From seeing to experiencing: corporeality and the theaters of Lina Bo Bardi

Abstract

This article investigates the differences in the designs of three theatres created by Lina Bo Bardi, seeking to understand the concepts behind her scenic architecture. It stems from a thesis that investigates Bo Bardi's idea of ‘Poor Architecture,’ exploring the interaction between body, action, and environment.The main goal is to understand how Bo Bardi's spatial concepts shift from “seeing” (contemplation) to “living” (action), using the theaters of MASP, SESC Pompeia, and Teatro Oficina as objects of study. At the MASP Theatre, there is an attempt of Artaudian theatre inspired by a theatre of action. At SESC Pompeia, Bo Bardi experiments with a double-sided arena, with symmetrical bleachers that divide the actor's attention. Meanwhile, at Teatro Oficina, Lina Bo and Edson Elito turn the stage into a street, a stage for a parade, mixing the theatrical space with the city and creating a participatory environment in which the audience and the actors share the experience of the scene and of life. The analysis shows a transition from contemplation to lived experience, from form to action. Its ‘poor architecture’ demonstrates another of its characteristics, proposing a space that depends on presence and embodiment, in which architecture and dramaturgy merge into a sensitive and collective experience.