"Possibility and limitation": an ethnography of theatrical work through the lens of cultural public policy

Abstract

This article analyzes the forms of subjectivation within the artistic work of theater groups classified under the teatro de grupo category in the city of São Paulo, in relation to public cultural policies, in a context marked by the neoliberalization of the cultural sector. Dialoguing with Michel Foucault, I understand public cultural policies as constitutive parts of contemporary neoliberal governmental rationality. In this sense, I investigate how, through everyday practices of labor organization, artistic production, and relationships with territory and audiences, theater collectives reframe the Fomento ao Teatro para a Cidade de São Paulo Law, negotiating their aesthetic, poetic, and political interests in simultaneous processes of subjection and freedom. These negotiations unfold in the face of the notions of creative economy and the logic of cultural management, which guide, govern, and regulate funding and production in the field. Methodologically, this article is based on ethnographic research conducted with the groups Cia. O Grito and Engenho Teatral. During fieldwork, I attended meetings, rehearsals, and performances, and analyzed a set of texts, publications, and cultural projects produced by the groups. The research also involved interviews with collective members.