BEFORE
TIME
EXISTS
BEFORE TIME EXISTS
Antes do Tempo Existir is a performative work that invites audiences to experience different understandings of the time of existence. Presented in an installation format, the work establishes a direct relationship with the audience, unfolding through a suggested narrative and visual composition that explores nature in its continuous movement. Grounded in Indigenous ancestral knowledge of myth and time, the perspectives of animals, the wind, the forest, and Indigenous bodies intersect with the temporality of coloniality. The performance emerges from collaborations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, whose voices and presence invite audiences to reflect on whether it is still possible for us to move in rhythm with the planet.
PRESENTATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Scenic project Antes do Tempo Existir, 2020–2021 (approved through the Municipal LAB Program, 2020). Immersive creative residencies took place in October 2021 (with Indigenous artists Jaider Esbell, Denilson Baniwa, and Zahy Guajajara, at SP Escola de Teatro) and in April and May 2022 (with Indigenous artists Denilson Baniwa and Lilly Baniwa, at the Mário de Andrade Library and the Goethe-Institut).
PERFORMANCES AND FESTIVALS
Premiere at MITsp – São Paulo International Theatre Festival, June 2022
MITsp 2022
Cena Contemporânea, Brasília, July 2022
FESTESP, June 2022
TUSP, December 2022
Museum of the Portuguese Language, May 2023
Feyentun, Chile, October 2023
Revival at CCSP, August 2025
MIAC, Porto Alegre, October 2025
Festival Interculturalidades and Niterói em Cena, September 2026
LEARN ABOUT THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN THE VIDEO:
CREDITS
DIRECTION AND CONCEPTION
Andreia Duarte
DRAMATURGY
Andreia Duarte (revival)
Andreia Duarte, Kenia Dias, Ricardo Alves Jr. (premiere)
TEXTS
Performing artists and Andreia Duarte
COLLECTIVE CREATION
All artists involved in the creative process. Special recognition to Jaider Esbell (in memoriam) and Zahy Tentehar.
PERFORMING ARTISTS
Arami Argüello, Karol Kaysá, Wescritor Tupinambá.
ARTISTS WHO HAVE PERFORMED IN THE WORK
Denilson Baniwa, Lilly Baniwa, Rosa Tukano, Andreia Duarte.
ARTWORK COSMOS AND PAJÉ ONÇA PERFORMANCE
Denilson Baniwa
MUSIC – "GRITO ANCESTRAL"
Wescritor
SONG IN THE WIND SCENE
Lilly Baniwa
KAIOWA SONGS – OPYRU AND GUYRA
Indigenous Community of Jaguapiru, Mato Grosso do Sul, led by Nandesy Florisa.
LIGHTING DESIGN AND OPERATION
Lucas Pradino
SOUNDTRACK AND SOUND OPERATION
Barulhista (premiere) and Cris Cunha
SCENIC DESIGN AND COSTUMES
Renato Bolelli
STAGE CONSTRUCTION AND SEWING
Enrique Casas
VISUAL IDENTITY AND WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
Casaplanta | Amanda Dafoe
PRODUCTION
Júlia Junqueira
CULTURAL SUPPORT (CREATIVE PROCESS AND PREMIERE)
Goethe-Institut
Mário de Andrade Library
CO-PRESENTED BY (PREMIERE)
São Paulo Municipal Department of Culture, through the Aldir Blanc Cultural Emergency Law
MITsp – São Paulo International Theatre Festival
PRODUCED BY
OUTRA MARGEM
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Ailton Krenak
Davi Kopenawa
Guilherme Marques
Antônio Araújo
Rafaela Campos
Renata Tupinambá
Karine Legrand
