Amazonia - Young Vic

Transcription

Young Vic and People’s Palace Projects
Amazônia
By Colin Teevan and Paul Heritage
Contents
1. The Story of Amazônia, by Producer Debra Hauer
2
2. The Amazon River
5
3. The Amazon Rainforest
9
4. Brazil
17
5. Brazilian Culture
20
6. Chico Mendes
24
7. Cast and Creative Team
30
8. Interview with Colin Teevan, the Writer
31
9. Interview with Gringo Cardia, the Designer
35
10. Rehearsal Diary of Lootie Johansen-Bibby, Assistant Director
39
11. Games and Exercises
53
12. Costume Sketches and Production Shots
63
If you have any questions or comments about this Resource Pack please contact us:
The Young Vic, 66 The Cut, London, SE1 8LZ
T: 020 7922 2800 F: 020 7922 2802 e: [email protected]
Amazônia Education Partner
Compiled by: Tom Wright
Young Vic 2008
First performed at the Young Vic on Thursday 27th November 2008
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1. THE STORY OF AMAZÔNIA, BY PRODUCER DEBRA HAUER
The Young Vic’s Amazônia is much more than this year’s Christmas show. It is a journey that has taken
place over several years and across two continents. Here’s how it all came about…
In 2006, David Lan made his first trip to Brazil with theatre academic and cultural activist Paul
Heritage. Paul took David to see some of the people and places that had captivated him during his many
years of working in Brazil and David was, in turn, captivated. He visited both rural and urban areas and
witnessed events ranging from sophisticated experimental theatre to community shows, parades and
dances.
An extraordinarily energetic traditional dance-drama called Quadrilha made a particular
impression and David returned home full of enthusiasm about what he’d seen, and with a strong sense
that something must be done to share it with audiences at the Young Vic.
But what might that something be? With Paul as our guide, a team was brought together at the Young
Vic to explore possibilities for making a show inspired by Brazilian culture. At the same time we
recognised that it would be impossible to make work that involved the Amazon, without some kind of
engagement with the enormous issues of deforestation and climate change. A powerful link soon
presented itself: we discovered that December 2008 would mark the 20th anniversary of the assassination
of Chico Mendes, the great Brazilian rubber tapper turned international environmental activist. Here was
a challenge: could we make theatre that would celebrate the beauty and fun of quadrilha while at the
same time honouring the spirit of Chico Mendes and his defence of the people of the rainforest? We
decided to try to achieve just that, and in a co-production with Paul’s company People’s Palace Projects,
the Amazônia project was born.
We knew from the start that we would need a lot of help from Brazil and Brazilians in order to make
something that was more than a thin representation of a different culture. With the benefits offered by
the extensive network of contacts and experience provided by PPP, we committed to the idea that
Amazônia would be more than a theatre production: we would seek opportunities for artistic and climate
change education initiatives to support and enhance our work as theatre makers. Our hope was to involve
our local London community and to work and learn from a community in Brazil.
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In July 2007 a group returned to Brazil for further research and development of the project. We spent
time in Rio de Janeiro, meeting the brilliant playwright and actor Pedro Cardoso, the leading Brazilian
designer Gringo Cardia, and others. We travelled on to the other side of Brazil, to the Amazonian state
of Acre – birthplace of Chico Mendes and a stronghold of environmental awareness inspired by his
legacy. We based ourselves in the capital of Acre, Rio Branco, where a lively league of Quadrilha dancers
welcomed our interest in their activities. Joe Hill-Gibbins (Associate Director at the Young Vic) led a
series of workshops on storytelling with local theatre people and Gabby Vautier (Two Boroughs Projects
Manager at the Young Vic) worked with another group on the theme of theatre without words. We left
Rio Branco having made friends with local artists and climate change activists and having agreed to
return to develop our relationship with the league of quadrilha.
A plan evolved to go back to Rio Branco, this time with the focus entirely on collaboration with the
members of the Quadrilha League. The quadrilha dance teams were preparing for their annual
competition in June: here was our chance for first-hand exposure to the skills of making and dancing
quadrilha; in exchange, our team would offer workshops that encompassed costume design, film-making
and photography, and dramaturgy. This community lives on the edge of the forest and has been at the
centre of climate change politics for years, and Chico Mendes was still very much on our minds.
Tentatively, we set the dancers the challenge of incorporating ideas about Chico and his work into their
quadrilhas. To our delight, they produced wonderful results. We suggested that they consider adopting
these themes for the actual competition and the suggestion was adopted and made official.
Six months later and we were back in Brazil, this time to participate in the annual Festa competition, the
culmination of the League’s work for the whole year. Waiting for us in Rio Branco was one of our
Brazilian workshop leaders, filmmaker Fernanda Ferrari, who had spent several preceding weeks filming
the lead-up to the competition as part of the documentary that we were co-producing. Paul was asked to
be one of the competition judges and for the next four nights we watched as one group after another
amazed us with the energy and skill of their dances. Brightly coloured costumes were decorated with
natural materials of the forest, or screen-printed with Chico’s face, or of endangered animals. Songs to
celebrate Chico accompanied many of the dances, as well as banners proclaiming the urgency of
protecting the rainforest. It was all nothing short of extraordinary. The president of the league told us
that league members had been so motivated by the climate change theme that they’d been conducting
their own research on the subject and participating in local actions on the environment in their own
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neighbourhoods. On our last day in Rio Branco, one of the teams invited us to attend their tree planting,
which was the follow-up to a community clean-up initiative. It was a delightful and moving conclusion to
our stay.
Back in London, it was time to finalise preparations for Festa! Every summer the Young Vic TPR
department (Teaching, Participation and Research) produces a community theatre project that gives our
local residents from the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark the opportunity to work in a professional
production on the Young Vic stage. As part of our Amazônia year, we invited three Brazilian theatre
artists from Spectaculu – the theatre arts school founded and run by designer Gringo Cardia – to come to
London to direct, design, and act in Festa! A non-professional company of nearly 100 people ranging in
age from 14 to 80 spent three weeks learning Brazilian performing skills leading to two performances in
mid-August. They were joined by several London-based professional actors, while a further group of
volunteers learned Brazilian craft skills and produced traditional banners, masks and other decorations
for the set. The street outside the Young Vic was closed and for one afternoon and evening, Festa! spilled
out of the theatre and onto The Cut as performers joined audience members in a celebration of Brazilian
music, food, drink and above all, dance.
With summer drawing to a close, it was finally time to turn our full attention to the creation of this year’s
Christmas show, Amazônia.
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2. THE AMAZON RIVER
Much of the action in Amazônia takes place in or around the mighty Amazon River, which forms the
heart of the Rainforest and stretches over huge areas of South America.
The Amazon River is also known locally as Apurímac, Ene, Tambo, Ucayali and Solimões. In Portuguese
and Spanish it is called Rio Amazonas.
It has three cities on its banks - Iquitos in Peru, and Manaus and Belem do Pará in Brazil.
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The river systems and flood plains in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela whose waters drain
into the Solimões and its tributaries are called the "Upper Amazon". The Amazon River runs mostly
through Brazil and Peru. The countries it branches off into consist of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and
Bolivia.
The source of the Amazon is a glacial steam on a peak 5,597m above sea level called Nevado Mismi in
the Peruvian Andes.
There is a lot of debate about its real length, but it is estimated to be 6,437 kilometres long. Some argue
that this makes it the world’s second longest river, just shorter than the Nile, while other geographers
claim that the Amazon is the longer river. Either way, it is definitely the biggest river in the world in
terms of volume, having more water in it than the next top ten largest rivers flowing into the ocean put
together. It has the largest drainage area in the world at 6,915,000 square kilometres, which is 40
percent of South America’s landmass, and its mouth discharges water at a rate of 219,000 cubic metres
each second. It provides around one fifth of the fresh water running into oceans around the world. This is
why it is often called The River Sea.
At no point is the Amazon crossed by bridges, partly because it is so wide, and partly because it runs
through barely inhabited rainforest for most of its length.
Because it is in the tropics, the area of the Earth near the Equator, the Amazon does not have a cold
winter and a hot summer; rather it has a dry season where there is little rainfall and a wet season where
there is a lot. During the dry season is covers 110,000 square kilometres of land and is around 11
kilometres wide. In November as it shifts to the wet season it begins to fill, until at its peak in June it
floods 350,000 square kilometres and is on average 45 kilometres wide and 40 metres deep.
The main river is big enough for ocean steamers to travel the 1,500 kilometres from the coast upriver to
Manaus. Smaller ocean vessels can go as far as Iquitos, Peru, 3,600 kilometres from the sea.
The mouth of the Amazon estuary is 330 kilometres wide, from Cabo do Norte to Punto Patijoca, making
its width wider than the total length of the Thames!
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Sometimes, especially in February or March, the tide causes a large wave to travel inland up the Amazon
River. This tidal bore, or Poroca, can be up to four metres high and go upstream as far as 13 kilometres.
Poroca is a word from the language of the indigenous Tupi people meaning ‘great destructive noise’
because of the great roaring noise it makes. Surfers hold competitions to ride this wave, despite the
danger of hitting debris in the water (often whole trees swept inland by the wave.) In 2003 the Brazilian
Picuruta Salazar won the competition with a record ride of 12.5 kilometres over 37 minutes.
The Amazon has over 1,000 tributaries in total, 17 of which are over 1,000 kilometres long.
Amazon River Wildlife
The Amazon River has over 3,000 recognized species of fish and that number is still growing as more are
discovered. Some estimates of the total go as high as 5,000 different species.
Here are some of the river wildlife that the characters in Amazônia might encounter.
Black Caiman – a relative of the crocodile, this carnivorous reptile can grow to up to 5 metres long,
covered in leathery black hide. They eat fish and sometimes mammals like deer or tapirs. They sometimes
attack humans, but in turn humans pose a greater threat to the Caiman as they are hunted for their meat
or leather.
Piranha - Legends persist about these carnivorous, viciously teethed fish attacking humans, although
apart from a few bites out of an unwary bather, this appears to be untrue. The piranha mainly eats other
fish.
Bull Shark - The bull shark has been seen 4,000 km up the Amazon River at Iquitos in Peru.
Electric Eel - A two metre long fish that produce electric shocks that can stun or kill a person.
The river supports thousands of species of fish, as well as crabs, algae, and turtles.
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Certain river wildlife in the Amazon has also formed the basis for some of the characters in Amazônia.
Boto - The river is the main home of the Amazon River Dolphin, or Boto, which grows up to 2.6 metres
long. There is a myth that the Boto is an Encantado, ‘an enchanted one’.
Encantados live in Encante, an underwater paradise, but sometimes they yearn for the pain and passion
of the human world. At night the Boto becomes a handsome young man who seeks out music and parties.
The boto seduces girls, impregnating them, but then returns to the river to turn back into a dolphin again
in the morning. Sometimes Encantados have been known to take their lovers, or the children that are
produced from their affairs, into Encante with them, never to be seen again.
There are still many people who live in the Amazon who believe this to be true and who avoid going near
the river on their own, lest they are taken.
Anaconda - This snake is found in shallow waters in the Amazon basin, spending most of its time just
below the surface, with its nostrils above the water. One of the largest snakes in the world, no one knows
its maximum length but individuals have been caught who were 5.2 metres long and weighed 45 kilos.
The anaconda wraps its self around its prey, constricting them, then dislocates its jaw in order to swallow
head first the creature, even if the prey is much larger than the snake, then crushing it with its internal
contractions. It is known in Spanish term as the "matatoro," or "bull killer".
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3. THE AMAZON RAINFOREST
As the massive tree in the centre of our production shows, the Rainforest is of huge importance to the
people who live within its boundaries. In fact it is of huge importance to all of us as it plays an important
part in the ecosystem of the whole planet.
The massive rainforest surrounding the Amazon covers an area of 5.5 million square kilometres and
covers parts of nine different nations: Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana,
Suriname, French Guiana. It covers most of the Amazon River Basin (7 million square kilometres.)
In Brazilian Portuguese it is called Floresta Amazônica, and in Spanish Selva Amazónica. But both
languages also refer to it as Amazonia.
Amazonia includes over half the world’s area of rainforests and is home to one third of all the species in
the world: 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants, and about 2000 birds and mammals. So
far, at least 40,000 plant species, 3,000 fish, 1,294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378
reptiles have been scientifically classified. One in five of all the birds in the world live in the rainforests
of the Amazon. Some experts estimate that one square kilometre may contain more than 75,000 types of
trees, and 90,790 tonnes of living plants.
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Amazon Rainforest Wildlife
Here are some of the animals that the characters in Amazônia might encounter as they work in the
forest, and which formed the basis for the party masks they wear (see chapter 12).
Tapir is a mammal, distantly related to horses and rhinoceroses. It looks a bit like a large (2 metre long)
pig, with short prehensile snouts, like a very small elephant trunk, which it uses to eat fruit, berries and
leaves.
Jaguar is the only species of big cat (lion, tiger, leopard) to be found in the Amazon. It is a powerful
hunter, being able to move quickly and quietly through the rainforest, suddenly pouncing on its pray,
clamping down with powerful jaws which can bite through the skull of its prey, to deliver a fatal blow to
the brain.
Poison Dart Frogs - there are over 175 species of these tiny, brightly coloured frogs. They got their
name because they secrete a powerful poison from their backs and indigenous peoples have been known
to smear this on the tips of their hunting darts.
Vampire Bats normally attack cattle or large mammals and very occasionally humans, normally while
their prey is asleep. The bat makes cuts using its sharp teeth. Its saliva contains an agent called draculin
that stops blood from clotting so the wound will continue to bleed and the bat can drink up the blood.
Deforestation and the Environment
For thousands of years people have lived in the forests by hunting and gathering. However in the 1960s,
space for farms was made by a ‘slash and burn’ technique. This when the trees and plant life are cut
down, dried and burnt, which releases nutrients into the ground, ready for crop planting. The Amazon
soil, however, quickly looses its nutrients and the ground becomes unproductive, so the farm will need to
be relocated after a few years, leading to more ‘slash and burn’ destruction.
Since 1970, 91% of the deforested land becomes pasture for cows in order to feed the global appetite for
cheap beef. The rest of the deforested land is used to grow soybeans. The soy farmers also provided the
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main justification for building two highways into the rainforest that have massively increased settlement
and deforestation.
Between 1991 and 2000, 587,000 square kilometres of forest were destroyed at a rate of 19,018 square
kilometres per year. In the period 2000 to 2005, this increased by 18% to 22,392 square kilometres per
year. At this rate, in two decades the Amazon Rainforest will be reduced by 40%.
This destruction is destroying the unique range of species that live in the forest, putting many plants and
creatures close to extinction. It is also contributing greatly to global warming. The rainforests absorb and
store carbon dioxide. This is good for the planet as too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere creates a
greenhouse effect; it allows heat from the sun into the earth’s atmosphere but prevents it being reflected
out into space, which heats up the whole planet. When the forest is ‘slashed and burnt’, not only does it
no longer absorb carbon dioxide, but it also releases carbon dioxide it has stored over thousands of years
into the atmosphere. It is estimated that 10% of carbon stored in plants on the earth is contained within
the Amazon.
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As the planet heats up it changes the weather patterns all over the world. Scientists believe that global
warming could reduce the rainfall over the Amazon, as well as increasing the temperature. If that
happens the forest could completely die out by 2100, which will in turn cause the planet to heat up even
faster.
It has been argued that the forest is not only better for the planet than the farms that replace it, but is
more profitable too. One hectare of rainforest can make $6820 if used to harvest fruits, latex and timer,
but only $1000 a hectare if cut down for timer, or $148 if slashed and burnt for cattle pasture.
In recent years more of the Amazon has been ‘conserved’ or legally protected from deforestation. The
area of conserved land has tripled from 2002 to 2006 and deforestation rates have dropped by 60%.
Indigenous People of the Rainforest
In 1989 Al Gore (environmentalist and then United States Senator) said, ‘Contrary to what Brazilians
think, the Amazon is not their property, it belongs to all of us’, referring to the environmental
significance of the Amazon for all life on earth. This caused a great deal of controversy in the Brazilian
press. The debate continues; in May 2008 The New York Times wrote an article titled ‘Whose Rain
Forest Is This, Anyway?’ Brazilian President Lula responded, ‘the Amazon belongs to Brazilians’ and
‘North Americans have no moral authority to complain about Amazonia, they point fingers dirty with oil.’
One group who could make a claim to The Amazon are the 1 million Indians who live in the forest. They
are divided into about 400 tribes, each with its own language, culture and territory.
Since the indigenous peoples met the Portuguese in 1500 (when many of the first to make contact were
swiftly killed by new diseases such as small pox), many of the tribes are aware of the rest of the world.
However, as of 2007 there are 67 confirmed uncontacted tribes, mainly identified by aerial photography.
For example, in 2001, the Tsohon-djapa tribe had their first contact with the outside world when they
were found by a team of government officials, having noticed their huts on aerial photographs. However,
there is no way of knowing how many more tribes there may be within the forest who have never
encountered other cultures.
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Most Indians live in settled villages by the rivers, and grow vegetables and fruits like manioc, corn, beans
and bananas. They also hunt and fish, using plant-based poisons to stun the fish. Some tribes use shotguns
for hunting, others use bows and arrows, spears, or blowguns with darts tipped with curare.
Today, most Indians in the Amazon have access to Western healthcare and education. When the Indians
themselves control these they are usually very successful. But their independence is being threatened.
Almost all the Indians’ problems revolve around land: outsiders either want their land, or something on
or underneath it such as timber or gold. The key threats are a massive boom in oil and gas exploration,
rampant illegal logging and the rapid spread of ranching and farming.
Indian tribes whose lands are respected generally thrive, but in Brazil Indians have no communal land
ownership rights. In Peru and Colombia many villages secured land title decades ago, but even then
governments and companies regularly ride roughshod over their rights.
Five centuries after the first Europeans entered Amazonia, many Indians are still dying at the hands of
outsiders, and entire tribes continue to face the threat of annihilation, for example, the small tribe of the
Enawene Nawe.
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The Enawene Nawe
The Enawene Nawe are a small Amazonian tribe who live by fishing and gathering in Mato Grosso state,
Brazil.
They are a relatively isolated people who were first contacted in 1974. Today they number around 500,
living in large communal houses or malocas that radiate out from a central square where ritual and
communal activities are performed.
The Enawene Nawe are famed for there fishing techniques. During the fishing season, the men build
dams across rivers and spend several months camped in the forest, catching and smoking the fish which is
then transported by canoe to their village. Fish is an essential part of their diet and plays a vital part in
rituals such as Yãkwa, a four-month exchange of food between humans and spirits.
The Enawene Nawe grow manioc and corn in gardens and gather forest products. Honey gathering is
celebrated in keteoko, or the honey feast, when men collect large amounts of wild honey in the forest and
hide it on their return to the village, only revealing it when the women start to dance. Unusually for an
Amazonian tribe, they do not hunt or eat red meat.
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What problems do they face?
For decades, the Enawene Nawe have faced invasion of their lands by rubber tappers, diamond
prospectors, cattle ranchers and more recently soya planters. Maggi, the largest soya company in Brazil,
illegally built a road on their land in 1997. This was subsequently closed by a federal prosecutor.
Although their territory was officially recognised and ratified by the government in 1996, a key area
known as the Rio Preto was left out.
This area is tremendously important to the Enawene Nawe both economically and spiritually as this is
where they build their fishing camps and wooden dams, and where many important spirits live.
The Enawene Nawe are urgently pressing for this area to be protected as it is being increasingly invaded
by loggers and soya planters who are fast destroying the forest and polluting the land and rivers.
Moreover, there is now a major threat from a large number of hydroelectric dams that the state
government is building upstream from the tribe’s fishing grounds.
Rubber Tapping
Rubber is gathered by making a cut in the bark of the rubber tree, into the latex vessels between the bark
and the core of the trunk. By fixing a pot below the cut, the rubber tapper can gather the latex that oozes
out.
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The rubber tree has vessels below its bark, which are full of latex. This is harvested by rubber tappers.
Each night they remove a thin strip of bark in a half spiral around the tree, allowing latex to ooze out
and into a collecting cup. Done skilfully the latex will continue to drip out for five years, before the
rubber tapper will need to make another cut on the other side of the tree. Chemicals such as ammonia
solution can be put in the cup to preserve the latex.
Once a tree is fully drained of latex the wood can still be used for furniture. Large-scale plantations
operate on a 20 - 25 year planting cycle to optimise the latex yield, making it a very low impact form of
making an income from the forest.
The latex is then vulcanised, where it is heated and receives additives such as sulphur to bring it to the
right level of elasticity, at which point it becomes rubber. This rubber is used in many everyday objects
including everything from car tyres, clothing, insulation, gloves, condoms, adhesives and of course rubber
bands and erasers.
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4. BRAZIL
The Federative Republic of Brazil is one of the largest countries in South America. Its main language is
Portuguese.
Around 9000 BC a group of people crossed from Siberia in North Asia to what is now Alaska, via a strip
of land, the Bering Land Bridge, long since flooded by rising sea levels as the glaciers of the Ice Age
thawed. These people spread throughout North and South America.
By the 1500 AD the territory of modern Brazil was estimated to have nearly 3 million people divided into
2,000 nations and tribes with around 188 languages. At the time most of these tribes were seminomadic, mainly living on the coast or on the banks of rivers such as the Amazon. (As of 2007 there are
still 67 tribes who have never had contact with the rest of Brazilian civilisation.)
Brazil was declared a Portuguese colony with the landing of the explorer, Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500.
For the first few years Portugal was not very interested in its new colony, except as a source of
brazilwood used as a dye. In 1530, however, Portugal introduced a system whereby the Captains of
particular areas could have their land inherited by their offspring and colonisation began. These early
colonists established a sugarcane industry. During this time cities started to form such as Salvador in
1549 and Rio de Janeiro in 1567. The sugar trade went well until the Dutch and French also started to
produce sugar in the West Indies, causing prices to fall in the 17th and 18th centuries.
During the 17th century explorers, or ‘Bandeirantes’, voyaged further throughout the area, enslaving the
indigenous peoples to help work the sugar plantations. In the 18th century they found gold and diamond
deposits in Minas Gerais, greatly increasing Portugal’s wealth. However, little of the benefits were seen
by the colonists who were charged high taxes.
In 1808 Napoleon invaded Portugal and the Portuguese court fled to Rio de Janeiro, declaring it the
new home of government for the Portuguese Empire. This lasted until 1815 when the court moved
backed to Lisbon, leaving the heir to the throne, Pedro, as regent of the Kingdom of Brazil.
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In 1822 Dom Pedro declared Brazil independent of Portugal with himself as its first Emperor. He
stepped down due to political pressures in 1831, returning to Portugal. For the next ten years there were
a number of local revolts, including a huge rebellion of urban slaves, the Male Revolt, in 1835. In 1840,
however, Pedro’s son (Pedro II) was crowned Emperor. During his rule the end of the slave trade with
Africa came about in 1850 (although slavery was in Brazil itself was not outlawed until 1888). The
abolition of slavery created a huge need for cheap labour which was filled by a large influx of poor
European immigrants looking for work, especially Italians and Germans. The move did not appeal to
ruling classes, who resented the ban and they put huge political and military pressure on the Emperor,
until he was forced to step down in 1889 and his attackers established the Republic of the United States
of Brazil.
The Republic did not always run smoothly. Often the Presidency changed hands due to military coups,
such as in 1930 and 1964. In 1967 the military government renamed the country the Federative
Republic of Brazil. Democracy returned in 1988 with the new Federal Constitution.
Economy
Brazil has the world’s tenth largest economy at market exchange rates. This is due to exporting
agricultural produce, such as beef and soybeans, to recently discovered oil and gas reserves, and to the
mining of metals such as iron and manganese.
Brazilian people
The last national census revealed that the following percentages described themselves as:
49.7% White
42.6% Pardo (brown in Portuguese)
6.9% Black
0.5% Asian
0.3% Amerindian (indigenous people)
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Language
Even though Portuguese is the official language of Brazil it has been influenced by indigenous and
African languages so that the difference between Brazilian Portuguese and that spoken in Portugal is
greater than US and UK versions of English. Brazil is the only Portuguese speaking country in South
America and this has helped to preserve its distinct national culture. 180 indigenous languages are
spoken within Brazil, normally in more remote areas.
Religion
According to the 2000 Demographic Census:
73.9% of the population is Roman Catholic
15.4% is Protestant
0.91% from other Christian denominations;
1.33% follows Kardecist spiritism
0.31% follows African traditional religions
0.01% follows indigenous traditions
7.35% consider themselves agnostics, atheists or without a religion
0.81% are members of other religions such as Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and some practice a mixture of
different religions
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5. BRAZILIAN CULTURE
Brazilian culture is influenced by European, African and indigenous cultures. From the Portuguese the
country takes its language, the Catholic faith and much of its colonial architectural styles. The indigenous
peoples contributed to the development of the language and to Brazil’s distinctive cuisine, while African
influences can be seen in the language, music, food and religion.
Music
Brazil is famous for its wide range of musical styles. For example, the samba, a lively dance with a
syncopated 2/4 rhythm, usually played by a surdo (bass drum) or tan-tan (tall hand drum) which is
believed to be descended from music played by the African slaves while they worked. It gained popularity
in the 1960s when it was seen as a celebration of working culture, as opposed to the dominant military
regime. Out of samba came Bossa Nova, which was more lyrically complex and less rhythmic. It was
popularised by artists such as Antônio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto. Then there are different kinds of
festival dance such as the ballad-like forró, the feverish frevo.
In Amazônia the musicians play the following instruments:
Anselmo Netto plays:
Panderao: round flat drum used in bumba meo boi
Pandero: Brazilian tambourine
Birimbau: a type of arch that has one string used for Chico’s theme and generally used for capoira music
Blocks: woodblocks
Tan tan: Brazilian drum
Triangle
Caixixi: Brazilian shakers
Chimes
Conch: a sea conch used to make the sound of bull
Mandolin and various other small percussion effects
Gui Tavares plays:
6 string guitar and 12 string guitar
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Felipe Karam plays:
Violin
6 string guitar
Surdo drum: Brazilian bass drum
Quadrilha
Quadrilha, a high-energy folk dance with narrative episodes, originates in the court dances of 18th
century Europe. In its contemporary form, it tells the story of complications arising from a proposed
marriage, usually with comic consequences. It is characterised by an almost frenzied synchronized line
dancing by twelve or twenty-four couples in elaborate country-style costumes. It is seen throughout
Brazil, especially the northeast and the southwest, during the Festa Juninha (June Festival). It is the
main form of Brazillian dancing seen in our play, which is centred around a Festa. The cast were
rigorously trained in the steps throughout the rehearsals.
Bumba Ma Boi
The Bumba Ma Boi is very popular and widespread Brazilian dance-drama that tells of the death and
resurrection of an ox. Literally Boi Bumba means ‘to beat the bull’ and the crowd often chant this at the
men in the ox costume as an invitation for the ox to run at them.
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While the story varies, the most common version tells of a rich farmer who give his prize ox (Boi) to his
beloved daughter, under the care of his ranch hand, Pae Francisco. Mae Caterina, Francisco’s pregnant
wife, develops a craving for bull’s tongue and Pae Francisco kills the bull to satiate her craving.
Bumba Ma Boi
The bull’s corpse is discovered and after a big hunt through the forest Francisco is caught. The farmer is
planning to kill him as punishment, but St John the Baptist appears and warns him to show mercy.
Francesco meanwhile desperately tries to resurrect the corpse of the ox. Powerful shamans or magicians,
the Curandeiros, turn up and show Francisco how to harness the power of a drumbeat to bring the ox
back to life. All is well and the community celebrate.
In the small Brazilian town of Parintins, the locals started holding a street procession celebrating the
story in 1913. The festival and story evolved over time, incorporating local legends, music and rituals. It
now celebrates the traditional lifestyle of Amazonian inhabitants. The festival takes place the weekend
before 24th June over three days. Two samba schools, Garantido and Caprichoso, compete for the best
interpretation of the legend.
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Amazônia
The annual festival takes place the weekend before 24th June over three days. Parantins' two samba
schools, Garantido, who wear red, and Caprichoso, who wear blue, compete for the year's best
presentation of the legend. They process, led by the dancer in the ox costume, to gather in a huge outdoor
arena, the "bumbódromo", in front of around 40,000 spectators, who come from all over the country, and
the world, for the spectacle.
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Amazônia
6. CHICO MENDES
Chico Mendes appears in our play as a ghost, but while he was alive he was a hugely influential figure in
Brazilian culture.
Chico Mendes was born Francisco Alves Mendes Filho, in 1944 to a family of rubber tappers in Acre
State, Brazil. When he was nine he learnt the trade too. In the 60s the rubber prices collapsed, causing
landowners to start selling their land, often to cattle ranchers, which drove rubber tappers from their
land. In the 1970s Chico joined a group of rubber tappers who tried to persuade workers not to cut down
the forest. When that failed, they would attempt to sabotage their work. Often they were successful, but
at the cost of offending the ranchers. In 1980 this lead to Chico’s ally Wilson Pinheiro being
assassinated.
After this, Chico was elected to the local council in Xapuri and became a leading member for the socialist
Workers Party. He proposed creating reserves from which the local communities could harvest
sustainably rubber and Brazil nuts. He founded the Xapuri Rural Worker’s Union with himself as
President in order to unite the rubber tappers; the union was such a success that he formed the National
Council of Rubber Tappers. At its first meeting in 1985 rubber tappers came from all over the country,
many of whom had never travelled away from their own area before. At the meeting Chico taught them
about the consequences of deforestation and the threat to their profession. The meeting brought him to
the attention of the international environmentalist movement and made him a lot of influential allies.
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Amazônia
In 1987, after flying to Washington DC for negotiations, he managed to persuade the Inter-American
Development Bank to alter their new road project in the Amazon so that it preserved the rainforest and
its communities, an achievement which won him two international environmental awards. On his return
he met with the Brazilian government and encouraged them to establish protected reserves.
In 1988 he campaigned against Darly Alves da Silva, a rancher who was logging in the area of a
proposed reserve. Chico was successful; stopping the deforestation and also arranging a warrant for
Darly to be arrested for a murder his men has committed. The warrant was given to the federal police but
they ignored it. On 22nd December (one week after his 44th birthday) Chico was shot and killed in his
home. Two years later a rancher, Darcy Alves Pereira, and his son were imprisoned for their part in the
assassination.
Even in death Chico continues to have a powerful effect; the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve was
created in his memory, with over twenty more reserves being established following it, covering more than
32,000 square kilometres.
Chico Mendes: A Personal Account
At first I thought I was fighting to save rubber trees, then thought I was fighting to save the Amazon
rainforest. Now I realise I am fighting for humanity.” Chico Mendes
When I first met him, I had no idea who Chico Mendes was or why he was extraordinary. We were at the
first national meeting of Amazon rubber tappers in Brasília in October of 1985. For nearly a decade
Chico and the union had been battling ranchers, who were driving out rubber tappers and clearing forest
to raise cattle. The union had had some notable victories. Now Chico thought a national organization of
rubber tappers might help.
The rubber tappers rightly suspected that they had been forgotten by Brazil. Some, who had never been
farther than the mouth of their local river, had spent a week travelling from the upper rivers, by canoe,
boat, and bus to be here.
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Amazônia
This was the first time environmentalists had heard of the rubber tappers and the first time the rubber
tappers had heard of the rainforest. Most Brazilians saw the rubber tappers as relics of a bygone era, but
people like me had never even heard of them. For their part, the rubber tappers had no inkling that the
forest had values and meanings in the outside world, beyond its rubber and Brazil nuts.
Many “traditional” rubber tappers were from vast isolated areas where lifelong debt in the company store
system was still a reality; they remembered when the rubber baron could take a man's wife or daughter
on a whim.
For them to hear about the landlords selling out, the frontier, cattle ranchers, deforestation and road
paving turned the world upside down.
The meeting was a turning point.
To understand a person such as Chico Mendes, one needs to understand the context of his life. Chico was
not a charismatic person, and the qualities of his
character were sometimes clearest in other peoples’ accounts. I'll give an example. In 1987 I went to do
exploratory research in the shantytowns that ring the Acre state capital, Rio Branco. On the basis of
discussions with Chico, I wanted to show what had happened when rubber tappers were driven off the
land.
In a neighbourhood called Aeroporto Novo I came across a man who looked about 60 years old. On a
dusty street he sat in a tiny booth where he offered a few matches, some candies and toothpaste for sale.
He used to be a rubber tapper, yes sir, up in Brasileia. The shop didn’t even pay for itself, he told me
irately. The family expenses (there were many children) and rent were paid by his daughter, who had a
bar right there in front.
In the middle of the interview, I looked up and asked, did he know who Chico Mendes was? “Chico
Mendes?” he said. “There’s a man. A half-dozen like him and they never would have gotten away with it!“
he declared, with an almost palpable outrage. Born and raised in the middle of a rubber estate, he was
driven out when the ranchers came in from São Paulo, bought up the decaying estates with the rubber
tappers still on them and started burning down houses.
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Amazônia
After the interview, the old man invited me into his house and gave me coffee - he hadn't lost the rubber
tapper’s unfailing hospitality. He introduced me to his elderly wife, the kids, and the daughter with the
bar. Even with her help, the old man could barely qualify as among society’s excluded - he was more like
discarded. He held onto the last shreds of his dignity - his anger and indignation - seeing his own
reflection in Chico Mendes.
That old ex-rubber tapper understood precisely what Chico Mendes did. At the end of the world, in a
country in which even today the very word ‘citizen’ has a faintly ironic sense to it, Chico Mendes believed
in citizenship and he believed in the exercise of citizenship - in defence of the rubber tappers’ land rights,
in defence of the forest - enough to die for it. But what the old man in the shantytown admired about
Chico was not just his courage and his willingness to confront the powerful. It was his audacity and
effectiveness. He would not only stand up to the rancher, but also win.
Chico died, but he didn’t lose. It’s true that the crisis of the Amazon, ecologically and socially, has never
been worse. Deforestation is rising alarmingly and very little suggests that government is even present.
But no dilemma can be overcome before it is seen, and no problem is solved until it is first recognised by
those that have the power to change it.
Before Chico Mendes, common sense told most Amazonians that destruction equalled profit, and
therefore progress, jobs and modernity. Anybody in the Amazon who talked about conservation and social
justice was most likely a foreigner.
No more.
Perhaps not even Chico, always an optimist, would have expected that the organization he founded would
be as large, representative and well organized as it is today.
It is no longer foreign environmentalists, nor isolated union leaders who contest the destruction of the
Amazon. It is representatives of a larger, stronger grassroots movement.
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Amazônia
The tide has, slowly, almost imperceptibly, shifted. Impetus for change no longer comes from the outside
in, but the other way around. From the people of the Amazon.
Steve Schwartzman
Director of Tropical Forest Policy
Environmental Defence Fund
In 2006 Chico’s daughter Elenira, with help from colleagues, friends and others, founded the Chico
Mendes Institute. Its mission is “To preserve and communicate the ideals of Chico Mendes and strengthen
the struggle of the people of the forest in seeking sustainable development for the Amazon.”
22nd December 2008 is the 20th anniversary of Chico Mendes’ assassination. For more about the events
to commemorate his life or information about the Institute go to www.chicomendes.org.br
Further Research
Here is a list of books that the cast and creative team found useful in making Amazônia:
Amazonia, Brasil by Eugenio Scannavino Netto & Jose Arnaldo de Oliviera
Translated by Melanie Wyffels, São Paulo 2008
An Interdisciplinary Study of the Ox and the Slave (Bumba Meu Boi) by Kazadi wa Mukuna, The Edwin
Mellen Press 1986
Maravilhas do Brasil; Wonders of Brazil, Folk Festivals by Luciana Cattani, Gabriel Boieras & Marco
Antonio Sa, São Paulo 2006
Brasileiro, Brasileiros by Emmaoel Araujo
Terra, Struggle of the landless by Sebastião Salgado
Phaidon
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Amazônia
The Lost Amazon – The Photographic Journey of Richard Evans Schulted by Wade Davis
Amazon - Bruce Parry (from the TV series) by Michael Joseph
Reading’s The Living Forest
The Living Rainforest is a home away from home for over 700 species of rainforest plants and animals.
Meet free-ranging birds, butterflies and reptiles as you explore the winding jungle paths. See Amazonian
monkeys, Malagasy frogs and even a dwarf West African crocodile.
School tours to The Living Rainforest: The Living Rainforest's acclaimed education programme welcomes
over 18,000 schoolchildren on guided tours that are closely linked to the National Curriculum. Choose a
tour: (1) Edible Forest; (2) Amazing Adaptations; (3) Sustainable Future, or (4) Rainforest Medicines.
For further information, visit www.livingrainforest.org/visit/schools
The British Museum
In October 2001, the British Museum opened an exhibition exploring the unknown reaches of the
Amazon.
Visit www.britishmuseum.org for an Online Tour and find out more about how people live in the Amazon.
Survival International
Survival International exist to help the Amazon Indians assert their rights. Survival are lobbying the
Brazilian government to recognise the Rio Preto region as Enawene Nawe land as a matter of urgency.
We are also calling for the hydroelectric dams to be suspended.
Survival supports a land protection project run by the Enawene Nawe and the Brazilian nongovernmental organisation OPAN.
http://www.survival-international.org/about/amazontribes
More information on the environmental impact of deforestation can be found here:
www.greenpeace.com
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7. CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM
Cast
Boi/Boto
Diogo De Brito Sales
Chico Mendes
Daniel Cerqueira
Seringuera
Meline Danielewicz
Don Antonio
Jeffery Kissoon
Rosamaria
Daisy Lewis
Vaquerio/Priest
Wale Ojo
Ricardo
Chris New
Catarina
Golda Rosheuvel
Tia Tereza
Amanda Symonds
Francisco
Simon Trinder
Pescador
Tyrone Lopez
Musicians/Composers
Gui Tavares
Anselmo Netto
Felipe Karam
Creative Team
Director
Paul Heritage
Associate Director
Joe Hill-Gibbins
Designer
Gringo Cardia
Lighting
Phil Gladwell
Assistant Designer
Ben Gerlis
Sound
Dan Jones
Choreography and Movement Direction
Jean Abreu
Musical Director
Santiago Posada
Assistant Director
Lootie Johansen-Bibby
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Amazônia
8. INTERVIEW WITH COLIN TEEVAN, THE WRITER
What was the brief when you were asked to write Amazônia?
It was a bit of a strange brief because there had been many earlier stages to the project – the Quadrilha
in Acre and the Young Vic’s community show, Festa, so I came quite late in the day to this. I suppose one
of the elements into why I was asked was that I have travelled in South America and written work that
incorporated traditional fairytale and native myths. I have also done a Christmas show here before and
therefore know how it works– I knew that the script had to work for a seven year old and for a seventy
year old. The script also has to do something fresh, while affirming all the elements that need to be
affirmed. There has to be an element of the traditional in it - there is something mythical about it and
there is usually something life-affirming at the end.
What are the key elements in the script?
There are three key elements. The first is the life and work of Chico Mendes – the great folk hero in
Brazil. He was the first man who cohered a resistance to cutting down the rainforest and he cohered it
between the Indians, rubber tappers, cowboys and farmers who were normally at odds with each other.
He created a group who saw that it was in everyone’s interest to retain what they could of the Rainforest
and create sustainable living out of it. This was exactly 20 years ago – he was assassinated in 1988. So
he started this in the 1970s, so his vision is well ahead of his times. This is a man who learnt to read very
late in life, and was brought up as a rubber tapper from the age of six and worked 14 hours a day. He
was an extraordinary man. He was assassinated by landowners who didn’t like what he was doing because
they were hoping to cut down their trees and sell and develop their land. He set up the first reserve in
Acre, and now there are over 40 of them where you can’t cut down the trees.
The second element is the Bumba Ma Boi which really attracted me as a narrative structure because it is
kind of crazy and it is a mythical story that is still around in popular culture today in Brazil. It’s about a
landowner who almost falls in love with his bull and is desperate to get the bull to dance. And then this
layabout – Francisco – kills the bull and the landowner tries to revive the bull by asking doctors, priests,
lawyers etc, but he can’t, but in the end it is only Francisco who can, so it is a satirical piece about the
powers of authority. It is always danced on June 23rd, which to us is mid-summer’s night, but for them is
mid-winter’s night, so it is a sort of fertility dance for the new year so in one sense it is a Christmas story.
It is also about death and resurrection which mirrors the Chico story too.
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Amazônia
The third element is the quadrilha which is taken from the European quadrille but it is done in this zany
style. They use it to tell stories and there is usually a wedding. This becomes our resolving dance in the
story.
So we use these three elements, and we really take the characters out of the Bumba Ma Boi – Antonio,
the landowner, Francisco and his wife Catarina.
What she the motive for killing the bull?
Not really. It is not psychological real drama. The way the master forgives Francisco for killing the bull,
and the fact that the bull comes back to life, is not psychologically real. Catarina’s pregnancy and the
three things she demands of him are taken more from European traditional fairytale form.
We also looked at the story of how the English stole rubber from Brazilians and in one sense it destroyed
the Amazon. In 1878, the English stole 1000 rubber seeds and they were germinated to Kew Gardens
and taken to Malaysia where they set up rubber plantations and obviously a rubber plantation is going to
work better than rubber trees scattered throughout a rainforest because they are all together and they
can be massed farmed, so in one sense the English are very responsible.
We also looked at Shakespeare and how he wrote about forests and that is a great and fun idea to play
with – the whole idea of cross-dressing in the forest and the idea of the forest as an inverted world of
sexuality and also the wilderness and the wild as opposed to the city.
We were very interested in stealing Shakespeare and European traditional fairy stories back for Brazil,
which to me seems quite true to how the Brazilians create culture. They take the quadrille and make it
their own, they don’t care about European sensitivities, and put their own music to it. The Bumba Ma Boi
which is thought to be based on a 15th or 16th century Portuguese play. Brazil is also a great confluence
of cultures – it’s not just the Portuguese and the Indians, but also the African slaves were taken there, so
there are all these levels, and they take and steal and mess with culture which is very liberating.
What was your process?
First of all I tried to finding a writing style – it was a difficult pitch of the socio-politically real with the
mythical, because Chico comes from a historically real position but then you have the Bumba Ma Boi.
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First of all I broke it down into about 40 units and worked closely with the director. I also worked with
the idea of getting deeper and deeper into the forest and then finding your way out of it.
I started with Francisco and Catarina and then everyone else became clearer through them. One of the
biggest difficulties was working out who was the baddie – in this case, it could be their own government,
or the landowners, or is it McDonalds or are the people within their own community who want to
modernise to blame? So that was a big challenge clarifying this. And Ricardo who wants to modernise his
village actually often has the best arguments – why shouldn’t people in the Amazon have air-conditioning,
why should we think that we can have airports and cinemas and yet we expect they should they live in the
Middle Ages. It is an interesting argument and it does ask the rest of the world to deal with that if we
expect them to keep the Amazon the way it is.
Did you draw much on your time in South America?
Yes, I did. The strange thing about spending time in South America is just how modern it is, and although
it has vast areas of incredible natural beauty, most people aspire to live in the cities – mobile phones and
satellite TV are everywhere. But I drew on the atmosphere of the country, and the way people live and the
loudness and colourfulness of it. It is interesting the colour and the loudness – it is a society that is lived
outside, people dancing on the street, that sort of thing.
Did you have much feedback and input from the Brazilians among the cast?
I think because Paul [Heritage, the director] knows the society so well that helps. I’m also trying not to
portray a socio-political reality – it’s not like a soap opera. Although, I have to say, South American soap
opera was another inspiration, for example, locking Rosamaria in the house is run of the mill in South
American soap opera.
Also one of Chico’s family lives in the Amazon and we have contacts with him through Paul – whenever I
had a question like what seed would a woman take to help with morning sickness, he would email back
with exactly what the seed is, which was so helpful. The musicians are very helpful too with this,
especially with the Brazilian food for the ‘Food Song’.
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Amazônia
Has the rehearsal process thrown much up?
Yes - what it exposed was the whole problem of the external threat and exactly who the baddie is the
piece. Also, since the first draft, some of the secondary characters have come much further to the
forefront, such as Tia Tereza. More will be exposed and polished during previews too, I’m sure.
What do you think young people will take away from seeing the show?
I think it is a great life-affirming piece as well as quite serious. At the end, Chico says that this is not just
about the Amazon but also about us and all of our communities too. For me, it is also about being aware
of not patronising the rest of the world, but that we should actually do something about our own
communities.
I also think one of the crucial things in the play, is that you really explore theatre, so that people go away
with a love of the potential of theatre. It’s about how you can push the boundaries of imagination. I don’t
want it to be preaching to young people – that’s not my job – but if they come away from the play
wanting to find out more about Chico Mendes then that is great.
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Amazônia
9. INTERVIEW WITH GRINGO CARDIA, THE DESIGNER
What were the ideas behind the set design?
How the city is connected to nature – this is the first point. It is always about how the people are
connected to the Amazon. The Amazon is a far away place, but in fact this is not true, the Amazon and
nature is inside you and in everything we do. I think people have lost this connection, but people are
thinking more about this because of all the conversations about environmental change and global
warming. This is the approach behind the set – to be able to feel the Amazon inside the set.
But it is very difficult to copy nature – nature is perfect. When you want to try and copy nature it is never
the same. Nature is more beautiful. So we have to translate it when designing the set. We want to show
the magic of the forest, and also the promise that the forest has. The Amazon has the solution for not
destroying nature. Cities and development – the only solution is a global solution that depends on people
in the Amazon, in London, in the US – this is also behind the concept of the set.
Early inspiration for the set
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Amazônia
What is the significance of the materials used in the set?
The materials are made of natural things but they are transformed by men. We use wood, and we use
canvas that goods trucks use – our set is organic stage, surrounded by water, because in the Amazon
forest and water are like husband and wife. And we have one tree in the centre – our stage is like an
arena, we want the audience to feel like they are inside the play, inside the forest with this tree over you
and everything is happening with you inside it.
The tree in the set for Amazônia
What was the main influence behind the costume design?
It was very much about popular culture in Brazil. It is one of my main inspirations. Art is everywhere –
artists, singers, actors – are all doing art. Popular art – from people in the streets – is more simple, but
they are beautiful because they are sensitive and they plat a lot with colours and they are not ashamed to
put all the colours together because they are free. It has some sort of cultural freedom – it is about the
feeling they have. Specifically, the popular parties in Brazil such as the Festa de Sao Joao and the
quadrilha. The quadrilha was a European court dance from the 1500s which the popular people in Brazil
wanted to copy the dance, and they transformed it into a different dance. In Brazil we have a lot this
feeling of transforming things – it is a very contemporary way of doing art which inspires me a lot.
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Amazônia
We also involved a lot the different styles in the Amazonia – for example, Brazilian workers with the
Indian style. We’ve made animal masks which are just like the masks the Indians do for their rituals. The
Indians do a lot of homage to animals because they know that they are very reliant on animals for food.
We wanted to draw on both of these styles and cultures in the costumes.
Tell us about Delon and how he has contributed to the design?
I met him in the streets in the city during a Festa. I looked up and saw this incredible street art – a bit
like graffiti but it is completely different. He redesigned a very old style of carving and drawings that is a
traditional art form in Brazil – the cordel - but this nineteen year old boy copied this art form but
transforming it. Instead of copying American grafitti, he took a Brazilian art form and I was very struck
by how he recovered the graphic history of Brazil and I invited him to make some graphics for workshops
in Brazil and also here in London. And these drawings we have in the play – the costume of the boto and
for the Moon are based on Delon’s designs.
Example of a traditional Brazilian woodcut design
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Amazônia
Has working on this play affected how you view London as a city?
For me it is very nice to know Young Vic because it has a brand new way of understanding the role of
theatre in the city – it is not only to show untouchable things, but brings people inside the theatre. The
city is the theatre itself. This is very new and fresh. There is a new generation who looks at theatre in this
way, and this makes me very happy.
What do you hope young people will take away from watching the show?
I hope the young people understand the connection and the survival of the Amazon will only be possible if
they take this fight for themselves. This is not just a fight for Brazil, but for every citizen in the world.
And I think the only people who can change this is the younger generation. The older ones have no time
to change things, they want to, but can’t. It has to come from the roots. It is very important to inspire
young people to think about these concerns, because they will one day rule the cities. Amazônia is just a
spotlight of a bigger discussion in the world of how we connect with nature – we live in a living Earth. It
is not an Earth where we just take the materials, but we have to live with an organic and living creature.
When you see the Earth from outside, you see that it is an organism, so we are part of this and we cannot
destroy one part of our body because we will die together.
In the play, this feeling is subtle – it comes with magic, with a story, with a man who was killed and
comes back as a ghost, but I think all these dreams and the story tells of the connection with man and
nature. And Chico Mendes wanted to show that this was possible and we want young people to believe
that and fight for it.
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10. REHEARSAL DIARY OF LOOTIE JOHANSEN-BIBBY, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
WEEK ONE 20th – 24th October
Monday
AM
It’s the first morning of rehearsals. I arrive at the Cameron Mackintosh Studio at the Tricycle Theatre,
which will be our space for the next three weeks. This will be the first time the actors, the creative team
and members of the Young Vic team meet each other, and everyone is excited and nervous. After a brief
introduction from Paul Heritage, the director, about the project, we launch into some drama games to
get to know each other a bit.
PM
This afternoon, Ben Gerlis presented the model box. He is working as the assistant to Gringo Cardia (the
designer). The box is really amazing and inspiring, and it is the first time I and most of the actors have
seen it. It is set in the round with the floor space covered in a special kind of tarpaulin that is apparently
very typical of Brazil. There are pools of water surrounding it, and a huge central tree. The possibilities
of climbing up the tree, climbing along branches and diving in and out of water start to get everyone
really excited!
We then read through the script for the first time together, with the musicians playing through the songs
in situ.
Tuesday AM
We start the morning with Jean Abreu (the choreographer). Jean is from the North of Brazil, but has
developed a style that combines traditional Brazilian with his contemporary dance training. He begins
the morning with a class – the work is a lot about warming up and opening the body, and he is also really
trying to give people a sense of heaviness and connection with the earth as they move. He talks about this
‘earthiness’ that characterizes Brazilian movement, and we work on some steps to try and find this
experience in our bodies.
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Amazônia
PM
Paul and Joe give us a detailed background to the project this afternoon. They have been working on it
for the last two years, and there have been various stages, including work in Brazil – workshops and a
quadhilra competition – and the Festa! community show which happened at the Young Vic this August.
We also speak about Chico Mendes, who started life as a seringueiro, a rubber tapper, in the Amazon,
but became an activist for the preservation of the forest, its people and their way of life. This project
celebrates the 20th anniversary of his assassination.
Wednesday
AM
Class with Jean. Again, he concentrated on opening the body, and on finding ways to strengthen the
centre of the body. After the warm up, we start to look at the Bumba Meu Boi – the story of the bull. The
festival is dedicated to Sao Joao (Saint John) and lasts for three days in the midwinter, which in Brazil is
in June.
PM
This afternoon we continue with Joe and Paul starting to read through the script in detail with the whole
cast. There is a lot of information about the cultural context of the Amazon and of the Bumba Meu Boi
that the whole company needs to know, so as well as a chance for us to read and discuss the story, these
script sessions are also a chance for these discussions to happen. Paul has some amazing books with
images of the Amazon and of the Bumba Meu Boi that bring these ideas to life.
Thursday
AM
Class with Jean, then we started to look at the Quadhilra. Jean explained to us that it is a popular dance
that originated in the arid plains of the north of Brazil. It spread into the Amazon when people started to
migrate from these plains into the Amazon to work as rubber tappers during the early 20th century. Chico
tells us about this migration at the beginning of the play, saying it was like a gold rush. The dance itself is
based on very formal court dances from Europe, but has been adapted and appropriated by the Brazilians
into a kind of popular dance.
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Amazônia
PM
We carry on from yesterday reading through the script. Joe breaks down the text into smaller sections, of
which there are usually two or three in a scene, and once we have discussed them, asks us to come up
with a title for them. Today for example, scene 3 became 3a Riverlations, 3b Forbidden Fruits, and 3c
How to get a special man. Of course, the audience will never know this, but for us, it is helping to uncover
what the important actions and conflicts of the play are.
Danny [Cerqueira], who plays Chico, tells us a little about Chico Mendes’ philosophy of ‘extractive
reserves’ that he has been reading about. His idea was that the people of the Amazon could fight poverty
and exploitation by working together to use the natural resources of the forest without destroying it.
Friday
AM
Suzy, our Stage Manager and Steph, our Assistant Stage Manager, have been working this morning on
an initial mark up of the set in the space. So, now we have an outline of the stage and an idea of where
the water will be, but it is still hard to visualise how the set will really look and feel. The ‘amoeba’, as
the space is affectionately becoming known, is quite unlike anything I have worked on before, and I think
we will all take a bit of time to get our heads round it.
We work this morning on the Bumba Meu Boi choreography, and Jean tries out placing the company in
different parts of the stage to see how best the space can come alive. We then work with Gui for the first
time, one of the musicians who has composed and will be playing the music in the show, starting with
vocal warm ups and then learning the first Bumba Meu Boi song.
PM
Script work. We look scene 5, when Antonio goes to town to buy a new crown for his bull. It is a crucial
moment in the traditional story as well as in the play, because it is when the leader leaves his village
unguarded that conventional power structures get overturned and the trouble really begins. In the
traditional story, this trouble comes in the form of Francisco killing the bull – in our version there are
the added dimensions of Rosamaria falling for the Boto and Ricardo cutting down the forest. Paul
reminds us that the Festa de Sao Joao is a real carnival time for the Brazilians, three days when all
normal rules and conventions go out of the window.
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We end the week by looking at some traditional Brazilian woodcuts depicting the Bumba Meu Boi and
the Quadhilra, which have been a big influence on Paul in his thinking about the style of the piece. They
are really bright and bold, all in primary colours and with strong and simple lines. One has the bull with
its amazing costume, and another has the cavalo – the horse like the one Antonio wears when he goes off
to town.
WEEK TWO 27th – 31st October
Monday 27
AM
Class with Jean followed by a recap and then work on the quadhilra. We watch some footage of a
quadhilra being danced in Acre (where Joe and Paul worked last year on the quadhilra competition). It’s
so fast and furious, and we are all a bit daunted thinking we’ll never get it... But, work continues and bit
by bit the steps start to become clearer. We look particularly at the section around the tree, and Jean
works more on the ‘peasant’ style’.
PM
Work on the script continues and we talk about the idea of the Boto, the shape shifting character who is
a pink dolphin by day but a man by night. Diogo, our Portuguese actor who plays the Boto as well as the
Boi is working this afternoon with a translator. She is helping him translate the play, and particularly
working with him on the scenes in which he appears as the bull. He has just finished performing in Two
Gentlemen of Verona at the Barbican with the company Nos do Morro, and has stayed on in London
especially for this production. I spend some time with him this afternoon too looking at footage of bulls
and botos which he is using to start to build a physical vocabulary for both characters.
Tuesday 28
AM
Suzy and Steph have been hard at work again, and today we have a tree with branches in the rehearsal
room! We start movement work with Jean and start to see that this tree is really going to be a big
presence on the stage. Anselmo, Felipe and Gui, the three musicians join us. Last week, they were
working on finishing off the songs at the Young Vic, so today is the first time we have them here. They
accompany Jean’s class, and then we start to put together the music, the song and the dance of the first
Bumba Meu Boi in scene 2.
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PM
We have talked about the Catholic idea of ‘paying promises’ associated with catholic festivals - that idea
that the villagers bring with them hopes and prayers for the year ahead when they arrive at the Bumba
Meu Boi. We work with Jean this afternoon looking at what hopes and dreams these characters have, and
physicalising this in the space.
Wednesday 29
AM
Joe starts work with Danny on Chico’s first monologue. Paul has brought in some original rubber tapping
implements for us to look at, like the ones Chico Mendes would have used in his work as a seringueiro,
and we also read Chico Mendes’ manifesto. We then break down the text into small sections to try and
understand the progression of the argument, and then put it on its feet. Jeffrey [Don Antonio] joins us to
work on the end of scene 2, when Chico appears to Antonio for the first time.
PM
Jean has been working with Diogo on the physicality of the bull, and this afternoon we look at the end of
the first Bumba Meu Boi, when the Bull appears and then when it runs wild. Jean talks about the
villagers working themselves into an almost ecstatic state before the bull enters. We look at the bull’s
rampage, and spent the last part of the afternoon looking at the scene that follows it.
Thursday 30
AM
First thing this morning, Joe leads a session exploring this space and its dynamic implications. As well as
trees, amoebas and ponds, there are also ramps to be contended with. We all get familiar with the places
where we can enter, exit, the areas we can use and not use, and we also name the different entrances –
the House end, the Forest end and the Town end are all entrances and exits, the other corner is a dead
end, but we decide to christen it the Happy end. We then carry on from yesterday looking at scene 2
after the bull’s exit. We play various versions of the scene, to try and bring out the different dynamics at
play in the scene, and everyone settles on an objective for their character.
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PM
Scene 3 – the washerwomen. We start with Jean, learning a dance sequence with sheets that will start
this scene. Joe introduces the idea to Wale [Vaquerio] and Tyrone [Pescador] that they are playing the
wives of their own characters in this scene, and then start to put the text on its feet. Again, we divide the
text into sections based on the action, and everyone decides on an action for their character.
Friday 31
AM
Golda [Catarina] and Simon [Francisco] have been working at the Young Vic learning their songs for
scene 4 – Francisco’s ‘Sun’s Gonna Shine’ and then ‘Higher Husband’. This morning, they work with
Felipe [musician] and Paul to recap the songs and start to put them in the space. When Danny joins us,
we look at the relationship between Francisco and Chico. Paul has brought in a copy of a woodcutting
which shows a man in a hat under a tree that reminded him of Francisco in this scene, and he talks to us
about the cliché of the ‘lazy Brazilian.’ Francisco’s character represents this attitude which states that
what will happen, will happen and there is nothing anyone can do about it. It is this philosophy that Chico
Mendes was working against by trying to educate, mobilise and politicise the people of the Amazon – it is
represented literally in the play by Chico throwing books at Francisco.
PM
We finish scene 4 with Golda and Simon and then the rest of the washerwomen arrive to finish off scene
3. We look at the relationship of Rosamaria and Catarina, Antonio’s daughter and servant.
WEEK THREE 3rd – 7th November
Monday 3
AM
Because there are songs to be learnt, music to be finalised, and dances to be choreographed, and because
we only have one space here at the Tricycle and the clock is always ticking, Joe and Paul are having to be
creative about the scheduling. This means that we are not necessarily working in chronological order.
This morning, for example, Jean is working with Diogo [Bull / Boto] and Daisy [Rosamaria] at the ENO
space on their first meeting dance, Paul is working with the musicians at the Young Vic, and back at the
Tricycle, Joe and I are looking at scene 7, Ricardo’s speech.
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We play various spatial exercises in which the audience of villagers respond to Chris by either moving
towards him when they are persuaded by his argument, or away from him when they are not. It really
helps to underline how the argument moves, and what the characters’ strategies are. We also look at how
Chico interacts with the villagers who seem to only hear him on a subliminal level.
PM
Scene 5 is the only scene which takes place in an interior space, and we experiment using the washing
baskets with how to create it. We look at the scene and play various games to bring the intentions and
relationships to life, including a great boxing match game involving Golda, Chris [Ricardo] and Daisy.
The actors each have a piece of paper attached to their chests and literally score points on their
opponents’ chests as their comments hit home.
Tuesday 4
AM
We return to the quadhilra with Jean, and start to piece together the different sections – the circle
sections, partner sections, and the bride and groom sections. Gui arrives and we learn the villagers’ song,
with its various harmonies and call / response sections.
PM
We continue with Gui and learn the ‘Food Song’ with Amanda [Tia Tereza] and Golda, and bringing in the
chorus line of Meline [Seringuera], Tyrone and Wale. Then, Joe returns to the rest of scene 5, looking at
the entrance of Antonio and his decision to leave for town.
Wednesday 5
AM
Jean is working really hard to finish material, and this morning, he teaches a new choreography which
will appear during Bumba Meu Boi 2, when the boi comes back to life. It is going to be a powerful
moment, and we work with the musicians to coordinate the moments of silence when the boi starts
making signs of life.
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PM
With Jean, we go over the washerwomen dance at the ENO space. Gui teaches the melody and harmony
that the actors sing, and we piece this together with the dance. We also work on Chico’s interaction with
them at the beginning of the scene. There is some real fun to be had in the idea that they don’t see him,
and somehow he has to duck and dive out of the way of their flapping sheets.
Thursday 6
AM
We start the morning setting Daisy and Jeffrey some improvising tasks to begin exploring the
relationship of Antonio and Rosamaria. Some lovely things come up about his over protectiveness and
her wilfulness. This leads us into scene 10, where Rosamaria disguised as a man meets her father on his
way back from town.
PM
Danny has another go over his monologue, and we work physically on the rubber-sole business. Again,
there is a lot of physical play here that needs to be carefully constructed. Joe also works on the idea of
Chico using rubber to make a strong connection with the audience, so this London audience can begin to
identify with the people of the Amazon. This is a crucial bridge to cross, especially as this monologue is
the very opening of the play and needs to draw the audience into the whole story.
Friday 7
AM
Scene 12, when Ricardo tells Antonio about cutting down his trees, brought up some really interesting
stuff about the relationship of the characters this morning, and particularly about the need that Ricardo
has to be loved and accepted by his uncle which really underpins all his actions in the play. We used a
rather depressing photograph of a deforested area of the Amazon to place the setting in context and give
Jeffrey a sense of what he was seeing in the space and what reaction that might provoke.
PM
Daisy and Diogo have a chance this afternoon to practise their dance in the Tricycle, trying to take into
account the shape and obstacles of the space. We then work on their other scene, setting the movement
of ‘When You Become a Man’, and looking at the scene with Tia Tereza. There seems to be a complicity
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developing between Tia Tereza and the Boto, which is strengthening the idea that Tia Tereza is a slightly
mystical character, an elder of the community who has the special knowledge of the Wise Woman.
Saturday 8
AM
Today is our last rehearsal before we move to the Young Vic. All the pictures and scene titles have come
down off the walls, all the props and materials have gone back in the van, and the space seems really
empty without the tree. We work this morning with Simon, Golda, Danny and Chris, and look at scene 14
when Francisco and Catarina are hiding in the tree and Chico finally reveals who he is. He urges
Francisco to go back to his village even though he might be afraid of what is to come, and, as we all
leave the Tricycle this afternoon to return to the Young Vic for week four of rehearsals, we wonder what
is in store for us next too...
WEEK FOUR 10th – 14th November
Monday 10
AM
We have arrived in the Young Vic, and it is really exciting to be here. This week, we will be rehearsing in
the Maria Theatre, and hopefully moving to the main auditorium at the beginning of week five. We start
the morning in the Club Room with everybody gathered as a full company for the first time in what feels
like ages. Everyone is excited to be here, and it starts to feel much more real. After a welcome and some
logistics from Ros the Young Vic’s Company Manager, the morning is a music call, and we sing through
all the numbers in the show. Paul and Gui also teach everyone the lament – it is a traditional Brazilian
tune with lyrics written by Paul. Originally just Danny was going to sing the lament, but it’s now been
decided that it’s so beautiful, we should try to get everyone singing it.
PM
Dance call. Although Jean is away for this week, we need to keep up on the dances, practise them and fit
them into the larger narrative context. So, this afternoon I work with the company on the quadhilra
dance.
Tuesday 11
AM
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According to the script, Francisco is alone at the beginning of scene 4 when he sings his ‘Sun’s Gonna
Shine’ song. But, in order to help establish the friendship between Francisco and the bull, Paul and Joe
have decided to bring Diogo on too during this song. So, this morning we rehearse Simon’s change of
intention in the song, using it to calm down the bull.
PM
I have a peek into the main space before afternoon rehearsals start, and I’m amazed to see a real size
tree beginning to emerge in the space! The floor area is fully formed, and we can now clearly see how
steep some of the ramps are.
Back in the Maria, Joe looks again at the washwomen scene, focusing on the revelation of Catarina’s
pregnancy - a theme that becomes crucial in the rest of the play.
Wednesday 12
AM
Another dance call this morning, tightening and clarifying the Bumba Meu Boi 2 when the bull is revived
at the end of the play. Now this needs to be fitted into the context of the story, so we look at how to use
the stamps and drum beats at the beginning of the music to resolve narratively the characters’ conflicts
and show the community coming together and acting as one. Looking at the space yesterday, the steep
‘town end’ ramp seemed much higher than we expected, so we decided that this is where the bull should
be positioned for its revival.
PM
Simon, Danny and Diogo work on scene 6 with Joe, including the physical work that Jean did with them
when Fransisco is trying to make the bull dance. Paul and I look at the food song. We don’t have
musicians this afternoon, so we concentrate on setting the sequence and just practice the song
unaccompanied. The song covers a huge scene change into Antonio’s house and involves a lot of props,
such as platters of food, baskets, tin baths, towels and tablecloths, so we look at how these can be set
while the song is being sung.
Thursday 13
AM
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This morning, the whole of the Young Vic has been invited for a Meet & Greet in the Maria. The entire
creative team, cast, musicians, and Young Vic staff are here. David Lan [Artistic Director of the Young
Vic] gives a welcome, and we hear from Paul and from Gringo. It’s amazing to see the huge team effort
that goes into creating a show like this – from box office staff selling the tickets and Press and
Marketing busily working on selling the show, to Catherine Kodicek [Wardrobe Manager] and her team
sewing hundreds of sequins on costumes.
After this, we continue working on slotting the dances into the narrative, and this morning we look at the
Bumba Meu Boi 1 leading into the rampage and the scene immediately following.
PM
We continue with the Bumba Meu Boi 1 and scene 2 as this morning.
Friday 14
AM
Luckily, we have an extra space available to us this morning, over at St Andrew’s Church Hall across
from the Young Vic. So while Joe is looking at scene 7 with Ricardo and the villagers, I recap with Daisy
and Diogo their dance number, and then recap with Diogo and Simon their capoeira fight, when
Francisco kills the bull.
PM
We’ve done a lot this week, so we take this afternoon to consolidate the work we have done – the
quadhilra, the Bumba 1 and the Bumba 2.
Saturday 15
AM
Paul and I look at scene 9, the Cobra Grande scene, with Simon, Golda and Diogo. This is a really comic
scene, and although it’s difficult to play exactly without the water or the cobra grande, we make lots of
great discoveries using a ‘split screen’ idea, where Golda and Simon enter from different sides of the
stage, and play lots of physical comedy. Simon and Golda do this brilliantly, and Diogo fantastically plays
a bull distressed by his master’s apparent drowning. There is a lovely dynamic developing between
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Francisco and the bull, which will really help the climax moment when he is forced to choose between his
wife’s desire for the bull’s tongue and killing his best friend.
PM
With full company here, we do a singing warm up and then look again at the Lament and how we will set
this in the space. It’s a beautiful song, so we really don’t need to do much in the space to support it. Next,
Paul and I look at The Villagers Song (He’s Off to Town). We don’t yet have Jeffrey’s horse, so he is
rehearsing with a life-size inflatable crocodile, which is the source of some amusement in the rehearsal
room this afternoon!
WEEK FIVE
Monday 17
AM
The set is ready for us to start rehearsals on! It’s an exciting moment, and although it is not completely
finished, it is great that we can start getting used to the space before the technical rehearsals, especially
as it is such a complex set. Ros and Chris give us a health and safety briefing, and then we all have a bit
of time to just wander around the set and familiarize ourselves with how it feels. Meanwhile, some of the
cast do some recording in the Maria for various moments in the play.
PM
The afternoon is the first time we rehearse on the space. First, we look at Daisy and Diogo’s dance. We
have a near miss when Diogo loses his footing and nearly ends up and the bottom of one at the pools, so
we’re reminded to go slowly until we all get used to it. We then do the same with the Food Song, while
Joe continues some scene work in the Maria with Daisy and Jeffrey on the Silvio scene.
Tuesday 18
AM
After a physical and vocal warm up, we look at the Bumba 1 on the stage and start to mark out positions.
PM
We look at setting the washerwomen on the space. Jean arrives back from Mexico after a horrible delay,
and is straight to work polishing this up and looking again at Daisy and Diogo.
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Wednesday 19
AM
Jean makes finishing touches to the Bumba 2 and the quadhilra on the stage.
PM
Also on stage, Jean reviews all the work that has been done during the week.
Thursday 20
AM
This morning, we attempt out first stagger through of the play. It’s a big moment when the play is
revealed for the first time like this, and everyone is nervous, but excited. The run is longer than we
expected, and obviously there are stops and starts, but it is really helpful. Joe and Paul start to see what
is working, what flows well together, and what sections feel too long, or unclear; the actors are able to
start physically piecing together the journeys of their characters; and the tech team are able to see the
shape of the piece.
PM
We look at the whole of scene 15, from the discovery of the dead bull right up to the end of the Bumba 2.
From the run, it was clear that this scene was too long, and that there needed to be a greater reverence
towards the bull from everyone. So, we look at the moments when the seringueria and the pescador try to
revive the bull.
Friday 21
Paul and Joe have made some cuts to the text after yesterday’s run, and Jean wants some changes in the
movement work. So today, it is all hands on deck, reworking scene 2, scene 15, scene 10, and looking
again at the Food Song, the villagers song and the Boto’s dance. There is also technical work continuing,
and as part of this, we have a session with the harnesses, where Simon, Golda and Danny learn how to
use their harnesses, caribenas and the lines to go up the tree.
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Saturday 22
We continue the work from yesterday, with everyone - Joe, Paul, Jean and the technical team clamouring for time on the stage. Everyone is trying to get ready for the tech, which begins on Monday.
There still seems to be so much to do...
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11. GAMES AND EXERCISES
Amazonia! Or Make Your Own Game
If your class has already seen the show let them create their own game. Start by asking them to think of
the characters in the show, then ask them to remember something distinctive the character said or did.
Ideally you will end up with a short phrase or noise, and a brief gesture or posture to go with each
character. Agree and copy the gesture as a group, then move on to another character. (Remember to
recap often!)
Character List
Boi (ox)
Chico Mendes
Seringuera
Don Antonio
Rosamaria
Vaquerio/Priest
Ricardo
Katalina
Mae Tereza
Francisco
Pescador - fisherperson
Boto (dolphin-man)
Then identify each of the four walls of the room as a location from the play; what activity would you
perform there? For example:
The River – swim
The Village – dance
The Forest – cut down trees
Queen of the Forest/Rainha da Mata (the big tree) – climb
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Now you are ready to play. Simply call out the character names and locations - for each name they must
say the line and do the gesture; for the locations they must walk there performing the activity. The aim is
for them to perform the action with as little hesitation as possible. If you want to be mean the slowest
person each time sits out until there is only one left!
This is a great warm up, as it can get very physical and uses body and voice. It is also a good way to see
what the young people remember from the play.
Strength in numbers!
This is a variation of ‘snake’ or ‘chain tag.’ Everyone starts playing a rancher, miming cutting down trees
to make way for cattle. Then one of them starts of as Chico, trying to stop them. When Chico touches one
of them they hold Chico’s hands, then when that person touches another rancher, they join the line.
Round about this point people stop miming cutting down trees and start running away from the chain,
and that’s fine! Eventually, when they are caught, everyone is in one long chain and the forest has been
saved!
King of the Jungle
Stand 8 young people in a line, with the others in a line facing them.
In order, left to right, the young people are:
Black Caiman – snaps arms together like jaws
Anaconda – whole body wiggle and hiss
Boto – squeak and jump with hands like flippers
Jaguar – curved claws and roar
Tapir – one arm forward and snuffling snout
Macau – flap arms and squawk
Poison Frog – be small and hop once
Amoeba – roll down from waist with floppy arms making a ‘blububububa' sort of a noise
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You can make whatever noise/gesture you like as long as it is clear, easy, and quick. Everyone in the
group needs to know all of the gestures so get everybody to practise each one.
The game is like this – the caiman is King of the Jungle. Everyone else wants to be King of the Jungle (or
Queen.) Caiman does his/her own gesture (snap, snap!) then someone else’s gesture (squawk, squawk!)
then Macau does his/her gesture (squawk, squawk!) and someone else’s (snuffle, snuffle!). Now if Tapir
makes a mistake (doesn’t respond with snuffle, snuffle, say) then the person playing Tapir is out. Those
playing Macau, Frog and Amoeba move up to become Tapir, Macau and Frog respectively, while
someone from the waiting queue comes in to be Amoeba. (The old Tapir joins the back of the queue.)
Be strict – any mistakes (wrong hand for a gesture, wrong noise, too slow, hesitation) and they are gone.
This way the whole group should quickly get a chance at being one of the eight animals. There isn’t really
an end to the game – whoever is the Caiman when you decide to stop is the King/Queen of the Jungle!
This exercise is also a great way to start a discussion of Amazonian animals, and exploring the food
cycles of the rainforest.
Boto’s Footsteps
Grandmother’s footsteps with an Amazonian twist. The Boto (in human form) has treasure (a piece of
cloth tucked into the back of their belt), which the young people want. In order to get it they have to
sneak up and grab it. However, at any time the Boto can turn around (and possible make the Boto’s
gesture/sound from the first game) and anyone he/she sees moving is sent to the bottom of the Amazon
River (the back wall) and forced to start again!
Shrinking Jungle
Start by asking the class to think of all the different creatures that can live in an Amazonian tree:
monkeys, macaw, jaguars, ants, beetles, snakes, frogs, etc. The young people can act these out.
Place one piece of newspaper per young person on the floor; it represents one tree. The young people
move around as their animal but when you shout ‘tree’ (or stop playing a piece of Brazilian music, for the
more traditional version of the game!) they must each climb onto a tree (one each).
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Then you enter as a rancher and remove one tree to make way for your cows. Ask them to move around
again, this time when you shout ‘tree’ one of them will have no tree and they become a cow. Eventually
all but one of the animals have turned to cows; the last animal is the winner and everyone has learnt
about the effect of deforestation on biodiversity.
Forest Journey
Split the group into four smaller groups. They have to stay in a line and follow the leader of the group,
who’s job it is to make sure that the different lines don’t get mixed up. Whenever you call ‘change’ the
leader runs to the back of the line and the next person becomes leader.
You describe the terrain the explorers are going through, so for example, they are walking through a
field of grass full of cows, which is very muddy, because the trees aren’t there to absorb the moisture.
They are with a group cutting down the trees. They are in the forest, and they have to pull the branches
aside, they are swimming through the Amazon river – watch out for Caiman! Etc.
Good for encouraging the young people to imagine conditions in the forest.
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How to make your own masks by Anna Bruder, mask maker
1) Pick the animal you want the mask to be. Draw a picture of it. Here are examples from the
production:
Toucan
Cougar
Monkey
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Macau
Frog
Caiman
Tapir
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Boto
Anteater
2) Measure your head with a tape measure.
3) Block a hat felt over the correct sized wig block with a steamer or use a base-ball cap which fits your
head.
4) Build onto the dried felt or base-ball cap with scrunched up newspaper and tape to create the shape
you want.
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Wait for them to dry!
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5) Paint your design from the picture you drew onto the mask.
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12. COSTUME SKETCHES AND PRODUCTION SHOTS
Boto
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Bull
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Chico
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Francisco
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Catarina
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Rosamaria
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Ricardo
69
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Antonio
70

Amazonia - Young Vic

Transcription

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