Malgorzata Komorowska is a theater designer whose shows manage to mirror her life. A Pole who received her master of fine arts degree from the University of Illinois, Komorowska designed the costumes for Wisdom Bridge Theatre`s ”Hunting Cockroaches,” a play about Polish immigrants lost in the wilds of New York. She then painted the abstract backdrop for Lifeline Theatre`s ”Caught in the Act,” one-acts about displaced South Africans.
Her latest American assignment is the Commons Theatre production of Christopher Hampton`s ”Tales From Hollywood.” It too depicts the experiences of immigrants (Thomas Mann, Bertolt Brecht, Greta Garbo, Arnold Schoenberg), artists in 1940s Hollywood who were used, ignored or turned into legends.
”Tales From Hollywood” (featuring, among others, Calvin MacLean and Ellyn Duncan, who are pictured here) will be Komorowska`s last assignment in the U.S. In August she returns to Poland. But the year she spent in Chicago has provided a fascinating opportunity to compare two dramatically different kinds of theater.
Komorowska: ”It`s amazing. There are so many theaters here, and they`re much smaller than in Poland. The theater people here work for very little money and must work in other jobs, while in Poland it`s your profession and you must live on it. The rehearsal period is only six weeks compared to six months at home, and shows run for a much shorter time. In Russia, a show can run for years.”
How much does ”Tales From Hollywood” reflect her experience? ”It reminded me of how strange I too felt in another country where people live differently, look at money differently and have different values from what you are used to. I`m still surprised and still feel different; the play brought out all that.”
Despite these differences, Komorowska`s theater art has fit our Chicago stages nicely indeed. Chicago`s loss is Poland`s gain.
”Tales From Hollywood” runs through July 24 at 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.;
769-5009.
