THE SHADOW IN THE AESTHETIC CONSTRUCTION OF LIGHT IN THE PLAY: HISTÓRIAS DE NÓS

Abstract

This text presents the stage lighting proposal of the play Histórias de Nós, by Cia. Traquitana, highlighting the use of shadow as an aesthetic-dramaturgical resource. Traditionally associated with the negative, the obscure, or the unknown, shadow is here re-signified and transformed into a central element of creation. More than a visual effect, it assumes a poetic and symbolic function, mediating relationships, creating tensions, and expanding the field of meaning in the scene. In the play, shadow acts as an ambiguous space, capable of suggesting intimacy and conflict, while depersonalizing and generalizing figures. By removing characters from the individual sphere, space opens for the evocation of collective or archetypal experiences. In this process, the spectator is invited to perceive the intertwining of the visible and the invisible, in a constant play of duplication, fragmentation, and dissolution of presences. Lighting, therefore, is configured as a territory of resistance and symbolic reinvention. If light is usually understood as revelation and clarity, shadow emerges here as a creative force, capable of subverting hierarchies and establishing new ways of seeing and narrating. This inversion of values highlights the innovative character of the work, which values shadow as an active, creative, and transformative presence on stage. In summary, the text shows how the luminous dramaturgy of Histórias de Nós expands the expressive possibilities of contemporary theater by recognizing shadow not as absence, but as a vital element, capable of generating meanings, creating tensions, and renewing the audience’s aesthetic experience.