{"id":{"repo_id":"vcu","oai_identifier":"oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-2022"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vcu/oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-2022","repository":{"repo_id":"vcu","name":"Virginia Commonwealth University","base_url":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Consuming Brazil: Afro Brazilian Religion as a Base for Actor Training","abstract":"Actor training, like the theatre in Brazil, has historically been a middle and upper class pursuit that followed European models, namely Stanislavski's system. Yet within Brazil there is a wealth of diverse cultures that are inherently theatrical and well suited for application in actor training. In this study I explore one such culture, the Afro Brazilian religion Umbanda. First, I examine its formation to illuminate how the religion itself performed (or served as a site for cultural interaction) throughout history. Then, I explore the practice of the religion both apart from and in relation to the theatre and Stanislavski's system. Using the archetypes of Umbanda as a base, I formulate a system of actor training that both allows access to a larger demographic of Brazilians, and also encourages cultural dialogue as an explicit part of acting process. I frame this study with two metaphors: anthropophagy, the notion of cannibalizing or consuming one culture by another; and, more specifically, the digestive tract. The anthropophagy movement in Brazil framed the country's thought throughout much of the 20th century; the digestive tract is a closer examination of the consuming process that epitomizes this system of actor training.","abstract_html":"Actor training, like the theatre in Brazil, has historically been a middle and upper class pursuit that followed European models, namely Stanislavski's system. Yet within Brazil there is a wealth of diverse cultures that are inherently theatrical and well suited for application in actor training. In this study I explore one such culture, the Afro Brazilian religion Umbanda. First, I examine its formation to illuminate how the religion itself performed (or served as a site for cultural interaction) throughout history. Then, I explore the practice of the religion both apart from and in relation to the theatre and Stanislavski's system. Using the archetypes of Umbanda as a base, I formulate a system of actor training that both allows access to a larger demographic of Brazilians, and also encourages cultural dialogue as an explicit part of acting process. I frame this study with two metaphors: anthropophagy, the notion of cannibalizing or consuming one culture by another; and, more specifically, the digestive tract. The anthropophagy movement in Brazil framed the country's thought throughout much of the 20th century; the digestive tract is a closer examination of the consuming process that epitomizes this system of actor training.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Roberts, Corey Justin"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Theatre","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2006,"date_issued":"2006-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2006-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:54:47Z","subjects":["anthropophagy","Afro Brazilian culture","religion","channeling","Afro Brazilian religion","spirit possession","trance","Brazil","Brazilian colonial history","theatre","acting","actor training","cannibalism","Arts and Humanities","Theatre and Performance Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":["© The Author"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1023"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1023","href":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1023","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.25772/TDHW-WG68","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Roberts, Corey Justin"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-07-09T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Theatre"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["anthropophagy","Afro Brazilian culture","religion","channeling","Afro Brazilian religion","spirit possession","trance","Brazil","Brazilian colonial history","theatre","acting","actor training","cannibalism","Arts and Humanities","Theatre and Performance Studies"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© The Author"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://doi.org/10.25772/TDHW-WG68","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1023"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Actor training, like the theatre in Brazil, has historically been a middle and upper class pursuit that followed European models, namely Stanislavski's system. Yet within Brazil there is a wealth of diverse cultures that are inherently theatrical and well suited for application in actor training. In this study I explore one such culture, the Afro Brazilian religion Umbanda. First, I examine its formation to illuminate how the religion itself performed (or served as a site for cultural interaction) throughout history. Then, I explore the practice of the religion both apart from and in relation to the theatre and Stanislavski's system. Using the archetypes of Umbanda as a base, I formulate a system of actor training that both allows access to a larger demographic of Brazilians, and also encourages cultural dialogue as an explicit part of acting process. I frame this study with two metaphors: anthropophagy, the notion of cannibalizing or consuming one culture by another; and, more specifically, the digestive tract. The anthropophagy movement in Brazil framed the country's thought throughout much of the 20th century; the digestive tract is a closer examination of the consuming process that epitomizes this system of actor training."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Consuming Brazil: Afro Brazilian Religion as a Base for Actor Training"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates"],"dc:creator":["Roberts, Corey Justin"],"dc:date.available":["2014-07-09T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Actor training, like the theatre in Brazil, has historically been a middle and upper class pursuit that followed European models, namely Stanislavski's system. Yet within Brazil there is a wealth of diverse cultures that are inherently theatrical and well suited for application in actor training. In this study I explore one such culture, the Afro Brazilian religion Umbanda. First, I examine its formation to illuminate how the religion itself performed (or served as a site for cultural interaction) throughout history. Then, I explore the practice of the religion both apart from and in relation to the theatre and Stanislavski's system. Using the archetypes of Umbanda as a base, I formulate a system of actor training that both allows access to a larger demographic of Brazilians, and also encourages cultural dialogue as an explicit part of acting process. I frame this study with two metaphors: anthropophagy, the notion of cannibalizing or consuming one culture by another; and, more specifically, the digestive tract. The anthropophagy movement in Brazil framed the country's thought throughout much of the 20th century; the digestive tract is a closer examination of the consuming process that epitomizes this system of actor training."],"dc:identifier":["https://doi.org/10.25772/TDHW-WG68","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1023"],"dc:rights":["© The Author"],"dc:subject":["anthropophagy","Afro Brazilian culture","religion","channeling","Afro Brazilian religion","spirit possession","trance","Brazil","Brazilian colonial history","theatre","acting","actor training","cannibalism","Arts and Humanities","Theatre and Performance Studies"],"dc:title":["Consuming Brazil: Afro Brazilian Religion as a Base for Actor Training"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Theatre"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Fine Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:54:47Z"}