Theatrical Director Generals must, more often than not, be excellent managers. An example is Wojciech Nowicki, the Director of the Jaracz Theater in Lodz, who was named Manager of the Year. Previously, he'd worked for an animated film production studio as a producer. A few years ago, he got a proposal to take over the best theater in Lodz and signed up for an MBA at Warsaw's Higher University of Business. Nowicki is completely oblivious to artistic matters at his theater. He recognized that in many places in the world, culture is connected to the promotion of some product or important social activity. "Large crowds in a theater means lots of money. If I'm planning on premiering something on Saturday, I think to myself what can I sell there at the same time?"

Polish theater is currently in a situation all too similar to the situation of meat commerce towards the end of the 1980s. Some theaters function through ration cards (subsidies from the State or local governments), while some are fully market driven, though their independence is in no way rewarded or valued. This situation exists largely due to the fact that the market system is viewed by most of Poland's active theatrical society as a malaise upon the healthy body of a government subsidized system. This is one explanation for the recent tendency to designate more and more theaters "National" - in order to protect them from market forces and competition. But this entire system is destined to fail, because sooner or later the market will prevail; and this despite anything that the partisans of subsidies can do. It would be worthwhile to recognize this fact at the beginning of this new theater season. All the more because the free market is gaining ground in theater. Until recently,