Mapping Brazil - Performing Arts: South and Mideast

Cultural scene in Curitiba

Marcio Abreu: “There are countless singular, diverse, vibrant initiatives by actors but an absence of public policies for culture that live up to the city’s vibrant dynamic. (...) Those of us from Companhia Brasileira de Teatro currently have sponsorship from Petrobras for three years and we have set up some partnerships with institutions and theatres from France, a country where we also do some work. But I cannot say that this is the reality of most actors working in Curitiba. (...) There are no long-term job prospects. Those that exist are ones that actors and groups make up for themselves, creating their own means for survival, or else they are based on national or international partnerships outside the city. (...) The drama produced in Curitiba has repercussions outside the city, despite the limited local support. Works of every kind are investigated, with singular results. (...) As for the local event calendar, there is Festival de Teatro de Curitiba, which puts on a few international productions in the midst of a predominantly national line-up.”

Marcio Abreu is a playwright, actor and artistic director who works in partnership with other actors. Companhia Brasileira de Teatro, based in Curitiba, is an independent theatre collective with members, collaborators and activities in different parts of the country. It has an ongoing cycle of research, creation and production, maintaining an active repertoire since its creation in 2000. Its targets are to continue to investigate and create, focusing on interventions and interactions between the arts, exchanges between actors and collectives, staging works in other parts of the country and abroad, maintaining its repertoire, maintaining its premises with a rehearsal room and office, and developing parallel educational activities and new ways of interacting with a broader range of audiences

Leonarda Glück: “Curitiba is well known around the country for its high artistic and cultural standards, but there is little reception for its reflections about its contemporary art. (...) Long-term work prospects are limited for actors, and slightly easier for those in groups and/or collectives, reflecting the importance of joint work in cultural productions. (...) Drama and its development in the local scene is indispensable for education and knowledge development, but it is neglected by the authorities. (...) The only international productions are staged during Festival de Curitiba.”

Leonarda Glück has been actor-in-residence, collaborating actor and artistic director with Casa Selvática and Selvática Ações Artísticas, Curitiba, since 2012. Its targets are to hold exchanges, workshops and other educational activities in the realm of the arts, to produce and stage drama productions in Curitiba, other parts of Brazil and other countries, and to foster the independent management of artistic activities in Curitiba.

Cultural scene in Porto Alegre

Fernando Zungo: “The cultural scene is on the rise. After a period of crisis in the country, the prospects are for increased incentives and cultural output, although there is still little in the way of investments or visibility for new or small-scale groups. These theatre companies and established actors have a hard time putting on their productions. The fact that local actors are better known thanks to globalisation and their involvement in the global cultural scene has encouraged production in Porto Alegre. (...) There are few private producers in the commercial circuit that put on festivals or envisage making a profit, such as the Street Theatre Festival and Porto Alegre em Cena, which are put on using government funds, offer low admission prices and maintain high artistic standards. (...) Even with financial difficulties, Porto Alegre em Cena continues to hold its position as one of the biggest theatre events in Latin America.”

Fernando Zungo is the assistant coordinator of Porto Alegre Em Cena, an international theatre festival founded in 1993. It aims to be a global benchmark for quality in international theatre.

Luisa Barros: “The current political and economic circumstances do not augur well for theatre professionals. To illustrate: the Rio Grande do Sul state government cut its arts budget from 28.2 million reais (around 8.2 million euros) to R$ 17.8 million (around 5.1 million euros) this year, and has even cogitated the backward notion of merging its departments of culture and sports. Since 2005, the Porto Alegre municipal authority has provided a special management team for the arts at its traditional venue, Usina do Gasômetro, with the aim of subsidising the use of the space to maintain theatre and dance companies, as well as offering lighting, set design, costume design and production workshops. However, the current state of this initiative can be illustrated by a recent event: one of the groups that is resident at the Usina has cancelled its production because of the insalubrious conditions in the rehearsal room, with pools of water caused by the leaks when it rains, lack of electricity, and lack of audio and lighting equipment. Many of the new generation of actors are joining the wave of migration to the south-east of Brazil in search of better professional opportunities. Most of the actors who stay in Rio Grande do Sul take on more than one job to be able to make a living from their cultural activities.

Despite the high artistic quality of the productions and the excellent standard of the degree and education courses in drama at the federal and state universities of Rio Grande do Sul, the area is still limited when it comes to the development of playwrights and training of technical staff and producers. The whole context is constrained by the level of funding, which is far too low to match the vibrancy of the sector and the demand for cultural projects.”

Luisa Barros has a degree in public relations from PUC-RS and a postgraduate diploma in entertainment management from ESPM-RJ. She is responsible for Capitão Comunicação e Cultura production company, is production director with Teatro Geográfico, and engages in research of popular culture.

Cultural scene in Brasília

Guilherme Reis: “Brasília’s cultural scene is rich and diverse and in the throes of professionalisation. This in a city that plays host to over a hundred embassies, where citizens from the whole country live in a great cultural melting pot. The Culture Fund is one of the biggest in the country (50 million reais a year – about 14.5 million euros), and Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, SESC and Caixa Cultural are all involved in funding productions. When it comes to funding from tax relief laws, there is the Culture Fund (0.3% of taxes collected) and the Culture Incentive Law, currently worth around 45 million reais (around 13 million euros). Private sector involvement is on the rise, new non-governmental venues are appearing, the Drama Department of the University of Brasilia is building up a solid body of work, and local writers are starting to find their voice. (...) Drama is still incipient locally, but has great potential for growth. The most important opportunity for international exchange is Cena Contemporânea, the Brasília International Theatre Festival, an annual event created in 1995. There is also sporadic support provided by embassies.”

Guilherme Reis has been the Secretary for Culture of the Federal District since 2015. Targets: to create, maintain, preserve, stimulate and support libraries, cultural venues, museums, archives, theatres, performing arts venues, orchestras, choirs, cinemas and other cultural manifestations, either directly or indirectly; to formulate and execute the cultural policy and propitiate means for access to culture through the maintenance of the cultural institutions, venues and assets in the Federal District.

Cultural scene in Goiânia

Fernanda Fernandes: “Goiânia is still a very young city, but it already has some interesting music and drama activities. There are two degree courses in the arts: drama at the Federal University of Goiás, which has existed since 2000, and a technical course in theatre production at Instituto de Artes Basileu França. There are three local and national festivals and exhibitions, and some include international attractions. The most active groups are funded by municipal and state tax relief laws, Funarte and Petrobras (few).”

Fernanda Fernandes has been coordinator of Teatro SESC Centro since 2014 and cultural producer of SESC Goiás since 2010.

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