_Space/Ex_Space group exhibition, Słodownia Gallery, Stary Browar, Poznań 2024

• "Ghosting/Dziady," text, direction, set design, music, Z. Raszewski Theatre Institute, Warsaw 2024. The project was created as part of a grant from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The performance was also presented at the "Tłusta Langusta" Republic of Art in Poznań in 2025.

• "...when meadow, grove, and stream...", installation, sound art, as part of the My Music program (no. 108), ZAMEK Cultural Center, Poznań 2023

• "Callar y quemarse", set design, music, installation, Republic of Art "Tłusta Langusta", Poznań 2023. The project was also presented at the Malta Festival 2023 in Poznań.
• "Młyn Djabelski. Biography of a Forgotten Work" a performance inspired by L. Różycki's opera, direction, set design, co-authored music, lighting, Z. Raszewski Theatre Institute, Warsaw 2022. This production was created as part of the 7th edition of the "Placówka" competition.

• "Carmen. Toujours la mort", G.Bizet/T.Rożynek, concept, dramaturgy, direction, Grand Theatre, Poznań 2021

• "ORFEO / New Opera Experiment", opera libretto, 2020. The text was written as part of a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

• "Isolation: Carmen, Don Giovanni, Don Pasquale," concept, direction, Grand Theatre, Poznań 2020

• "[REK]in Pol," T. Kaczorowski, directed reading, Scena Wspólna, Poznań 2018

• "Krzysztof Cover Baczyński," P. Przybyła, directed reading, Scena Wspólna, Poznań 2018

• "Where Are You, John Cage?", directed concert and happening for children, CSD Poznań 2017

• "Johanna," K. Chołoniewska, directed reading, Scena Wspólna, Poznań 2017

• "Kafka/Schulz: Revelations and Heresies," set design (with J. Kosek), Teatr Wielki Poznań 2015
AUTOMATON THEATRE:

• "New Vision. Exclusions, Acts, Sublimations," Scena Robocza, Poznań 2017

• "The Bacchae. Laughter, Howl, and the New Eleusis", Republika Sztuki "Tłusta Langusta", Poznań 2016

• "Exorcists and Therapists", 17th International Theatre Festival "Masks", Poznań 2013

• "Geppetto's Heirs", 16th International Theatre Festival "Masks", Poznań 2012

• "Puzuk" based on Vaclav Havel, Poznań Slavic Fest 2012

• "Exhumation of the Water Hen" based on Witkacy, New Curatorial Power Festival, Poznań 2012

• "Automaton Showroom", ensemble festival, Poznań 2012

• "Red Planet: Tiger, Assassin, and the Dead Empress", 15th "Masks" Festival, Poznań 2011

• "Incorporation of the Mummy of My Great-Great-Grandmother Margaret", 2nd KuratorArt Festival, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań 2011

• "Seminars of Immanent Spring" based on Roerich/Stravinsky, 6th Spring Festival, Poznań 2011

• "Lovelies and Dowdies" based on Witkacy, O.T. "Masks", Poznań 2008

ARTISTIC SUPERVISION:

• "Zwierzostan", direction, artistic supervision, and music for an outdoor performance by the Scenography Student Club, Magdalena Abakanowicz University of Arts / Malta Festival, Poznań 2024

• "Title, We Hope for", libretto to music by A. Yakushau, stage direction collaboration, tutoring of the set design by student K. Szymanowicz from Belarus as part of the Gaude Polonia program (NCK, MKDNiS), CK Zamek, Poznań 2021

• "Straszny Dwór/Verbum Nobile", St. Moniuszko, stage directing of student diploma performance, Academy of Music in Poznań 2019

• "River Theme", leading intergenerational workshops on river barges and directing performances with participants, Wrocław, Cigacice, Bydgoszcz 2018

• "Ophelia," J.F. Wojciechowski, director of a performative reading as part of the 10th edition of the Metaphors of Reality competition, Poznań 2018
SCHOLARSHIPS:
• 2025 Erasmus+ Scholarship for Teachers (lecture and workshop at the Ecole supérieure des beaux-arts de Bordeaux)
• 2024 Scholarship of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage (Ghosting / Dziady project)
• 2023 Erasmus+ Scholarship for Teachers (lecture and workshop at the Academia Ligustica di Belle Arti, Genoa)
• 07-12 2020 Scholarship of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage (libretto "Orfeo / New Opera Experiment")
• 07-12 2013 Scholarship of the Marshal of the Wielkopolska Voivodeship (performance of the Automaton Theatre "The Exorcists and the Therapists")
PUBLICATIONS:

• Baroque, the Fold, and the Language of Affects – Dramaturgical Concepts in G.F. Handel's "Ariodante," [in:] program for an opera performance, Warsaw 2016.
• Kafka/Schulz: Revelations and Heresies, program for a ballet performance, Poznań 2015.
• The Figure and Experience of the Author in the Dramas of Tadeusz Różewicz, "Pamiętnik Teatralny" 2013, no. 3-4.
• Drama and Performance. On the "Polish performative paradigm" (based on the example of the dramatic works of Tadeusz Różewicz), [in:] The performative turn in aesthetics, ed. L. Bieszczad, Cracow 2013.
• Andrzej Falkiewicz – a man of the theatre, [in:] "Nieczytane". Studies on the Work of Andrzej Falkiewicz, ed. J. Borowiec, Wrocław 2013.
• The Experience of Drama in Tadeusz Różewicz's "Theatre of Inconsistency," [in:] New Stories 03. New Biographies, ed. A. Adamiecka-Sitek, D. Buchwald, Warsaw 2012.
• Poznań Actors on Warsaw Stages – Hopes for Success or Missed Opportunities?, "Kronika Miasta Poznań" 2012, no. 1.
• Still Close to Strangers, "Teatr" 2008, no. 1.
ACADEMIC WORK:
• University of Arts M. Abakanowicz in Poznań
2025-present: Assistant Professor at the Department of Scenography (Faculty of Interior Design and Scenography)
2021-2024: teacher at the Department of Scenography (Faculty of Interior Design and Scenography)
TEACHING:
• University of Arts M. Abakanowicz in Poznań 2014-present
Taught classes at the Faculty of Interior Design and Scenography:
- Selected Topics in the History of Theatre and Drama,
- Introduction to Directing,
- Analysis of Dramatic Text
- Media History

Classes in English as part of the Study in English and Creative Design programs:
- Propaedeutics of Theatre Directing,
- Dramatic Text Analysis
- History of Theater
- Contemporary Theater
Supervision of student performances "The Un-Divine Comedy" and "Oresteia," leading scenography workshops "Presence" and "Non-human."
• Academy of Music in Poznań 2018-2019
Taught classes at the Faculty of Vocal and Acting:
- Acting Workshop
Directorial supervision of a graduation performance
• Children's Art Center in Poznań 2014-2019
Leading discussions as part of the Reading Scene project and panel discussions during the Playwriting Workshops in Obrzycko, supervising the youth play "Batalia o Kasę" (Battle for Cash) at the Wspólna Club
• Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań 2011-2015
Taught classes in Theatre Studies:
- Actor's Craft
- Theatre Studies
- Aesthetic Concepts
- Contemporary Theatre
- Local Community Theatre
- Scriptwriting in Amateur Theatre


PRODUCTION AND COORDINATION OF ARTISTIC WORK:
• 2005 – 2019 Poznań Association of Theatre Initiatives:
Vice President, coordinator of the "theatre/action" theatre workshop project
• 2007 – 2010 Nuova Foundation:
Coordination of the Spring Festival in Poznań, entirely devoted to interpretations of Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring," production of performances and concerts as part of the 3rd-8th editions of the Festival, production of concerts as part of the Poznań Live Festival, coordination of volunteer work, hosting discussion panels
• 2005 – 2010 Occasionally: Production and coordination of cultural events at the CK ZAMEK in Poznań (including the Ethno Port Festival), coordination of volunteer work during the "Maski" Theatre Festival in Poznań, production of performances for the Children's Art Centre in Poznań
• 2005–2007 MALTA International Theatre Festival Foundation: Production of performances and concerts as part of the MALTA, Nostalgia, and Tzadik festivals
EDUCATION:
• 2024 M. Abakanowicz University of the Arts in Poznań:
Awarded a Doctor of Fine Arts degree.
• 2011–2017 Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań:
Full-time doctoral studies at the Faculty of Polish and Classical Philology, Department of Drama, Theatre, and Performance (interrupted)
• 2005–2010 Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań:
Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities: Theatre Studies (major path), Polish Philology, French Philology, Cultural Studies, Cognitive Science. Master's thesis under the supervision of Prof. Dobrochna Ratajczakowa: "Theatrical Experience and Dramatic Performance in Tadeusz Różewicz's Theatre of Non-Consequence"
Distinction in the Adam Mickiewicz University competition for the best master's thesis.
• 2008–2009 Universite Paris-Est, Marne-la-Vallee, Paris
Studies in Modern Letters and Contemporary Art, as part of the LLP Erasmus program.
PRACTICAL EDUCATION:
• 2013 – 2014 Opera Directing Workshops: Opera Theatre Laboratory, Poznań Grand Theatre
• 2005 – 2010 Acting and Theatre Workshops: The Living Theater/USA, Chorea/PL, Meyerhold Biomechanics/DE, Cartoucherie/FR
• 2005 Drama Workshops: Shakespeare Festival, Gdańsk
• 2000 – 2008 Music and Dance Workshops: Dom Britanniii, Zamek Cultural Center, Children's Art Center in Poznań
• 2003 – 2004 Playwriting Workshops and Drama Training: ASSITEJ, Warsaw
• 1996 – 1999 Child Actor at the Nowy Theatre in Poznań
LANGUAGES:
Polish (native language)
English (fluent in spoken and written English) writing)
French (fluent in speaking and writing)

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