Edukacyjna funkcja teatru w społeczeństwie na granicy dwóch państw : (na przykładzie Śląska Cieszyńskiego)

Educational role of a theater (with the inscribed theatrical education of children and schoolchildren) being contemporarily realized at the Polish-Czech borderland in the area of the Silesia of Cieszyn (in the border cities of Cieszyn and Czech Cieszyn) is the subject of the article. The repertoire’ Tesinskie divadlo with Czech Stage and Polish Stage — the only professional Polish-language Theater abroad, Puppet Theater ’Bajka’ (Czech Cieszyn) and impresario' the Adam Mickiewicz Theater (Cieszyn) are the theaters located in this area. The varieties of theatrical education of the youngest and young, as well as the adult audience such as ‘performances in the national language’, national repertoire (also Czech and Slovakian) — Polish Stage, Polish repertoire — Czech Stage, contests (literary, artistic), participation in dress rehearsals, participation in the creation of performances (preparation of own version of script), meetings with artists, theatrical workshops (the so-called ‘Workshops with Master’ in the Adam Mickiewicz Theater), guest performances of other theaters with performances for the youngest and young audiences, are analyzed in the article. The educational dimension of theatrical festivals, which take place in those cities — the International Theatrical Festival ‘On the Border’ (since 1990), and Festival divadel Moravy a Slezska (since 2001) where theatrical education encounters regional education, is presented In the article as well. The educational function of a theater on the border of two states is not homogenous or alienated. It coexists with other functions, such as a political, informative, cognitive, esthetic, and integrating function