Port, square, stage: city streets as educations places

Abstract

Based on the narratives of encounters that take place on the streets, in drama classes in a square in the port area of Rio de Janeiro, this article seeks to discuss the potential of making theatre with children in public spaces. The text contextualizes the constant urban changes in the port area, central area of Rio de Janeiro, from the constitution of Morro da Favela, today called Morro da Providência, to the present day. In this process of transformations imposed by the public authorities, the articulation of cultural and social projects in the territory act to articulate other uses for space with residents and inhabitants of the port area. The meeting between two educational projects, the Viaduto Literário (Literary Viaduct) and the Projeto Teatro Nômade (Nomadic Theater Project), which have been working since 2018 on the border between Morro do Pinto and Morro da Providência, raises new questions about the occupation of this urban space, which then presents itself as a stage and classroom, as a teaching-learning space.