The Theatre of the Absurd: an essay concerning the absurd and its echoes in contemporary times

• Grant number: 20/07891-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2020
• End date: September 30, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Arts - Theatre
• Principal Investigator: Cassiano Sydow Quilici
• Grantee: Giovanna Ueda Morales
• Host Institution: Instituto de Artes (IA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project of scientific research intends to make an approach to the Theatre of the Absurd, a category defined by Martin Esslin in the 60s, based on mapping the elements that compose that type of theater, both dramaturgically and from staging perspective. The research will explore the absurd as a philosophical concept and the relation between that concept and the researched theatrical expression. This project will look into the historical context in which the Theatre of the Absurd emerged, seeking to understand its importance, its impulses and its consequences. In addition, it intends to address some echoes of this trend in contemporary Brazilian scene, making an analogy with the current context focusing on aspects that bring it closer to our reality and seeking to understand how its elements are present today.Also, this scientific research will study two contemporary dramaturgies and performances that have elements of this tendency: "The days I don't Die", written by Paloma Franca Amorim and staged by Cia. Ultravioleta_s; and "Small Anti-Dramatic Litany for the Emergency Meeting of the Professors of the Institution Feitosa Bulhões, the Excellence of Teaching in More than Five Decades of Operation" (free translation from: "Pequena Ladainha Anti-Dramática para a Reunião de Emergência dos Catedráticos da Instituição Feitosa Bulhões, a Excelência do Ensino em Mais de Cinco Décadas de Funcionamento"), written and directed by Chico Carvalho, and staged by Cia. Do Bife, analyzing how these elements relate to a reinvention of the trend researched in this project in current times.I will study two contemporary dramaturgies and performances that have elements of this tendency: "The days I don't Die", written by Paloma Franca Amorim and staged by Cia. Ultravioleta_s; and "Small Anti-Dramatic Litany for the Emergency Meeting of the Professors of the Institution Feitosa Bulhões, the Excellence of Teaching in More than Five Decades of Operation" (free translation from: "Pequena Ladainha Anti-Dramática para a Reunião de Emergência dos Catedráticos da Instituição Feitosa Bulhões, a Excelência do Ensino em Mais de Cinco Décadas de Funcionamento"), written and directed by Chico Carvalho and staged by Cia. Do Bife, analyzing how these elements relate to a reinvention of the trend researched in current times.