Lais Duarte

I am a 23-year-old theater enthusiast. I grew up in the northeast of Brazil practicing street theater, forum theater, political theater and all forms and shapes of theater concerned with inspiring dialogues of social justice. I came to the U.S in 2008 to study at the University of Michigan where I collectively developed and implemented an outreach program called theater, racism and our language :dialogues and diversions. This project was inspired by theories of radical education and theater for social change. Our theoretical foundation came from Augusto Boal and Paulo Freire's work. This project addressed school children who belong to a community of undocumented immigrants. The dialogues inspired by the theatrical exercises provided an opportunity to discuss internalized racism and find effective ways to lead health and independent lives in a diverse environment. I'm currently working, learning and growing at the Theater for the New City, an off-off Broadway theater.