A Luz em Cena: Revista de Pedagogias e Poéticas Cenográficas
Publicação da área de iluminação e aspectos cenográficos, vinculada ao Programa de Pós-Graduação em Artes Cênicas e ao Laboratório de Iluminação do Departamento de Artes Cênicas do Centro de Artes, Design e Moda da Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina (Udesc). ISSN: 2764-4669 Periodicidade: semestral Ano de criação: 2020
Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina
Copyright (c) 2026 Ivo Godois https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Poetics of Light in Time and Space: Reflections
Architecture exerts a profound impact on the cultural construction of light and shadow, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with space. Light is not merely a physical phenomenon, but also a symbolic element that can shape consciousness. In this context, it is important to distinguish light as an entity in itself from the ways in which it is conceived, distributed, and applied in built environments. When guided by logics of control, productivity, or excess, particularly in the context of artificial lighting, light can condition, affect, and interfere with physical and mental well-being. The relationship between architecture, light, and the brain is thus revealed to be profound and multifaceted. It is hoped that this essay, based on a literature review, will constitute a relevant contribution to critical reflection on the conception of light.
Copyright (c) 2026 Jorge Ferreira https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Between Operating and Performing: Operation as Presence and Mediation in the Expanded Scene
This article investigates how immersive audiovisual environments mediated by computational systems reconfigure the relationships between body, space, and perception in contemporary performance within the context of the expanded scene. It starts from the shift in projection mapping practices, which no longer operate merely as visual surfaces but instead constitute dynamic and responsive environments. The objective is to understand how the integration of different technologies contributes to the production of spatiality and sensory experience. To this end, the study conducts a case analysis of the performance Syn: Unfolded Horizons of Bodily Senses, created by the Rhizomatiks collective in collaboration with the ELEVENPLAY company, combined with an examination of records and documents produced by the collective itself. The research is grounded in the concepts of media performance, intermediality, and scenography as a relational system, drawing on theoretical contributions concerning digital performance, the relationship between media and theatre, and the production of spatiality in contemporary performance. The analysis discusses how the integration of body sensors, real-time processing, projection, light, and sound generates an unstable perceptual field in which the image becomes a constitutive component of spatiality and sensory experience, reorganizing the conditions of perception. As a contribution, the article proposes a critical reflection on the ornamental use of audiovisual technologies in contemporary performance.
Dossiê: Video, Imagens e Projeções Mapeadas
Copyright (c) 2026 Maria Eduarda de Souza, Maíra Castilhos Coelho https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Digital Projections in Relation - A cartographic study based on the production of the Eranos Círculo de Arte
This text presents a cartography of the creative practices of digital projection projects developed with the Santa Catarina-based group Eranos Círculo de Arte, reflecting on how the medium is constituted in relation to the cast, audience, and set design in the theatrical event. Based on scenic experiences, it proposes three gradations of use: audiovisual, action-and-reaction, and spatial; articulated to the concept of apparatus. Engaging with Dubatti, Foucault, Simondon, and Winner, it discusses the ethical, political, and poetic dimensions of the technique.
Copyright (c) 2026 Leandro Luiz de Maman https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
From Projection to the Construction of the Perceptual Environment: Syn, by Rhizomatiks and ELEVENPLAY
This article investigates how immersive audiovisual environments mediated by computational systems reconfigure the relationships between body, space, and perception in contemporary performance, within the context of the expanded scene. It starts from a shift in projection mapping practices, which move beyond surface application to become dynamic and responsive environments. As a case study, it analyzes Syn: Unfolded Horizons of Bodily Senses, by Rhizomatiks in collaboration with ELEVENPLAY. Drawing on media performance, intermediality, and scenography as a relational system, the study examines how the integration of motion sensors, real-time processing, projection, lighting, and sound produces an unstable perceptual field. It argues that the image becomes a constitutive element of spatiality and sensory experience, reshaping perceptual conditions. Finally, it critically addresses the ornamental use of audiovisual technologies in contemporary performance. The article is grounded in theoretical contributions that examine the relationships between technology, performance, and perception, with particular emphasis on Steve Dixon’s reflections on digital performance and the integration of computational systems into performative practices, Sarah Bay-Cheng’s discussions on intermediality and the dissolution of boundaries between media and theatre, and Rachel Hann’s understanding of scenography as a relational system oriented toward the production of spatiality and experience. These perspectives are complemented by materials produced by the collective Rhizomatiks itself, whose records and documents on the analyzed work provide insight into the modes of spatial articulation.
Copyright (c) 2026 Luiza Marcato Camargo de Sousa Souza, Fausto Viana https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Intermediary Devices in the Contemporary Scene
This article addresses the concept of Spatial Augmented Reality applied to contemporary performing arts, linking it to other concepts intrinsic to staging and acting, such as presence, organicity, and the precision of physical action scores. These concepts are examined through the lens of the following contemporary plays: “Enquanto você voava eu criava raízes” (2022) by Cia. Dos a Deux from Brazil, “The Wooster Group’s Hamlet” (2013) by The Wooster Group from United States of America and “La belle et la bete” (2011) by Cia. 4dArt from Canada. These plays were chosen because their scenic constructions integrate intermedial devices that add virtual images in direct relation to the actors on stage
Copyright (c) 2026 Mauricio Fuziyama de Almeida, Gabriela Lírio Gurgel Monteiro https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A Report to an Academy: the Kafkaesque way out in video mapping and performance
This article addresses the conception of the video mapping and performance work entitled A Report to an Academy, developed from Franz Kafka’s homonymous short story and presented in a context analogous to that of its literary reference. In three moments, the text examines the influence of the story on the author’s creative process, the resulting visual solutions, and a philosophical discussion of Kafka’s writing, analyzed as a minor operation of finding a way out through language, capable of straining instituted codes and opening other paths of sensible experience.
Copyright (c) 2026 Elias Edmundo Maroso https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Intermediality and the new possibilities of a " MEDIA THEATER".
In the context of a contemporary culture of images, this study reflects on the possibilities of using image projections in theatrical performance. As these concepts emerge from new audiovisual resources driven by technological advancements, it becomes necessary to define the types of media present in contemporary theatre and the related terms, such as remediation, immediacy, hypermediacy, and intermediality. To illustrate these concepts, we analyze productions such as King of War, by Ivo Van Hove; Le Projet Andersen, by Robert Lepage; and Eraritjaritjaka, by Heiner Goebbels. Finally, the study seeks to provide analytical support for investigating new possibilities within media theatre.
Copyright (c) 2026 Maíra Castilhos Coelho https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Reframing Beauty and Gender in Stage Makeup
This chapter by Charlene Gross re-evaluates traditional stage makeup education, advocating for a more effective pedagogy that values diversity. It addresses how the field presumes binary gender and promotes specific beauty standards. Gross proposes a non-judgmental approach using anatomical terminology, decoupling techniques from gender, and incorporating diverse examples. The text explores challenges, especially in remote learning, highlighting the shift to video demonstrations for accessibility and broader student perspectives. Key projects like "Corrective Face," "Slim/Stout," and "Gender Reversal" (now "Drag Transformation") are discussed as evolving to foster a deeper understanding of character, beauty, and gender in performance
Copyright (c) 2025 Rosane Muniz https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Iconic characters, Júlia Matos and Jade El Adib and the importance of their characterizations: Costumes, hair and makeup
This article addresses the importance of the characterization of actors/actresses in the performing arts and their specific areas: television, cinema, theater, musical shows and performances. For each area mentioned, there is a particular work of costumes, makeup and hair that need to be appropriate to the scenographic environment to which they will be presented. The scenography of the environment, the light, the type of screen (television and cinema) as well as the size of the theater or even in the case of shows where singers perform, in large stadiums need specialized professionals, competent in their functions and together, directors, lighting designers, costume designers, hairdressers, makeup artists in teams, will develop a quality and cohesive work. The case study of two soap opera characters, conceived by costume designer Marília Carneiro are in this article exemplifying some points regarding the characterization of characters.
v.5 n.10 - 2 edição - Caracterização e composição cênica: Articulações teóricas, práticas, técnicas e pedagógicas sobre figurino, cabelo e maquiagem na construção da imagem cênica
Copyright (c) 2025 Valéria de Oliveira Barros, Madson Oliveira https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Scenic characterization: a report on teaching-learning-creation processes in makeup
This text shares my teaching experience in the Characterization course, offered in the Theater program at the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU), during the years 2017 and 2018. The writing contextualizes the account, presenting the path I proposed for teaching-learning-creating stage characterization, specifically makeup, in higher education. Furthermore, it highlights the proposed exercises and the artistic-pedagogical tactics developed, connecting knowledge about makeup with different aspects of theatrical staging and pedagogical practices in Theater. To this end, photographic records of the classes and the final projects developed by the students throughout the semesters are used as supporting material.
Copyright (c) 2025 Lucas Larcher https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The intersection of fashion and theater in the reuse of jeans to create a costume
This article analyzes the process of creating and executing costumes for an academic theater production at the School of Theater and Cinema of the Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon in 2024. It uses observation during rehearsals, conversations between the director and the visual arts team, notes, and some of the stages of costume design. It offers a case study of the process of creating a stage costume using denim as the raw material, with references to fashion and sustainability in mind.
Copyright (c) 2025 José Roberto Santos Sampaio https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
THE EXPANSION OF THE COSTUME DESIGN: From Characterization to Performativity
This article briefly presents an analysis of costume design thinking throughout the historical and expressive changings of the western theater, which oscillates between the transformation and the transfiguration of the body on stage. To organize a systematic observation of these changes, I propose a diagram that outlines these possibilities of creation, ranging from the characterization through costume design and accessories to the performative use of these same materialities. This diagram structures the conceptual and practical expansion of costume design within a historical framework and serves as a pedagogical tool to analyze and to apply procedures for emerging artists of the scenic arts
Copyright (c) 2025 Heloísa Helena Pacheco de Sousa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Scenic Skins - Teaching characterization makeup in a methodological transformation in artistic-pedagogical training
This article is a research project conducted in the Graduate Program in Performing Arts Education – Professional Master's Program at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO). The research is based on an analytical and photographic memorial about my own research process as an artist-researcher-teacher and the methodological development with students at the institutions and art spaces where we worked on the teaching and learning of makeup, from 2016 to 2023. The research organizes the recognition of the creation of a methodology for makeup, based on photographs, texts, and student testimonies. It analyzes this movement in a public institution in Minas Gerais and seeks to reveal its different methodological possibilities, how this transformation occurred in the teaching and learning process, and its consequences for the teaching of Costume Design in another public institution.
Copyright (c) 2025 Sol Sofiro https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Two-Dimensional Theatre/Staged Photography: A Visual Theory for a Theatrical Practice
The objective of this article is to reflect on how the visual arts can be a starting point for theatrical creation, and to show that through this relationship with the visual arts, theatre students become capable of reflecting and understanding the field of visualities of the scene, seeking new ways of expressing oneself and understanding the power and influence of scenic characterization, an aspect that enriches the actor's work in the interpretation, because by permeating the field of visualities of the scene, the actor better understands his character.
Copyright (c) 2025 Jéssica Luiza Pádua Cardoso https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Mask And The Language Of Staging At The Venice Carnaval
This article presents the mask as a staging language and symbolic costume, focusing on its presence as a scenic element in the Venice Carnival. It addresses the transition of the mask from Commedia Dell'Arte to popular festivities in 16th century Italy, as well as its continuity as part of the characterization of revelers over the years in Venice. Based on the historiographical method, it constitutes a reflection on the formation of cultural memory as an expressive social phenomenon related to understanding the presence of the mask as a scenic prop in Western culture, both in the performing arts and in popular culture.
Copyright (c) 2025 Vitória Cristina Keles da Silva, Rosana Aparecida Pimenta , Suélen Najara de Mello https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
From gaps in specialized literature to the exploration of the creativity of the makeup artist-researcher: A look at the work "Stage Makeup - techniques, processes and procedures”.
This review highlights the relevance of the publication of the book "Scenic Makeup - Techniques, Processes and Procedures”, by Márcio Desideri, both for the field of character design and creation of scenic visuality, and for the area of ​​makeup more broadly. The work is part of a body of work that involves years of research and professional practice, filling a gap in publications in the field, which until now were aimed at a non-specialized audience and, therefore, lacked the demand for specific theoretical and technical depth. With accessible language and a keen eye for recovering the historical relevance of this artistic field, Márcio provides the reader with an incursion into the universe of makeup, highlighting its fundamentals, and then presenting various techniques and procedures, work equipment, sketches for reproduction, among others. It is a precious and dedicated work that reinforces the importance of in-depth training for professionals in the field and arrives on the market to complement courses, training, and professional development programs.
Copyright (c) 2025 Luciana Soares de Medeiros https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Mapping of Academic Productions on Scenic Characterization in Brazil (2011-2021)
This article presents part of a state-of-the-art research on scenic characterization in Brazil, conducted between 2011 and 2021. The study, which is bibliographic and documentary in nature, sought to map academic productions in the field of Performing Arts that address costume design, makeup, and theatrical characterization in their interface with the performer's body. The investigation covered databases such as SCIELO, BDTD, CAPES, specialized journals, and the GT Traje de Cena e Traje de Folguedo (Stage Costume and Costume Design Working Group) of the Fashion Colloquium. Twenty-five works were identified, including dissertations, theses, and articles, which reveal advances and gaps in the consolidation of characterization as a field of research, highlighting the importance of integrating body, costume, and dramaturgy in creative processes.
Copyright (c) 2025 Jéssika Hannder Borges https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Silicone prostheses for entertainment, hospital simulations, and forensic medicine
In this article, we present research on silicone prosthetics developed at the Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro’s Laboratório de Caracterização e Adereços. The study aims to assess and develop platinum-based silicone prostheses to improve realism and functionality in three distinct areas: performing arts, forensic medicine, and hospital simulation. The theoretical and practical studies involved visits to the simulation lab at the Escola de Enfermagem Alfredo Pinto (Unirio’s Nursing School), as well as discussions with forensic medicine professors. The practical development of the research included in-depth exploration of a variety of materials, sculpting techniques, and modeling and molding methods.
Copyright (c) 2025 Lucas de Oliveira Raibolt, Monica Magalhães https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
ANIMALISTIC SCRIBBLES: Experimentation With Grotesque Costumes
The present research has the objective of investigating the relations that can be established between the language of costume and the aesthetic of the grotesque. To do so, I have developed Garatujas Animalescas, a series of costumes created inspired by animals that are considered disgusting. For the development of that project, I did a literary review in order to understand the theoretical proposals about the aesthetic of the grotesque, as well as a search to know and identify grotesque costumes in different contexts. Next, I report the process of creation of the garatuja inspired by the fly (Musca domestica) as well as the obstacles and the solutions found. Lastly, I question the necessity of a show in order to develop costumes.
Copyright (c) 2025 Guilherme Peres Falcão https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Intermediality, image projections, and scenic lighting in the play Abismo
This article analyzes the conception of the performance Abismo (2022), by the Midiactors group, through the lens of practice-based research in the performing arts. It investigates the work's transition from a multimedia logic to an intermedia structure, where light and projection become inseparable from the dramaturgy. The research articulates Loïe Fuller's legacy with contemporary technologies within the site-specific context of the Museum of the Mines School (UFOP). The results demonstrate that the hybridization between the body and digital media establishes a phenomenology of perception that transcends technical function, converting lighting into a vector of subjectivity and immersion.
Copyright (c) 2026 Jonas Estevão Ferreira Gomes https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Photoperformance as Dramaturgy of Light and Symptom-Image: A Sensitive Scenography of Mourning and Memory
This article presents a critical and performative study on the power of photo-performance as an artistic language capable of staging grief, pain, and individual and collective memory. Based on the series of works entitled Absences, produced between 2020 and 2024, it discusses how the photographic image can operate as a symptom, as a suspended gesture, and as emotional scenography. The artist's body is central to this process – enunciating experiences of personal loss, creating tension in spaces of urban and religious memory, and reconfiguring icons of art history. Drawing on the concepts of image-symptom (DIDI-HUBERMAN, 2013), gesture (AGAMBEN, 2000), photographic theatricality (DIÉGUEZ, 2020), and site-specificity (FOSTER, 2014; KWON, 2002), the article proposes performative photography as a dramaturgy of light and space. Analysis of the works reveals how common objects – blankets, fabrics, bones – become symbolic operators, establishing a dramaturgy of intimacy and social critique.
Copyright (c) 2026 Vanessa Silva https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Copyright (c) 2025 Joana Kretzer Brandenburg, Luciana Soares de Medeiros, Rosane Muniz Rocha https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Referente ao Expediente do dossiê
Copyright (c) 2025 Ivo Godois https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Overview of stage characterization in Brazil: training, specializations, and the Job Market
In this article, an overview of stage characterization in Brazil is outlined based on the meetings held between 2020 and 2024. The aim is to understand and define the term through the theories of Patrice Pavis and the testimonies of artists interviewed during the Characterization Meetings held by the Laboratório de Caracterização e Adereços and the extension project Núcleo de Criação of Theater School at the Federal University of the Rio de Janeiro. The analysis covers training, the required specializations in characterization for audiovisual and performing arts, as well as the challenges and advancements in the job market.
v.5 n.9 -1 edição - Caracterização e composição cênica: Articulações teóricas, práticas, técnicas e pedagógicas sobre figurino, cabelo e maquiagem na construção da imagem cênica
Copyright (c) 2025 Monica Magalhães https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Between the stage and behind the scenes: accounts of an educational and artistic experience.
This article presents an experience report that combines didactic and artistic experience, based on an updated excerpt from the research entitled “The dramaturgical meaning of the characterization of the performer's body: a case study of the shows Gota D'Água and O Abajur Lilás.” The main objective is to understand the relationship between characterization and the actor/performer's body. The narrative is constructed from a critical reflection on the experiences lived during the artistic process, supported by an empirical approach. In addition, the theoretical and analytical references used contribute to a deeper understanding of this relationship, highlighting the importance of the body in the construction of the character, as well as in the development of the creative and aesthetic theatrical process.
Flaming razor and war paint: notes on violence, aesthetics and politics in the characterization of the show Anjos de Cara Suja
The article explores the relationship between aesthetics, politics, and identity in the play Anjos de Cara Suja, created by CiA dXs TeRrOrIsTaS in collaboration with trans women and travestis who survived the prison system. The narrative follows the stories of, two trans women who faced social and institutional violence. The text examines makeup and costume design as tools of resistance and identity reconstruction, highlighting the concept of “aesthetics of precariousness” and practices such as textile transmutation. The research reveals how theatrical characterization and its creative processes can act as tools for empowerment and social transformation for marginalized communities.
Copyright (c) 2025 Murilo Moraes Gaulês, Victor Serra, Magô Tonhon https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
What is the LIGHT THAT TOUCHES US? Stage lighting and black skin
This article is the result of a Final Course Project (TCC) and aims to present and reflect on my first practices as a stage lighting technician focusing on black bodies, based on the current visual structures and how they influence the construction of narratives and stereotypes that favor or not certain bodies when faced with the reproduction of images. Constructing forms of representation that directly influence the creation of stage lighting in shows, performances and other types of artistic manifestations about the black body. Having as its main field of research the Coletivo NEGA (Negras Experimentações Grupo de Artes). This study strives to contribute to a conversation between the fields of Theater, Lighting and Postcolonial Studies.
Copyright (c) 2025 Alexandra Gabriela de Melo da Silva https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The “multiple skin” in the performing arts: the creative process of a character’s skin through make-up
This research aims to reflect on the use of makeup in the process of characterization of characters, from the point of view of a “makeup-artist”, who observes it as a “multiple skin” of the actor, which multiplies and (in)corporates in various means and scenic elements. Thus, we will understand it beyond its technical function as a visual language, a beautification effect, or a mere element of character delineation. In doing so, we will trace the process of constructing this skin across diverse media and techniques, examining the factors and elements of a complex creative network, whether that process is material (physical plane) or virtual (mental plane).
Copyright (c) 2025 Marcio Ricardo Desideri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0