BIO
Rafael Mariano Garcia is an actor and researcher, born in 1991 in the city of Garça, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.
Between 2006 and 2010 he was a member of Cia. Evoé ou Não É and a collaborator of the Núcleo de Artes Cênicas (NAC) in Garça, taking part in productions such as "Coração Cia. Ltda." (2008), "A Memória Conhece Todos os Caminhos de Volta" (2008), "Charles Chaplin" (2008), "Via Cênica IV" (2008), "II Café Literário TODAS: Mostra de Leituras Sensoriais" (2008), "O Bem-Amado" (2009) and "Via Cênica V: Trânsito para Alegrias Distraídas" (2010).
In 2011 he entered the Performing Arts programme at the State University of Londrina (UEL), in Londrina, Paraná. As an undergraduate he was a research assistant on the project Técnica Klauss Vianna e Dramaturgia Corporal: Estudo Sistêmico do Movimento, led by Professor Ceres Vittori, from which the production "Pés-de-Deux" emerged. The piece premiered in 2012 at UEL's Casa de Cultura, was presented at the Semana de Artes of the Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP), in Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, joined the programme of the Festival Internacional de Londrina (FILO) and had a short run at Teatro Usina Cultural. During this period he took part in research and teaching projects devoted to theatre directing and production, staging, set design and audiovisual production, and served as a production intern at Teatro Ouro Verde.
In 2013 he staged his first solo piece, "Estações Mortas", in the Fringe programme of the Festival de Teatro de Curitiba, in Curitiba, Paraná.
In 2014 he collaborated with the project Cabaré Filosófico, conceived by Professor Gabriel Giannattasio of the History Department at UEL's Centre for Languages and Humanities (CLCH), designing the set for Cabaret Valentino: Pensamento e Ebriedade, an event that brought together lectures by the philosopher Viviane Mosé and the columnist Xico Sá. That same year he was assistant director and acting coach on the short film "Copo de Leite", and premiered the solo piece "Agora, é a Cerimônia do Adeus" at the Museu Histórico de Londrina, the outcome of his final undergraduate research on the relations between memory, body and creation, which the examining committee recommended for publication in view of its contribution to the field. For his graduation project he took part in "Eu Me Lembro", inspired by the film "Depois da Vida" (After Life), by Hirokazu Kore-eda, directed by Sandra Parra.
In 2015 he brought "Agora, é a Cerimônia do Adeus" to the 16th Festival de Cenas Curtas at Galpão Cine Horto, in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, and directed his first short film, "Os Olhos do Pássaro". He went on to collaborate artistically on "Estação Assum Preto", a radio programme on UEL FM also conceived by Gabriel Giannattasio. In partnership with the Museu Histórico de Londrina he created the performance intervention "Performance dos Esquecidos", presented at Dia do Pioneiro (2015), Semana de Museus (2016) and Semana do Café (2017).
In 2016 he worked as artistic supervisor on the Projeto Ademar Guerra and taught sociology and philosophy at secondary level within the Centro Paula Souza system, the year in which he also completed a teaching degree in Visual Arts. It was then that he came into contact with the taiko group Hibiki Wadaiko, of the Associação Cultural e Esportiva Nikkey de Marília, an encounter that would lead him decisively towards the field of Japanese studies. He also sat on the jury of the 10th FETUSC, the student theatre festival of Centro Universitário Sagrado Coração (Unisagrado), in Bauru, São Paulo, and performed as a musician at Semana do Café, at the Museu Histórico de Londrina, at the invitation of the Evelina Grandis accordion group.
In 2018 he began a master's degree in Performing Arts at the University of Campinas (Unicamp), in Campinas, São Paulo, with a CAPES scholarship and under the supervision of Professor Eduardo Okamoto, devoting his master's thesis to the art of contemporary taiko, the ensemble form of Japanese drumming known as kumi-daiko. He joined the Grupo de Estudos Arte Ásia (GEAA), which brings together academics, researchers, artists and students around the study of Asian art, with an emphasis on Japan. He produced "Taiko no Hibiki: A Vibração dos Tambores Japoneses", selected by the SESI-SP Território arts and culture call, and founded, in Campinas, Barbante Produtora Artística e Cultural, through which he took on the executive production of performances, courses and audiovisual material.
In 2019, as part of his teaching assistantship at Unicamp, he was assistant director and taiko player in "Festa do Peixe", a staging that introduced Brazilian audiences to the dramaturgy of the Japanese writer Yu Miri. He then took charge of research and dramaturgy for "Omoide no Sakura: As Memórias da Imigração Japonesa em Garça", the second production of Hibiki Wadaiko, supported by the São Paulo State Cultural Action Programme, ProAC Municípios. That same year he played taiko on "EP Sacro", by the artist Amanda Gonsales.
In 2020 he began a doctorate in Performing Arts at Unicamp and joined the organising committee of the Seminário Interno de Pesquisas do PPG Artes da Cena, Mário Santana. He took on production direction for "Moriagaru Kokoro", supported by the Virada SP programme, promoted by the Associação Paulista dos Amigos da Arte in partnership with the São Paulo State Department of Culture and Creative Economy.
In 2021 he taught the workshops "A história dos tambores japoneses: da tradição à ressignificação" and "A arte do taiko contemporâneo: a guerra, o corpo e os tambores japoneses", funded by the Aldir Blanc Cultural Emergency Law. He joined the editorial board of the proceedings of the research seminars of the Graduate Programme in Performing Arts and, within his teaching assistantship, was assistant director of "Apenas o Fim do Mundo". He was a guest on Ruídos Podcast for a conversation on taiko practice in Brazil.
In 2022 he taught the course "A história dos tambores japoneses" at Momonoki, a platform dedicated to Japan that offers courses and workshops led by specialists from a range of fields, and again joined the organising committee of the Seminário Mário Santana. He published the book "O corpo na arte do taiko contemporâneo" with Annablume, the subject of his appearance on Komorebicast, a Brazilian podcast devoted to research and scholarship on Japan.
In 2023 he took charge of the production of "Honoo", at the Marília Municipal Theatre, and joined the organising committee of the IV Simpósio Internacional Repensando Mitos Contemporâneos. That same year, "O corpo na arte do taiko contemporâneo" was featured among the highlights of the Japan Foundation Library in São Paulo.
In 2024 he served as a judge at the São Paulo Carnival, in the Access Group I and II divisions, and, within his teaching assistantship at Unicamp, as assistant director of "Poema Gaivota", a staging that brought the work of Anton Chekhov together with songs recorded by Ney Matogrosso. In October he began a period of doctoral research at Waseda University, in Tokyo, under the supervision of Professor Pedro Erber, with the aim of identifying and translating works on the art of taiko and of pursuing his investigation into the transterritorial character of this practice. The time in Japan allowed him to deepen the research through direct contact with groups and artists already under study and with others that came to form part of the scope of his thesis.
In 2026 he completed his doctorate with the thesis "A arte do taiko e a interculturalidade" and founded Yūgen Cursos, Pesquisa e Produção Artística, successor to Barbante, dedicated to research, training and production in the performing arts and Japanese studies. Under the Aldir Blanc National Policy, his project "Espíritos de papel: a dramaturgia do nō japonês e os fantasmas brasileiros" was approved, a book in progress due for publication in 2027. He taught the course "Teatro tradicional japonês: do clássico ao popular" at Momonoki and, in October, gives the lecture "Fronteiras do taiko: tradição, corporeidade e interculturalidade" at the Research and Training Centre of Sesc São Paulo.
Between 2019 and 2024 he worked as a teaching assistant on undergraduate courses in Performing Arts at Unicamp: "Projeto Integrado de Criação Cênica III" (2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024), "Princípios da Ação Cênica" (2022) and "Formas do Teatro Oriental" (2022).
Throughout this trajectory he has served on the organising committees of seminars, symposia and conferences in the performing arts, taking responsibility for programming, production and the publication of proceedings, and has contributed as lighting designer, photographer and actor to theatre, dance and music productions, festivals and research gatherings.
His research interests bring together the art of taiko, acting, the training of the actor and the performer, intercultural dialogue in the performing arts, the cultural and theatrical expressions of Japan, and body studies.
