The Institute for Studies of the Method of Acting – Laboratory Theatre [Instytut Badań Metody Aktorskiej – Teatr Laboratorium]
the official name of Grotowski’s theatre adopted on 1 September 1966. The name was an expression of the fundamental changes that had taken place within the group in the period before and after the premiere of The Constant Prince. The name indicated that for Grotowski and his companions, methodical work on the art of acting and the theatrical art carried out according to the principles applied in academic research institutions had become a more important objective than the preparation and presentation of further performances. The model that Grotowski referred to in this context was The Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen. The idea for the Institute was most clearly expressed in ‘Laboratorium w teatrze’ (The laboratory in the theatre) printed in an abridged and modified version as the chapter ‘Methodological Exploration’ in Towards a Poor Theatre.
Laboratorium w teatrze, z Jerzym Grotowskim rozmawiał Bogusław Czarmański, „Tygodnik Kulturalny” 1967 nr 17, z 23 kwietnia, s. 1, 6. Wersja skrócona: Jerzy Grotowski: Instytut Badań Metody Aktorskiej, w programie: Teatr Laboratorium – Instytut Badań Metody Aktorskiej, Akropolis, 1967; przedruk pod tytułem Methodical Exploration, przełożyły Amanda Pasquier, Judy Barba, [w:] Towards a Poor Theatre, Odin Teatrets Forlag, Holstebro 1968, s. 127–131 (wydanie polskie: Badanie metody [w:] Jerzy Grotowski: Ku teatrowi ubogiemu, opracował Eugenio Barba, przedmowa Peter Brook, przełożył z języka angielskiego Grzegorz Ziółkowski, redakcja wydania polskiego Leszek Kolankiewicz, Wrocław 2007, s. 123–128).