Brazil's Companhia de Teatro Contemporaneo will be part of the Chicago Improv Festival with the Company improvisation group called IMPROTEMPO. The show that will be present part of the international and Latin stage, with Chinese, New Zelanders, Italians, French and other improvisers. Look for the show at ComedySportz Theatre, Wed. April 2, 8 p.m.. Instituto Cervantes: Fri. April 4th, 10:00PM; Sat. April 5th, 8:00 PM.
CABARET IMPROTEMPO
The show's aesthetic is based on cabaret in which the audience is invited to interact thanks to memories or keepsakes of moments lived. The show also contains musical numbers and stands up inspired by Brazilian "cheesy" style.
Scenes will be built at the time in front of spectator's eyes, thanks to suggestions from the audience. We'll see an unforgettable day in someone's life in the audience, and from this we'll see how would be such day if it had taken other paths and so thrill the audience with lots of humor. The cabaret is composed of actresses and improvisers comedians.
Cabaret Improtempo was staged for a short period, from the15th to the 29th of January at the Cia. de Teatro Contemporaneo headquarters just after a season at Teatro Candido Mendes de Ipanema, from the 10th of October to the 29th of December2013, with great success.
Improtempo's cast is composed of professional actors from the Company Teatro Contemporaneo directed by Dinho Valladares and develops in the Cia. a perform work focused on improvisation theatre and actors' development by instant creativity. With Improtempo, Cia de Teatro Contemporaneo realized a tour in 2013 through cities of Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Mendoza in Argentina.
HISTORY
Impro's history began in 2004 when the Company, while on tour in Buenos Aires, got a contact with the LPI ( Professional League of Improvisation ) that coordinates all the improvisation movement in South America.
Since then, a very productive exchange started and generated the Carioca Improvisation Championship. The Brazilian Improvisation Championship and the South American Improvisation Championship beyond several international workshops produces thanks to the Company well-known improvisers from all over the world, such as Ricardo Berhens ( Argentina ), Omar Galvan ( Spain ), Shawm Kinley ( Canada ), Bobbi Block and Amy Roeder ( USA ) and many others.
From then on, Companhia de Teatro Contemporaneo kept on developing different ways of improvisation that exist worldwide ( match of impro, sports theater, etc. )
About
Production coordination: Cia de Teatro Contemporaneo
Artistic Director: Dinho Valladares
Choregraphy: Aline Bourseau
Costumes: Fernanda Lima
Cast:
Bruno Seixas
Flavio Lobo
Zeca Carvalho
Rodrigo Am�©m
Jos�© Guilherme Vasconcellos
Ursula Ribeiro
Natalia Fernandes
Angela Maurity
Adriane Banack
Julie Chaves
CABARET IMPROTEMPO — Coordination: Cia. de Teatro Contemporaneo Direction: Dinho Valladares. With Bruno Seixas, Flavio Lobo, Zeca Carvalho, Rodrigo Am�©m, Jos�© Guilherme Vasconcellos, Ursula Ribeiro, Natalia Fernandes, Angela Maurity, Adriane Banack and Julie Chaves. A cabaret show with musical numbers and improvisation scenes. ( 60 min ). ComedySportz Theatre : Wed. April 2nd, 8:00PM. Instituto Cervantes: Fri. April 4th, 10:00PM; Sat. April 5th, 8:00 PM.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR DINHO VALLADARES' INTERVIEW
1 — How theatre happened into your life since you had a formation in economy at PUC ( Pontifical University Catholic, Minas Gerais, Brazil )?
When I was a child I used to spend my holidays in Rio de Janeiro with my grandma. When I arrived down there, she already had a kid's theater programming to watch. We watched all plays programmed in this period, at Teatro da Praia which is an Evangelistic church now.
I studied in the University Federal of Minas Gerais' Pedagogical Centre, a kind of Application School. There too, was a drama professor who always aimed at staging something with us. PUC's academic Director of faculty was already very active when I was studying. Then I directed the LIBELU ( Liberdade e Luta - Liberty and fight ) which valorized arts and gave a special privilege with theatre. I was part of academic direction. But I had a real brain wave when I saw Othello with Juca de Oliveira and Ney Latorraca. Ney's performance as Iago has been fundamental in my choice. I saw there what I wanted to do. I graduated, handed diploma for my father and went to Rio. Then I came back after doing economy, which was fundamental in my career, especially in times of Rouanet Law.
2 — Where did you get this interest for art?
It comes from university, my implication with politics and my wish to change the world thanks to politics. I entered the PDT ( Democratical Workers Party ), then PT ( Workers Party ) and then I left it. Have a look on how closed political channels were and how art and theater were alternatives for my generation. I started theater to express thoughts, by writing, directing and acting, not necessarily at the same time but almost. My generation came from arts and met a bad 'scenario', view of society. Many of us thought they could survive without entering this established scenario.
3 — According to you, director and founder of the Company Teatro Contemporaneo, what does mean the work being done so far?
Cia. de Teatro Contemporaneo means my fight and all participant's one for a better world, for relationships more human and more friendly in art of representation. It means to understand that the art is a right for everybody and everyone can practice it. Theater, is an improvement workshop for human being and the best investment in yourself. Expression works with the universe. The possibility to live other lives is such an enriching experience and everyone should know it once, for oneself. The Cia. was a rescue of artists who did surviving art only ( The one you do to speak for someone but not for your heart ), to a complete art and make themselves masters of their trajectory.
4 — What's the artistic reference for the company?
The Cia. always aimed at understanding contemporary Man, its signs and values. We are always fetching for significations of signs and understanding social values. Extracting those signs and joining them into classical plays, it can become even more significant.
5 — What touched you the most lately at the Cia.?
Many things. The first one is maturation level from our actors. They are the best I've ever known and their acting level make them communicate in any media with lots of success. Another one is our international relationships that are getting deeper and deeper. In April 2013 we did a tour in Argentina and went to Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Mendoza in which we were very well received. Today, with Championship we'll be honored to receive friends from Argentina, Peru, and Uruguay. Moreover, we'll meet Amy Roeder from Chicago, Illinois, who is coach in Second City ( where most of the finest comedians in the world got formation ) and Chicago Improv Festival coordinator. We'll meet in the Company's headquarters for a workshop. We ddo all those projects without any sponsors.
6 — Can you tell more about "Improvisation Championship" and "Cabaret Improtempo".
There are two champions projects. The Championship will happen at the Cia. de Teatro Contemporaneo headquarters for its tenth edition in October, on Saturdays and Sundays and the Cabaret Improtempo on Thursdays. Championship consists of teams such as Cachorrada, Armacena, Frangos de Makumba, Imprudentes... Our actors create scenes from a title given by the audience and let improvising art in evidence. People love it so much and die laughing. Comedy is the key point of the company!
The Cabaret Improtempo show is the Cia.'s team and has some of the best improvisers de Rio de Janeiro thanks to Bruno Seixas, Jos�© Guilherme Vasconcelos, Rodrigo Am�©m, Flavio Lobo, Zeca Carvalhohe and the actresses Adriane Banack, Ursula Ribeiro, Natalia Fernandes, Angela Maurity, Julie Chaves and Sofia Kern that brighten the show.
7 — What about actor Dinho?
Actor Dinho moved on Dinho from Cia. de Teatro Contemporaneo. There I can Express my art with more authorship in many ways. Sometimes, I take actor way. I'll be the presenter and the ceremony master. We're planing a great 2014.
8 — What projects in the future?
We'll present William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in January, adapted by Walcyr Carrasco. In February we will present A Familia e a Festa na Roca by the author and director Ivan Fernandes, from Martins Penna texts. Our next kids play A Borboleta Azul ( Blue Butterfly ) written by myself. I am about to publish two books in 2014. One is called Como montar uma peca de teatro ( How to stage a theatre play ),to people who wants to stage a play but they do not know how. The other one is Minhas pecas ( My plays ), the first volume of my kids plays: A festa no ceu ( Party in the sky ), A Bailarinha Rosa e o soldadinho azul ( Pink Ballerina and blue soldier ), Anita a menina e o circo ( Anita girl and the Circus ), A Princesinha desobediente ( Naughty princess ), Naipi, A Indiazinha ( Little Indian ). Besides, we're looking for a sponsor in order to have a better theater of about 300 seats and then to stage more Brazilian programs with contemporary authors.
9 — What would you say to young people who wish to do theater?
Enjoy! It's marvelous! Everybody should! But seek quality places. Art of representation is a unique experience so if you choose the wrong place you'll be traumatized and you will think people from theatre art are all sons… If you want to live a great experience, get a quality place. In case of professional formation, the first step that indicates quality is to know whether the school is legalized. To get information about it just ask to whom assists you: "Do you publish trainees' names in official journal when the formation is over?" Because only legalized schools are allowed to publish, which are audited by Ministry of Education through State Department of Education. Be in schools with responsible teachers, with decent physical space and professional structure. Nowadays, to get a DRT ( Regional Delegacy of Work ) is not enough. It's necessary to have a good formation and paying attention to unofficial schools.
