El Alto | Queer: Gender Sexuality and the Arts in the Americas

El Alto 134 Renata Carvalho
135
“A WATERSHED
MOMENT IN MY
CAREER”
A conversation between artists Natalia Mallo (director
and translator) and Renata Carvalho (actress) of Brazil’s The
Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven.
Natalia Mallo (NM): I don’t know if it was intuition
or connection, but I knew that you were perfect
for the role when I first met you. I’m now certain
that it had to be you and that the impact we had
with this production was because of your body
and presence on stage. How did you feel when
you first read the text? What made you want to be
part of this journey?
Renata Carvalho (RC): When I first read the
text, I was totally transfixed. Even today, I learn
something new from it every time I read or
perform the text. What really caught my attention
was the way Jo developed the story and brought
it to the present. The relationship between
religion and LGBTQI+ culture was already an
important theme in my research and art. When
I finished reading the text I knew I wanted to
tell this story because of its power to transform
prejudice, open debates, open hearts and minds,
and shed a light on a very serious issue in our
country. That is the main function of theatre and
the artist. This the theatre that I believe in; I do
theatre because I want to change the world - or
at least create change where possible.
NM: What was the impact of taking part in this
creative process ?
RC: The play made me mature as an artist,
actress and researcher. It made me connect like
never before with structural transphobia’s deepseated
hatred and with the burden and meaning
of having a travesti body. The year-long process
was crucial in preparing myself technically and
psychologically to the many challenges we would
face later on. The project’s interdisciplinary crew,
especially the voice coach (Patrícia Antoniazzi),
was essential. It changed the way I understood
my voice and how I use it. I learnt how to breathe
on stage. As a result, I am a different actress than
I was before. It was equally fundamental to take
care of and prepare my body (which I did with
the help of coaches and choreographers Gisele
Calazans and Fabricio Licursi). I began to look
at myself, to become aware of myself, to get to
know myself and, above all, to comprehend my
potential presence. When you understand the
latter, no-one can tell you who you are. This was
liberating. The growth we experienced, all of us,
intensified when the play was censored, and this
allowed us to understand the world more clearly.
I feel more humane after everything that has
happened.
NM: This experience has also strengthened your
role as an activist.
RC: This process has consolidated my
foundations as a professional actress and it has
taken me to places I never thought I would go to.
It broadened my voice and gave me visibility as
an artist. As a transpologist, I founded MONART
(National Movement of Trans Artists) and wrote
its Manifesto on Trans Representation, which
opened up opportunities to present and discuss
my research in places that I could not access
previously, changing the way we do and think
the arts and theatre in Brazil. It was a watershed
moment in my career.
NM: In terms of acting and character-building,
what was the main challenge of playing Queen
Jesus, given that the text deals with issues that
are really close to your lived experience?
RC: Being Jesus of Nazareth in a travesti body
was never going to be an easy task or something
that everyone would agree with. I knew this right
from the beginning, as I knew well how structural
transphobia works. The realities of Brazilian
and European trans/travesti bodies are very
different and I had to bring the former reality to
the stage and to the text - i.e. “Brazilianising” the
story, its Jesus, and the travesti identity, emic
and experience. There are many convergences
between this story and the story of my life and
that of many other trans/travesti people in Brazil,
and this made everything a little bit harder. At the
same time, it presented itself as catharsis, as a
form of denunciation, an outcry, an ‘enough!’,
or as a liberation.
NM: People say this play has changed the history
of Brazilian theatre.
RC: The play opened up debates not only in the
arts but also in the Judiciary, in politics and in
religion. I don’t recall any other production that
has raised so many issues in so many different
spaces. I’m not sure whether it has changed the
history of Brazilian theatre, but it has certainly
changed the way the arts and the artists see
bodies like mine. That is beyond any doubt.
It seems as if they’ve only just realised we exist
and that we also do arts. At the same time,
there’s still a long way to go. Our transphobia is
structural and we need to work on it on a daily
basis. Some changes are already quite noticeable,
but artists need to be more aware of their time.
For example, there are still cisgender actresss
who are uninformed about and insensitive to our
cause, that practice trans fake. 1 These people
understand nothing. As a transpologist who is
researching the trans body in the arts since 2007,
I see my research gaining shape and body, I see
the growing number of transvestigêneres 2 people
doing arts and this fills me with immeasurable joy.
NM: Now that you are travelling the world, what
do you think about what’s happening in trans arts
outside Brazil?
RC: Trans arts comes as a lightning rod for the
cisgender arts, which can no longer be as limited,
careless and restricted as it is. The movement
for trans representativeness in the arts has been
growing all over the world and we are getting to
know more trans artists as well as productions in
which our bodies are present. We are producing
art throughout the world and all of us are trying
to humanise and naturalise our bodies, identities
and experiences.
NM: What would be your advice for emerging
trans artists?
RC: My advice is to study, to qualify yourselves
and to take the craft seriously, because people
do not expect us travesti and trans artists to be
knowledgeable about and to understand theatre,
arts and culture. An actress/artist needs to
study, to attend plays, exhibitions and concerts;
to be curious; to watch films; to listen to music;
and to read and read and read… The artist is
made of what they live and absorb. We need to
be aware of our time and its issues.
1 - When cisgender performers play trans
characters.
2 - Transvestigenere is a portmanteau term
coined by Brazilian activist Indianare Siqueira, and is a
combination of transsexual, travesti and transgender.
It serves both as an umbrella term and as a reminder of
the fluidity between these identities.