“We already said it all”: the Bando de Teatro, formed by young people from the periphery, empowers youth in the debate of socially relevant themes
Artistic group was created in Santo Amaro, a suburb of the capital of Pernambuco, and continues to act voluntarily
Credit: Disclosure
By: Eduarda Nunes – Lupa do Bem / Favela em Pauta
It was from the project “Damage Reduction: I Like This Idea” that Givanildo Francisco arrived in the community of Santo Amaro, in the central area of Recife, in August 2013. In addition to the discussion on the problematic use of drugs that the Instituto de Assistência Social e Cidadania (IASC) provoked, the social educator can also bring to 22 teenagers the citizenship that many times is not presented to those born in the periphery. In this way, he put into practice the optimization of the talents of each one.
The impact of this meeting resulted in the Bando de Teatro A Gente Já Disse Tudo (Theater Band We Already Said it All), a group that uses theater as an instrument for art education, which is the basis for the social transformation that takes place based on the experiences of the members. This is a project that, today, is part of Fábrica Fazer Arte, an NGO that works on Human Rights issues in the favelas and outskirts of Recife.
“The great motto of communication that we do in the theater is our favela and life trajectory”, says Jefferson Vitorino, who is now the group’s coordinator and one of the co-founders.
At the age of 27, the dancer recently graduated from the History course tells a little about the group’s 8 years of activity. “When we are at school, we have more time to be at all rehearsals, find ourselves, then we grow, have to work, have children and need to dedicate more time to other subjects”, says Jefferson.
However, the coordinator amends by saying that, although there are only 3 of the original formation left in the team, all of them continue to strengthen the work that Fábrica carries out in the community. Today the project is run by 14 members.
With 9 years of history, the group’s main future plan is to get its own space. Currently, the project holds its meetings and rehearsals at the Escola Municipal Sede da Sabedoria, in Santo Amaro, the neighborhood where most of the members live.
The Bando de Teatro A Gente Já Disse Tudo (Theater Band We Already Said it All) is made up of young artists who work voluntarily and believe in the importance of democratizing art. In addition to theater plays, the group also performs artistic interventions in public spaces or events.
“With a space of our own, we manage to increase our autonomy and also the participation of people, because today we also have to follow the availability of the school so that we can hold our meetings”, says Jefferson.
For him, NGOs and other organizations that carry out projects focused on Human Rights in favelas are important for the social transformation of the place and the people who live there.
Theater beyond entertainment
The first show performed was ready in 2013 and bears the same name as the group. In “A Gente Já Disse Tudo”, the young actors used the stage to vent what was suffocating them while they told their truths to the world.
“These are children and adolescents who suffocate every day with the different expressions of racism, sexism and criminality. Implications that make peripheral families even more vulnerable. It was a first moment to understand the importance that each one’s narratives had”, adds Jefferson.
In 2015, the group finished and released “Não Me Abuse”, with a text that provoked a lot of public reaction. The production addressed the themes of abuse and sexual violence, and Jefferson says that it was noticeable that part of the audience understood that they had suffered or witnessed some type of situation in this context based on the event.
After these, Urbano (2017), 7 Cracks (2018) and Boom (2019) continued the trajectory of the project on theater stages in Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio de Janeiro and other states. All of the pieces were also part of the program for Janeiro de Grandes Espetáculos, an international performing arts festival in Pernambuco, which will hold its 29th edition in 2023.
The most recent play by the group is called “Mocambos – Portraits of Hunger” and had its premiere on October 18th. The theme is approached through a character that is constant in the history of the peripheries. The text mixes the 1930s and 1940s, when the city of Recife was taken over by mocambos, precarious housing facilities that resemble stilt houses, as they are today.
Contribute to this story
To contribute to the Bando de Teatro A Gente Já Disse Tudo (Theater Band We Already Said it All), it is necessary to contact Fábrica Fazer Arte through Instagram for production, budget for presentations and forms of collaboration that can go beyond financial matters.
