Cora Primavera

rite-manifesto performance

ESPETÁCULOS

10/6/201813 min read

the process

After Antropofrei, in 2017 the group went through a crisis and a reevaluation of its paths. It was during this time that the first change in the company’s tyaso formation occurred: from the 21 members of Antropofrei, we were reduced to 5: Careaux Calsone, Juliana Gotz, Rafael Abrahão, Rafael Pinto, and Vitor Marques. Alongside the crisis came the opportunity to deepen our knowledge and relationships. Beyond good and evil, a crisis shapes and strengthens a group.

During this creative vibration period, our director Rafael Abrahão carried out the research project Oswald Devoured: How and Why Anthropophagy, based on History and Aesthetics in Oswald de Andrade, supervised by Carminda Mendes André at the Institute of Arts of UNESP. From this deep dive into anthropophagy and the practical knowledge explored by the company, Rafael rewrote Antropofrei, giving rise to the dramaturgy of Cora Primavera, our first rito-manifesto.

With the text completed, we gathered to determine how the group would move forward. Rafael wanted at least 16 performers to bring Cora’s rite to life. Juliana, our musical director, took on the task of assembling the orchestra. Over 70 auditions were held, selecting around 50 people—including musicians, actors, stagehands, direction, production and communication teams, architects, costume designers, makeup artists, graphic designers, and technicians. In November 2017, we conducted a scenic workshop with the pre-selected candidates to feel the group’s energy in its renewal and formation.

With everything prepared for the collective creation phase, on February 24, 2018, we began the process, which included 36 sessions, divided into three stages:

1. Group formation and table work on the dramatic text – February and March

This stage focused on a deep study of the dramaturgy. Live readings, discussions, deep dives, symbols, and everything else that fit into our banquet aimed at preparing the mind and body for the next phases. As it involved table work, the group opted to conduct this stage at the UNESP Institute of Arts.

2. Scenic investigations and creative exercises to build a shared repertoire and connect the performers to Cora Primavera and its imaginary – March to May

This was a time for creative rehearsals with études—within each scene and character/persona relationship—and workshops, such as the Frevo Workshop led by Silvana de Jesus. This stage had a hybrid spatial dynamic, alternating between rehearsal rooms at UNESP and the outdoor areas surrounding the institute.

3. Staging of the play itself – June to September

With everything explored, warmed up, and focused, it was time to begin assembling the actual performance and all it entails: staging, music, set design, costumes, sound design, securing partnerships, among other needs. This was the time to hit the streets and place the creation in the urban space. For this phase, two public squares were selected: Praça Horácio Sabino and Praça dos Arcos (Marechal Cordeiro de Farias). During rehearsals, we realized that the creative flow thrived in Praça dos Arcos, which we then chose as the official stage for the show, with its premiere planned for October of that same year.

Warm the heart of Demeter
Her seed returns to the Earth
The Earth sows her people
Takes root and frees the mind
In the darkness
The sun has risen
We proclaim: spring has returned

Dionysus, god of pleasure
Son of Semele and Zeus
Brings wine and the theater
So all our pain we shall forget
In the darkness
The sun has risen
We proclaim: spring has returned

From Demeter's loves
A new flower is born
It brings joy to the world
Cora Primavera
Poet goddess
Frees the body
Hope is renewed
We proclaim: spring has returned

Hail to spring
That colors the earth
After winter’s death
Resurrects the mortal immortal

Cora Primavera addresses LGBTphobia, trans representation, and the foundations of the Patriarchy through the anthropophagic language and aesthetics inspired by Oswald de Andrade. In a rite of consecration to Spring, the Company draws a connection between trans representation and the Greek myth of the seasons—the myth of Cora/Persephone, a character played by Renata Bastos, Nathiaga Borges, and Sofie Dijor. To contrast Greek culture and engage with the urban space, the character of Frei Caneca enters the scene through the anthropophagic fusion of the historical figure—the Carmelite friar from Pernambuco—and Rua Frei Caneca, an iconic street in São Paulo’s LGBT culture.

Other characters inhabit the dramaturgy, reinforcing both the libertarian and revolutionary discourse, as well as the moralistic-religious patriarchal narrative. In the face of our current socio-political context, Cora Primavera is presented entirely free of charge as a true urban springtime, aiming to blossom beyond seasonal flowers into the flourishing of a different society—one that embraces the plurality of bodies, races, genders, sexualities, and religions; a society that allows for coexistence.

This rite-manifesto is guided primarily by a band of 20 musicians, who perform original compositions and revive songs from Brazil’s popular culture across different regions (maracatu, samba, ijexá-funk, frevo, afoxé, ciranda, MPB, gospel, and axé), crafting a musical "patchwork" that also devours international influences (jazz, rock, pop, blues, reggae, and march).

In this production, the Company embraces Anthropophagy, as proposed by Tarsila do Amaral and Oswald de Andrade, not just as an artistic approach but as a worldview—or, as Oswald called it: Weltanschauung (a term borrowed from Nietzsche). As Augusto de Campos stated, Anthropophagy is Brazil’s original philosophy.

The show is structured as a musical, featuring 13 songs performed by the chorus.

synopsis

From Greece to Pindorama. From Pindorama to SamPã.
Santa Companhia invokes the goddess of Spring in its rite-manifesto spectacle Cora Primavera. From visible to invisible realities, this theatrical occupation makes evident the conflicts between eras, generations, and genders. We gently kindle the hunger for freedom, mixing in a cauldron Hellenic gods, shepherds, and Frei Caneca—both as a historical character and as an urban space. By devouring the street that bears the Carmelite friar’s name, we digest in a public banquet the sacred and the profane, the taboo and the totem, the body and representation, manifesting life as possibility.

HISTORY

2018

PRAÇA MARECHAL CORDEIRO DE FARIAS- PRAÇA DOS ARCOS
From October 6th to December 1st – Saturdays at 4:30 PM
And December 2nd – Sunday

Premiere season of the spectacle, which took place on Avenida Paulista on Saturdays in 2018.

ESCOLA DA CIDADE
December 4th – Tuesday at 8 PM

Cora Primavera was the guiding thread of architect Láis Damato’s graduation research at Escola da Cidade.
On the day of her thesis defense, we were invited to perform the play at the school.
We staged the prologue on Rua General Jardim and then entered the building to continue the performance.

2019

PRAÇA MARECHAL CORDEIRO DE FARIAS - PRAÇA DOS ARCOS
February 3rd to 23rd – Saturdays at 4 PM
March 16th to 30th – Saturdays at 4 PM

Second season of the spectacle on Avenida Paulista.

ETU- Encontro de Teatro Universitário
Performance at Teatro Reynuncio Lima – Theater Department of the Institute of Arts, UNESP
March 24th – Sunday at 3 PM

Participation in the University Theater Meeting with a performance in an indoor venue.

FRINGE- Festival d Curitiba
Rua XV Pedestrian Street – April 4th, Thursday at 1 PM
Praça Santos Andrade – April 5th, Friday at 2 PM
Praça General Osório – April 6th, Saturday at 12 PM
Praça Tiradentes – April 7th, Sunday at 4:30 PM

Thanks to our previous performances and a successful crowdfunding campaign, we were able to bring Cora Primavera to bloom in Curitiba.

VIGÍLIA DO LULA
Camp in front of the Federal Police headquarters in Curitiba

At the invitation of activist and militant Marina Piotto, we seized the opportunity of being in Curitiba to present the first Cora Primavera performance at the Lula Livre Vigil. It took place on Sunday, April 7th, 2019—marking one year since the political imprisonment of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

ESQUENTA FESTIVAL LULA LIVRE
On May 28th, at Teat(r)o Oficina Uzyna Uzona, we opened the Warm-Up for the Lula Livre Festival in the presence of Preta Ferreira, Bruno Ramos, Fernando Haddad, Erica Malunguinho, Sérgio Mamberti, Paschoal da Conceição, Leona Johvs, among other artists and important political figures who gathered to ignite the festival.

TEATRO DE CONTEINER
July 1st to 29th – Saturdays at 4 PM

ESCOLA NACIONAL FLORESTAN FERNANDES - MST
Participation in the LGBTQ+ training course on October 19th

(DOC)CORA

Produced by Santa Companhia in collaboration with Paula Ferreira from Batuq Produções.
The documentary focuses on the journey of the rite-manifesto spectacle Cora Primavera, with special emphasis on its trajectory in Curitiba, both at the FRINGE Festival and the #LulaLivre Vigil on April 7th, 2019—marking one year since Lula’s political imprisonment.

Premiered at Associação Cecília in October 2019.

Credits

direction and playwright: Rafael Abrahão
music direction Claudio Mascaro and Juliana Gotz
vocal coaching: Luíza Abe
assistant director: Rafael Pinheiro (pinto)
stage management: Theo Moraes
cast: Afonso Alves Costa, Amanda Chaptiska, Amanda Rocco, Ana Carolina de Medeiros, Ana Claudia Castro, Anna Merici, Arthur de Oliveira Santos, Caio Megiato, Camila Spinola, Careaux Calsone, Davi Puga, Demétrio Abrahão, Fernando Vitor, Gi Bordosa (Giovana Rosa), Giovanna Paiva (gipa), Irene Catunda, José Pontes, Malaika Cipriano, Nathiaga Borges, Pedro Coêntro, Rafael Pinheiro (pinto), Renata Bastos, Sofia Riccardi, Vitor Marques and Vivian Parisi
band: Alvaro Cotarelli - bow viola, Alex Lino- bass, Caio Righi- flute, Chico Aires- percussion, Claudio Mascaro- guitar, Debora Predella- Violin, David Misiuk - horn, Deivide Bubone- trombone, Fabia Fusco- Clarinet, Fernando Maynart - Percussion, Francys Silva- trombone, Gabriele Oliveira - trumpet, Gabriely Benedito- piano, Larissa Eva - trumpet, Larissa Oliveira - trumpet, Henrique Khede - Drums, Marcos Marques- Drums, Mario Capoeira - Drums, Natalia Lima- percussion, Rafael Abrahão- trumpet, Rafael Castelhano- percussion, Rafael Mansor- saxophone, Renato Ihu- percussion, Vinícius Brazil - percussion, Vitória Ramoska- clarinet
muse vocal: Luíza Abe
muse conductor: Juliana Gotz
graphic art: Vitor Marques
program art: Lais Damato
video editing: Pedro Coêntro
photograph: Fellipe oliveira
costumes: Careaux Calsone, Giovanna Paiva (Gipa) and Saia sem Gênero
sewing: Benedita Calistro and Saia Sem Gênero
makeup: Gi Bordosa
stage architecture: Alexandre kok Martins, Flora Atilano, Laís Damato, Lara Girardi Caitano and Victoria Liz Cohen
set designer: Bruno Moretiene, Luís Carlos (unesp)
counter-rule: Mayara Durães
sound techinician: Anna Beatriz Ribeiro and João Candau
production: Giovanna Paiva, Luíza Abe, Juliana gotz, Laís Damato, Pedro Convento, Rafael Abrahão, Rafael Pinheiro (pinto)
communication: Amanda Amaral, Demétrio Abrahão and Vitor Marques
legal advisor: Bruno Panhoca
financial advisor: Francisco Nogueira
parcerias: Small World, Atelie Labriola, Atelier Travessia, Frutaria Paulista, Vendinha das Gerais, Studio M6, Cachaça Tiê, Batuq Produções, Unesp, Tem que Ter Festa, Saia Sem Gênero, Bar da Dona Nilza, Dim Dim Bar e restaurante, DiBoa Tabacaria
special thanks: Agnus Valente, Alexandra Chaptiska, Carminda Mendes André, Geraldo Labriola, Joejoe, Margot Labriola, Priscilla Abrahão, Raul Moraes, Simone Chemmés, Sofia Riccardi, Vinicius Torres Machado, Vitória Fava

Cultura is resistance!

Santa Companhia de Teatro performed Cora Primavera at the Florestan Fernandes National School (ENFF) for the 13th class of the Landless LGBT Course – shared by MST’s official page