News: A Trio of Upcoming Performances for "Saudades," a New Play by and about Brazilian Immigrants

Saudades, a new play by and about Brazilian immigrants, will have three NYC performances in the coming weeks: first, a staged reading accompanied by live Brazilian music and cocktails at the Consulate General of Brazil on January 30th, followed by two performances at LPAC's Rough Draft Festival on February 17th and 18th.   

Saudades, written by Fernando Segall and directed by Marina Zurita, is about Laura (Ana Moioli), a young Brazilian-American woman who embarks 
on a trip of self-discovery to Brazil, searching for her long-lost mother, Luiza (Julia Burnier). After growing up believing that her Brazilian mother had passed away when she was a child, Laura finally discovers that her mother is alive – living in Brazil after leaving Laura’s father for another man – and decides to go after her. Divided 
between wanting to go through this journey by herself and being immensely scared of it, she ends up making a friend on the plane who becomes a powerful ally – Pedro (Dylan Jernet), a Brazilian young man who goes to college in the US and has very negative views about his home country.

In a parallel storyline told through flashbacks, we meet Luiza (Julia Burnier), a young Brazilian woman who, while attending college in the US, got pregnant and ended up getting married to the father. After living in the US for 6 years in an unhappy marriage and feeling like she might not be fit to be a mother, the longing for her home country and a new love led her to leave her family behind and go back to Brazil. Representing nuanced and varied perspectives of Brazilian immigrants in the U.S., Saudades brings this underrepresented community to the forefront and exposes some of its main emotional struggles – guilt, shame, discrimination, and nostalgia.

"Saudades" is an untranslatable Portuguese word which means "the love that remains after someone or something is gone." As the play's creatives note, Brazilian artists living in New York might not always feel proud of their home country, a nation full of controversy, corruption, violence, and inequality. Still, as proven by this play, the profound melancholic longing which they feel for it can only be described as "saudades."

Saudades is affiliated with Et Alia Theater, supported by The Consulate General of Brazil in New York and the Instituto Guimarães Rosa, as well as partially developed as part of LPAC's Rough Draft festival in partnership with The Brick Theater. The show is appropriate for all ages and runs approximately 90 minutes. 

Upcoming Performances: 
  • Staged Reading (accompanied by Brazilian music and cocktail reception): Jan 30th, 6 pm-9 pm (reading starts at 7 pm) at the Consulate General of Brazil in New York (225 E 41 St., Manhattan). RSVP for a free ticket; donations are encouraged.
  • Rough Draft Festival: Feb 17th at 7 pm and Feb 18th at 2pm at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (31-10 Thomson Avenue, Queens). Purchase tickets here.

Written by Fernando Segall

Directed by Marina Zurita

Stage Managed by Ester Vianna

Performed by Ana Moioli, Julia Burnier, Dylan Jernet, Gonçalo Ruivo, and Davon Howard

Music by Gustavo Antoniacomi (cello) and Luca Kevorkian (violin)

Poster design by Marina Zurita and Raul Taunay

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saudades_nyc/

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