Plastic Dinosaur

In front of a bar, a young man finds himself faced with a dilemma, torn between two events. On one side, a table sits his family; on the other, friends surround another table. Frozen between two worlds that know him differently, he can’t decide: should he go into the bar, or just escape?

In his first play, Gustavo Vilela walks through Dani’s neurotic thoughts with a light, humorous touch. His stories, seemingly mundane, reveal a scared man who, walking hand in hand with his insecurities and vulnerability, goes towards himself, attempting to reinvent himself to face what's still to come.

Plastic Dinosaur features three extra pieces of writing: the forewords “Mesozoic creation”, by Rafael Saraiva, actor of the monologue, and “Play paleontology”, by Barbara Duvivier, its director, as well as the afterword “Jurassic youth”, by Gabriel Flores, director, playwright and actor.

Excerpts
“I quickly related to his search for creating feelings-based comedy. Humor is a way to talk about life, not an end into itself.” Rafael Saraiva

“[The character] embodies the crisis of the self that's another, in an anxiety so characteristic of youth since the time of Arthur Rimbaud, but that seems to achieve its apex in Gen Z, that learns from a young age to perform multiple versions of itself without knowing which one is real.” Barbara Duvivier

About the author
Gustavo Vilela was a writer for Porta dos Fundos for five years, and wrote over 150 of the video sketches published in the channel. He was also a writer in the first season of Cosme & Damião – Quase santos (Globoplay). He created and wrote Vrau Cast, a satirical interview videocast from Porta dos Fundos, and works as editor in chief of Backdoor, the channel’s Mexican segment. Since 2023, he writes for Falha de cobertura (TV Quase), and he has also written for the reality show Futuro ex-Porta. He’s the author of three children’s books: O menino que tinha tudo (Oito&Meio), Pra onde foi meu pai (Oito&Meio) and S de Soledad (Nazhira). O dinossauro de plástico is his first play.

About the collection
The Dramaturgia collection has, since 2012, published writing by Brazilian and international playwrights. The books help in building a memory of current theater, making a new record in the contemporary theater scene. In 2015, Cobogó also launched Dramaturgia Espanhola, the Spanish collection, in 2019, Dramaturgia Francesa, the French collection, and, in 2022, Dramaturgia Holandesa, the Dutch collection. Over 70 important theater authors have been published, with over 100 titles, including various award-winning plays.

Specifications
Title O dinossauro de plástico [Plastic Dinosaur]
Author Gustavo Vilela
Complementary writing Rafael Saraiva, Barbara Duvivier, Gabriel Flores
Language Portuguese
Page count 64
Publisher Cobogó
ISBN 978-65-5691-178-6
Cover Brunella Provvidete
Format Softcover
Size 13 x 19 cm
Year 2025
Price R$ 56.00