Aleksandra Kugacz-Semerci is an actress and theater pedagogue based at the Grotowski Institute in Wrocław, Poland. She graduated in philosophy from the University of Wrocław and, driven by her deep interest in theater and anthropology, continued her education in theatrical disciplines. This combination of academic inquiry and practical exploration has shaped her unique approach to performance and pedagogy.
Since 2019, she has been associated with Theater ZAR, based in Wrocław, where she has performed in productions such as Anhelli: The Howl, Medee/Moiras, and Back to Beckett. In the same year, she participated in an expedition organized by Theater ZAR to Corsica and Sardinia, where she worked on gathering traditional songs. Since then, she has continued to explore and develop her work with the songs collected during this journey, integrating them into her artistic and pedagogical practice. In collaboration with Mertcan Semerci and Jarosław Fret, she co-created the performance Nobody Meets Nobody.
From 2014 to 2018, Aleksandra was associated with the Matejka Studio, led by Matej Matejka under the auspices of the Grotowski Institute. Her contributions included the site-specific performance Harmony of Contradictions: Poland (2014) and the production of the film No More Heroes (2016). Additionally, she was part of Palimpsest of Space: Reconstruction, a collaboration with the Turkish artistic collective Budalasultan from Izmir in 2016, conducted as part of the Tandem program initiated by Studio Matejka. She also played a significant role in the performance Angry Man: Variations in Defense of Anger (2017–2018).
In 2015 and 2016, she received a scholarship from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage to execute the project Be at Home, which explored the post-war experiences of former Breslau inhabitants. She has also been involved in numerous multidisciplinary social and artistic projects addressing diverse communities and combating social exclusion.
She recently performed in the performance Life in This House is Over directed by Samantha Shay (Source Material) presented in partnership with the Pina Bausch Zentrum and the Grotowski Institute. This production, which premiered in November 2024 at the Grotowski Institute, reflects Aleksandra’s commitment to cross-disciplinary collaboration.