Amir Haddad of all theaters

Amir Haddad de todos os teatros is a compendium of the thoughts and teachings of one of the great masters of Brazilian theater, measuring his legacy and trajectory. An artist with particular identity, Amir, founder of the Tá na Rua group, is the spokesperson of an art form that freed itself from the conventional theater space and came closer to the people in the streets, integrating performing arts to urban scenery — creating, thus, both innovative and political theater. “Freedom” is the word that best defines his work: throughout more than six decades, Amir was able to skillfully and readily connect with various formats and proposals. The book is edited by actors and directors Claudio Mendes and Gustavo Gasparani, based on research in Amir Haddad’s archives, and also features a piece by critic, professor and journalist Daniel Schenker about the artist’s career and his contribution to the Brazilian theater scene.

Amir Haddad jumps off the page with writing built based on testimony collected by the editors. First, there’s an invitation to the rehearsal room, where the teacher and director develops his theater practice: reading a text, dissecting it, interpreting and reinterpreting, getting it wrong to get it right. Like an actor, the reader comes into contact with precious sentences and concepts. Then, Amir exposes his thoughts about Public Art, a concept he has been developing through the years. It’s a unique conception of theater practices, freed from institutional spaces to take over the public sphere, streets and quarters, drawing it closer to the audience, opposing conventional theater.

Amir Haddad de todos os teatros, title chosen by Amir himself, materializes, with flavor and precision, a unique way to make and think theater. It’s art lessons and life lessons in one.

About the author
Amir Haddad was born in Guaxupé, Minas Gerais, in 1937, and lives and works in Rio de Janeiro. He’s an actor, director and theater teacher. In 1958, alongside Zé Celso Martinez Corrêa and Renato Borghi, was one of the founders of Teatro Oficina, which he left in 1961. For his work as an actor and director, he received numerous awards, among them the Molière award for stage direction (1968) for Altimar Pimentel’s A construção; the Governor of Guanabara State award for best director (1970) for Georges Feydeau’s O marido vai à caça; the Shell award for best director (1989) for Oduvaldo Vianna Filho’s and Ferreira Gullar’s Se correr o bicho pega, se ficar o bicho come; the Sharp award for best director (1997) for William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. In 2006, Amir was awarded the commander title of the Ordem do Mérito Cultural, and in 2019 was given an honorary doctorate from the Rio de Janeiro Federal University (UFRJ). In 1980 he founded Tá Na Rua, based in the Rio de Janeiro Lapa neighborhood, a group that takes theater to common open spaces of streets and squares, highlighting the importance of art enjoyed in public, accessible ways, and its power of social, cultural, and urban transformation.

About the editors
Gustavo Gasparani is an actor, director, playwright, and founder of Cia. dos Atores. For his work, he was awarded the main theater awards in the country, such as the APCA award for best actor for his work in Shakespeare’s Richard III (2013). In the last few years, he has been developing genuinely Brazilian playwriting for our musical theater, creating shows such as Otelo da Mangueira, Samba Futebol Clube, Zeca Pagodinho — Uma história de amor ao samba, Bem sertanejo and SamBRA — 100 anos de samba. He has published four books: Em busca de um teatro musical carioca (Imprensa Oficial, 2010), Na Companhia dos Atores (Senac Rio, 2006), As matriarcas da avenida (Novaterra, 2019), and Três poetas do samba-enredo: Compositores que fizeram história no Carnaval (Cobogó, 2021).

Claudio Mendes has been an actor, director, author, and theater producer for 36 years. He graduated from the actors studio from Faculdade da Cidade, coordinated by Bia Lessa. He has done over 70 shows, and his resumé features partnerships with names such as Amir Haddad, Aderbal Freire-Filho and André Paes Leme. In film, he has worked with Arnaldo Jabor, Julio Bressane, Zelito Viana, Silvio Tendler. In television, he has been in a long list of shows, having worked with names such as Carlos Manga, Roberto Thalma, Luiz Fernando Carvalho. For his work on screen and stage, he was nominated and won various awards, such as the APTR award for best supporting actor for Agosto (2018).

About Daniel Schenker
Daniel Schenker is a post-doctorate candidate in the UniRio performing arts department, where he achieved his master’s and doctoral degree, and has a bachelor's degree in Communications from Faculdade da Cidade. He works as a History of Theater professor at the CAL performing arts college. He’s in the board of the APTR, Cesgranrio, and Questão de Crítica awards. He’s a film critic at O Globo, and writes theater criticism at his blog, danielschenker.wordpress.com. He has worked as a reporter and critic in various newspapers and magazines: Jornal do Brasil, O Estado de S.Paulo, Tribuna da Imprensa, Jornal do Commercio, Bravo!, Isto é Gente and Revista de Teatro da Sbat. He’s the author of Teatro dos 4 – A cerimônia do adeus do teatro moderno.

Specifications
Title Amir Haddad de todos os teatros
[Amir Haddad of all theaters]
Author Amir Haddad
Editors Claudio Mendes and Gustavo Gasparani
Language Portuguese
Page count 176
ISBN 978-65-5691-069-7
Cover Bloco Gráfico
Format Softcover
Size 14 x 21 cm
Year published 2022