The Andrzej Nardelli Award for the best acting debut has been presented since 1999. The idea arose from the need to promote young, talented actors who, despite being recognised for their diploma performances, would often disappear from the view of educators and critics shortly after receiving their diplomas.

The award’s patron was chosen for a reason: he is remembered as a young, talented and sensitive artist with excellent stage presence, whose promising career was cut short by his tragic death at the age of 25. Andrzej Nardelli made his debut in the 1968/69 season on the stage of the National Theatre in Warsaw, playing Orcio in The Un-Divine Comedy by Zygmunt Krasiński, directed by Adam Hanuszkiewicz. His portrayal of Kordian, also at the National Theatre, secured his place in the history of Polish theatre. Between 1964 and 1968, he studied at the Acting Department of the State Theatre School (PWST) in Warsaw. During his four years of study, he played many demanding roles, including in Becket or the Honor of God, Maiden’s Vows, Hamlet, and Beniowski.

The financial part of the ZASP Critics Section’s award is complemented by a graphic work and the sculpture “Golden Beak,” funded by the management of the T. Makowski State School of Fine Arts in Łódź. The prototype of the sculpture was created by the school’s graduate Abigail Frączek, while each year’s individual “beak” is made by sculpture teacher Tatiana Kamińska.