Piccolo Circo-Teatro de Variedades

(São Paulo – SP)

Emotional for those who remember, educational for those who don’t know Brazilian circus traditions. Artisanal circus-theater roots are honored in the first show by Piccolo, a São Paulo collective founded in 2013 to bring together artists from different backgrounds and troupes.

Presented in two parts, Piccola Memória revives affective associations established in circus tents across the country. It all begins with a circus- theater play about a family that embraced the circus-ring in the beginning of last century. The play showcases the culture and customs of the time, while recreating circus history.

A cabaret of variety then enters the stage with acts that demonstrate artists’ versatility, juxtaposing circus expressions from the past and present-day counterpart, which reinvents itself everyday. Live music, vintage sepia, grey shades and a mirrored overhead projector compose the poetic atmosphere of a circus that embraces fantastic people and universes without distinction. “It is an art that celebrates the exotic, the supernatural, surprising, new or ancient skills. In the circus there are opportunities for all kinds of people – strong, thin, tall or short”, the artists say.

CREDITS
Circus director: Rosane Almeida
Circus-theater director : Fernando Neves
Art director : Daniela Garcia
Musical director: Marcelo Zanettini
Clowning diretor: Fernando Sampaio
Cast: Carlos Cosmai, Erica Stoppel, Fernando Paz, Lu Viacava, Marina Bombachini, Ronaldo Aguiar, Marcos Porto
Prop design: Ana Motta
Choreographer: Ronaldo Aguiar
Lighting design: André Boll – Santa Luz
Photography: Ligiane Braga
Guest musicians: Rodrigo Zanettini, Vinicius Poiltano
Stand-ins: Felipe de Oliveira, Luara Bolandini, Nereu Afonso
Dramaturgy: Nereu Afonso