Mapping Brazil - Performing Arts: Storytelling and Street Theatre

Storytelling in Brazil
Suzana Nascimento: “In Brazil there are a variety of movements for teaching and reflecting about storytelling: more systematic studies in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo; small groups in inland towns slowly developing their skills and producing quality work; major projects to train young people throughout the country. One of the main figures in this field is Francisco Gregório Filho, an actor and storyteller from the state of Acre who lives in Rio de Janeiro and takes part in various reading workshops and projects. One of the most important events is the International Storytelling Symposium, held annually in Rio de Janeiro, attracting performers and audiences from throughout the country and beyond. There is a different theme each year and storytellers from different countries are featured. There are workshops, debates, and a 24-hour non-stop storytelling marathon. It is produced by Benita Prieto, a member of Morandubetá, one of the oldest groups working in this area, and also counts on the participation of important storytellers and reading motivators like Celso Sisto and Lúcia Fidalgo.

Laerte Vargas is another important figure. One influential group in Rio de Janeiro is Tapetes Contadores de Histórias, who illustrate stories with carpets that are cut out and sewn together to open up and unveil the narratives – a technique they borrowed from the French group, Raconte Tapis. As for my work, I am interested in storytellers of causes, especially from Minas Gerais, and put on performances and workshops on this subject. There are lots of storytellers in Minas Gerais, notably Rosana Mont'Alverne, who founded a school and a publishing house aimed at preserving memory, and has designed projects to train storytelling groups with former prison inmates. Another key figure in the same state is Roberto Carlos Ramos, whose life has inspired a feature film, and who is considered one of the leaders in the field in the world.

In Rio, Bia Bedran has taken storytelling to a wider audience through public television and become something of an icon. In São Paulo, Ilan Brenman, an award-winning author of over 60 children’s books, provides consultancy and advisory services in the area of reading motivation. He writes and talks about education and culture in magazines and radio programmes, and gives talks and takes part in discussions at book fairs, schools and universities throughout the country. I believe that storytelling is particularly strong as a professionalised, systematically developed area in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Nevertheless, there are many projects in different regions, including Minas Gerais and the states of the northeast, where storytelling blends with local characteristics, improvised singer-storytelling and cordel literature.”

Suzana Nascimento is trained as an actor at Casa das Artes de Laranjeiras and earned a degree in cultural production from the Federal Fluminense University. She has performed at such diverse events as the Rio de Janeiro Book Fair and the International Storytelling Symposium. She writes and tells stories for children and young people. She has worked on the television and radio: ABZ do Ziraldo (TV Brasil), Sessão Cultural (TV Aparecida) and Rádio Maluca (Rádio Nacional). She devised the one-woman show, Calango Deu! Os causos de Dona Zaninha, which she has toured to different towns and cities in the country since 2012.

Street theatre in Brazil
Alexandre Vargas: “In Brazil, we’re going through a time when a conventional idea of street theatre coexists with groups of actors keen to investigate other kinds of work based on the understanding that the street is a very specific place. It is unpredictable, where relational dynamics are often uncontrollable.

Street theatre in the context of the Brazilian theatre scene today is a revelation and a confirmation: a revelation of a plurality of works that redefine the open-air space through performance arts – theatre, dance and other new formats; and confirmation of the wealth and the legitimacy of countless street theatre groups that have made history in the country, influenced by Commedia dell'Arte, with its universal folk archetypes.

International festivals are a wonderful tool for spreading knowledge about the more cutting-edge trends in this drama format. Their objectives are for professionals from the place where the events take place to get to know about other perspectives on the art of theatre and help to consolidate audiences who are familiar with the latest developments in the world of performance. The importance of the presence of international street theatre groups in the state of Rio Grande do Sul resides in the desire for local street theatre to transcend boundaries; for this fascinating dialect to show creations that determine the identity of our surroundings, to contest them with those that come from other parts of the globe. This results in intentionality, lines of commitment and renovation that are characteristic of interculturality which, rejecting any temptation for exoticism, can be transformed into an attitude where a festival can be a real mechanism for interchange and integration.

The last Porto Alegre International Street Theatre Festival received 300 applications from 21 states in Brazil and 11 countries. Based on these figures, the states where there is most street theatre in Brazil, in descending order, are São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul and Minas Gerais.”

Alexandre Vargas is a theatre director, artistic director and general coordinator of the Porto Alegre International Street Theatre Festival. He is also founder of Centro de Pesquisa Teatral do Ator.

Current street theatre groups, projects and festivals

• Coletivo Pulso, Grupo Teatro Público, Grupo Andante, Festival Internacional de Palco e Rua de Belo Horizonte (FIT-BH) and Grupo Galpão – Minas Gerais
• Núcleo de Pesquisa e Criação Cênica Performa, Companhia Brava, Tablado de Arruar – São Paulo
• Andaime Cia de Teatro – Brasília (DF)
• Grupo Teatro que Roda – Goiânia (Goiás)
• Grupo Erro – Florianópolis (Santa Catarina)
• Cia Carroça de Mamulengos and Grupo Garajal – Maracanaú (Ceará)
• Imbuaça – Aracaju (Sergipe)
• Tá na Rua and Grande Cia Brasileira de Mystérios e Variedades – Rio de Janeiro
• Grupo DepernasProAR – Canoas (Rio Grande do Sul)

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