Kennedy Center Welcomes U.S. Premiere of CONTOS EM VIAGEM Tonight

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presents Portugal's Teatro Meridional U.S. premiere of Contos em Viagem-Cabo Verde (Stories on a Journey-Cape Verde). This one-woman story is based on texts by António Aurélio Gonçalves, Armindo Tavares, António Nunes, Arménio Vieira, Baltasar Lopes da Silva/Oswaldo Alcântara, Fátima Bettencourt, Germano de Almeida, João Vário, José Lopes, Manuel Ferreira, Manuel Lopes, Orlando Pereira Ramos Rodrigues, and Ovídio Martins. Directed by Teatro Meridional founder Miguel Seabra, Contos em Viagem-Cabo Verde will be performed tonight, March 4, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Family Theater as part of Iberian Suite: global arts remix. The production is performed in Portuguese with projected English titles and is recommended for ages 12 and up.

Since its founding in 1992, Portuguese theater company Teatro Meridional has staged 45 productions in 19 countries with a repertory that includes a variety of original theatrical texts and staged adaptations of non-theatrical pieces. The company has won numerous awards-most notably the Prize for New European Theatrical Realities in 2010-and has toured internationally to five continents. Contos em Viagem-Cabo Verde ("Stories on a Journey-Cape Verde") is a one-woman play based on texts that, despite having a particular context and geography, speak of the universality of emotions. Performed with an on-stage musician, the work specifically speaks of Cape Verde through the words of Cape Verdean authors in both Portuguese and the native Cape Verdean Creole.

Artistic Director Miguel Seabra founded Teatro Meridional in 1992. Originally from Lisbon, Miguel Seabra earned his BA in theater at the Escola Superior de Arte e Cinema in Lisbon. The work developed with Teatro Meridional has marked his artistic career as actor, theater director, lighting designer, producer, and theater teacher.

The production stars Carla Galvão and features Fernando Mota as the on-stage musician. The creative team includes direction and lighting design by Miguel Seabra, selections of text and dramaturgy by Natália Luíza, original music and sound space by Fernando Mota, and set and costume design by Marta Carreiras.