The paper is aimed at presenting and discussing the theoretical (and metaphorical) concept of assemblage of memory inspired by and grounded in the creative work done in connection with social research within the framework of participatory theatre. Based on three projects of this kind that I collaborated on, all taking memory as their theme, "The Method of National Constellations" (2014-2016), "Prayer. A Common Theatre" (2016-2017), and "Bieżenki" (2018), the concept draws both on artistic, and sociological thinking. In general terms, the assemblage can be described as a product of creativity, constructed using found materials, such as stories, images, emotions, behaviours, objects, etc., which are adapted, or appropriated to compose a new meaningful entity. Hence, if we see memory as an assemblage, we must see it as creative, pluralistic, and inclusive. In result, for one thing, we become able to give up on the essentialist, integrative notion of a community of memory, potentially in conflict with others, in favour of multitude and diversity of memories, potentially bridged across differences. This is also congruent with the concept of agencement, as introduced by philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, who suggest that we should view social phenomena as dynamic and heterogeneous arrangements of a variety of elements, material and immaterial, natural and artificial, human and non-human, that are dependent on the connections between them rather than their intrinsic qualities. Thus defined, the assemblage of memory cannot be accessed through text-oriented methodologies that still seem to predominate the humanities (with their focus on the witness, and testimony), but requires innovative, creative procedures, which, as exemplified by the above-mentioned theatrical projects, are capable of revealing its structure and dynamics. As Svetlana Alexievich, whose work inspired the play "Prayer. A Common Theatre," noted: "The story-tellers are not just witnesses, the least of that; first and foremost, they are actors and creators."
