Kazimierz Braun


Kazimierz Braun is a Polish director, writer, and scholar.

Biography

Braun earned a master's degree in Polish literature from Poznań University in 1958, and a master's in directing from the Warsaw School of Drama in 1962. He earned a Ph.D. in letters from Poznań University in 1971, a habilitation in theatre from Wrocław University, and a habilitation in directing from the Warsaw School of Drama in 1988. He became a tenured professor at the University at Buffalo in 1989.
He made his debut as a professional theatre director in 1961, and as a professional television director in 1962. He has directed works at the Polish Theatre in Warsaw, Teatr Wybrzeże in Gdańsk, the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków, and Teatr Solskiego in Tarnów, as well as in Canada, Germany, Ireland, and the United States. He was the artistic director of Teatr Osterwy in Lublin from 1967–1971, and general and artistic director there from 1971–1974. He was general and artistic director of the Contemporary Theatre in Wrocław from 1975–1984, but was fired by the Communist authorities because of his oppositional activities.
Since 1985, Braun has lived and worked in the United States. He has directed at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles, the Chicago Actors Ensemble, and Kavinoky Theatre in Buffalo. His best-known directorial works include plays by Cyprian Norwid, Tadeusz Różewicz, William Shakespeare, and Adam Mickiewicz. He has taught at Wrocław University, New York University, Swarthmore College, the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the University at Buffalo.
Braun has translated works from English, French, and Italian into Polish, and from Polish, French, and Russian into English.

Family

Braun's father, Juliusz Braun, was a lawyer, professor of ecology, Catholic activist, and political prisoner under Joseph Stalin. His mother was Elżbieta Korwin-Szymanowska. Both died in 1990.
Braun is married to Zofia Reklewska-Braun, a writer and theatre historian. They have three children and five granddaughters.

Directing experience

Braun has directed dozens of theatre productions in Poland and the United States, including: