Body, meaning and emotion in black theater: A study on narrative and performance in “I got pregnant, gave birth to horses and learned to fly without wings”

Abstract

This article proposes na analysis of the play “I Got Pregnant, Gave  Birth to Horses and Learned to Fly Without Wings”, written by Cidinha da Silva and directed and performed by Lucélia Sérgio. It is observed that the body is configured as a central elemento in the construction of the characters narratives, functioning as a means of expression and meaning of experiences marked by oppression and resistance, both in the performance of the aforementioned actress and in the dramatic text. The analysis focuses on three of the seven characters in the plau: “The Whore”, “The Alcoholic”, and “The Homeless Woman”. The aim is to analyze how the play “I Got Pregnant, Gave Birth to Horses and Learned to Fly Without Wings” articulates body and emotion as a strategy of representation and resistance, both in the dramatic text and in the performance of the actress Lucélia Sérgio. The Stagin, available o the Sesc-SP YouTube Channel, highlights the power of bodily expressiveness as a narrative and political device. The theoretical framework is based on authors such as Merleau-Ponty (2018); Anatol Rosenfeld (2009), among others, who contribute to thinking about the representation of the black body, theatricality and performance as political and aesthetic practices.