Piotr Machalica
After graduating from Panstwowa Wyzsza Szkola Teatralna (Warsaw Theatre School) in 1981, he joined Teatr Powszechny (Powszechny Theater) in Warsaw where he acted for the next 25 years. On this very stage he created his characters in dozens of plays, including Eurypides’ “Medea” directed by Zygmunt Hübner, Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” by Agnieszka Glinska or Shakespeare’s “King Lear” by Piotr Cieplak.
He also acted in many other theaters in Warsaw (Scena Prezentacje, Ochoty, Rampa, Ateneum, Studio Buffo, Komedia, Nowy, Roma, Syrena, Na Woli, Bajka, Teatr Narodowy, Mazowiecki Teatr Muzyczny Operetka), Poznan (Teatr Nowy, Scena na Pietrze), Chorzow (Teatr Rozrywki), Cracow (Teatr Buckleina), Wroclaw (Teatr Piosenki) and London (Teatr Polski “ZASP”). Since 2006, Piotr Machalica has been the artistic director of Adam Mickiewicz Theater in Czestochowa.
In the Czestochowa Theater he performed in Ken Hughes’ “Sammy” (monodrama) directed by Anna Kekus-Poks, Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” by Julia Wernio, Ludmila Pietruszewska’s “Do dna” by Andre Hübner-Ochodlo, Moliere’s “The Middle-Class Gentleman” by Waldemar Smigasiewicz, and “Tacy duzi chlopcy” (songs of Jan Wolek) directed by Machalica himself.
Currently, in Adam Mickiewicz Theater, Piotr Machalica plays in: Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” by Andre Hübner-Ochodlo, “TANGO FM” by Jacek Bonczyk, “Hemar w chmurach. Kabaret” (directed by himself), “Stachura” by Robert Doroslawski, “Milosc i polityka” by Jerzy Bonczak. In 2015 Machalica directed Yasmina Reza’s “Life X 3” (Three versions of life).
In the meantime, Piotr Machalica continued to collaborate with theaters in Warsaw. In Polonia Theater, he appeared in Woody Allen’s “God” directed by Krystyna Janda (2009), “Krzysztof M. Hipnoza” by Krzysztof Materna (2009), and Eugen O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey into Light” by Krystyna Janda. In OCH-Teatr, he played in Edward Albee’s “The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?” by Kasia Adamik and Olga Hajdas, Jan Wolek’s “Tacy duzi chłopcy” directed by himself. Currently he can be seen in Robin Hawdon’s “A Surfeit of Lovers” (“Weekend z R.”) and Ray Cooney’s “It Runs in the Family” (“Przedstawienie świąteczne w Szpitalu sw. Andrzeja) both directed by Krystyna Janda.
Since 2015, Machalica has been working with Teatr 6. Piętro (6th Floor Theater) in Warsaw. He sang in “Mlynarski obowiazkowo!” by Jacek Bonczyk and played in Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” by Andrzej Bubien (premiered on November 21, 2015).
On the silver screen, Piotr Machalica debuted as a student with his role in “Rycerz” by Lech Majewski. Among many others, he played in Krzysztof Kieslowski’s “Krotki film o milosci” (A Short Film About Love”), Janusz Majewski’s “Zloto dezerterow” (Deserters’ Gold), “Dzien swira” (Day of the Wacko) and “Wszyscy jestesmy Chrystusami” (We’re all Christs) by Marek Koterski, or Jacek Bromski’s “Zabij mnie glino” (Kill Me, Cop) which received the Award from the Head of Cinematography for filmmaking in the feature category in 1987.
Machalica has played in 65 shows of Teatr Telewizji (Television Theater) – including Andrzej Chrzanowski’s “Swiety eksperyment”, “Elzbieta, Krolowa Anglii” and “Sokol Maltanski” by Laco Adamik – and numerous TV productions, like Kieslowski’s “Decalogue IX” (Dekalog IX), “Ekstradycja” series by Wojciech Wojcik or “Kameleon” by Janusz Kijowski, among others.
Since his early days as an artist, Piotr Machalica has been singing and performing in musical concerts. He has become known for his glorious interpretations of Bulat Okudzhava, Georges Brassens, Jan Wolek, Wojciech Mlynarski or Kabaret Starszych Panow (“Big Zbig Show”, “Zimy zal”).
In 2002, as part of “Zlota kolekcja” by Polskie Radio (Polish Radio’s “Golden Collection”), Piotr Machalica debuted with his first music album called “Brassens i Okudzawa”. The second one, called “Moje chmury plyna nisko” came out a decade later. The actor’s third record called “Piaskownica” saw the light of day in 2015. It consists solely of original songs written exclusively for Machalica (music by J. Satanowski, W. Borkowski, J. Grzywacz, J. Strobel, K. Niedźwiecki, M. Walczak, all lyrics by Jan Wolek).