Praxis as developed by some Latin American collectives

group theater as an aesthetic-political tactic of resistance

Abstract

This  essay  focuses  on  the  characteristic  praxis  of  group  theater  considering  the  works,  creation  processes  and  forms  of  organization  of  some  collectives  as  aesthetic-political  tactics  for  confronting  so-called  dictatorial  cultures.  When  seeking  to  identify  the  roots  of  this  type  of  organization and theatrical production, diverse ramifications are found, involving territorialities and common elements, such as the need to develop theatrical practices that promote dialogues, debates, reflections and social transformations. Aiming to break with the business and marketing options of art, collectives were formed with proposals for horizontal relationships around experimentation with creative procedures, theatrical forms and how to share productions and gauge public reception. One of the founding elements in this process is the development of epic forms related to the framework of dialectical epic theater. This epistemology encompasses historical subjects, social contradictions, as well as subjectivities, crossed by the geographical, historical, cultural, social and subjective crossroads that define territories. From the conception of the show as an aesthetic-historical-social experiment, in contexts considered dictatorial, the aim is to explain the ways in which some Latin American theater  groups  face  times  of  oppression.  To  this  end,  the  so-called  collective-collaborative  forms  of production are reaffirmed as alternatives to the hegemonic capitalist mode of production. The study contemplates some roots of group theater; the concept of dramatics, the forms of collective-collaborative  organization  of  theatrical  work  and  epic  theater  as  a  way  of  confronting  dictatorial  contexts  in  the  work  of  the  groups  Teatro  El  Galpón  from  Montevideo,  Uruguay,  and  Coletivo  Dolores Boca Aberta Mecatrônica de Artes from São Paulo, Brazil.