Training Periphery Youth in Popular Theater Traditions

Cleydson Catarina's background as a multi-disciplinary artist rooted in performance who combines masks and puppets with theater to create an artistic form that calls upon Afro-Brazilian popular traditions plays a central role in his work with periphery youth to explore questions surrounding identity, pride in one’s culture, and pressing social issues that impact them. He works with the Fábrica de Cultura (Cultural Factory) in Brasilândia (district in the north side periphery of São Paulo) to develop a program called Projeto Espetáculo (Project Theater Performance), which is a theater training program for periphery male youth. In the program, youth are not only trained in acting, but learn about Afro-Brazilian cultural traditions tied to the orixás and other spiritual practices. The youth who participate in the program come from the surrounding community, and it provides them with opportunities to engage with theater as a means to be exposed to the arts and reflect on their cultural heritage. 

Visual Arts Training in the Periphery

One of the main actors of Teatro Terreiro Encantado, Uberê Guelé, is a multi-disciplinary artist that sees himself first and foremost as a visual artist. The child of migrants from the Brazilian northeast, he was born and raised in the south side of São Paulo. He was trained as an artist in local community groups and organizations, highlighting the strong tradition of the arts in the outskirts of São Paulo. His visual art encompasses several mediums, including painting, plastic arts (paper maché, masks), and mixed media, which all share a unique aesthetic that brings to life visuals that focus on cultural traditions, histories, and social issues central to Afro-descendant Brazilians. Afro-Brazilian cosmologies is a defining characteristic of his art work. He offers workshops and classes in creative writing and the visuals arts in community centers for both adults and youth. At casas de culturas (cultural centers) run by the city in the periphery he has organized classes on paper machê, masks, and mix media. He is deeply invested in providing arts education that is accessible to periphery youth, allowing them to develop artistic training and skills that are not limited to Brazil's upper social classes.

Performing Arts Education for Children

Another key member of Teatro Terreiro Encantado, Augusto Iúna, is also a multi-disciplinary artist who works as a musician, actor, educator, and capoeirista (a person who practices capoeira). He is first and foremost a musician and musical composer, but in recent years he has used theater as way to work with youth in the local community.  He participates in the children theater groups Via Vento Cia and Estupenda Cia that uses the performing arts as a way to provide cultural and educational experiences for children in the periphery. With the actress Paloma Xavier, they developed the program Jog'Andança (PlayWandering) for the Via Vento Cia, which is a performance in which they invite children to experience with them different challenges related to the arts. The plot is framed by theater, musical and, dancing games inspired by childhood games in which the children in the audience become characters that help build the story through improvisation games. These performances expose children from the periphery to the arts through interactive activities that encourage them to engage with music, dance, and theater.