Cassius Vantuil (photo), theatre director from the Spiritist Group Atualpa Barbosa Lima, in Brasília, shares his thoughts in this interview about Spiritist theatre, its challenges and the possibilities it offers in the dissemination of the Teachings.  Tell us a bit about your work with Spiritism

I am totally committed to Spiritism. I would not consider myself a Spiritist if the Teachings were not connected to every aspect of my life, down to the smaller details. That does not mean to say that we are perfect or follow all the principles of Spiritism as we should. I make a concerted effort to get engaged in a wide range of jobs in our Spiritist Centre that will enable me to be fully connected with the Spiritist Movement. I believe through Spiritism Humanity will be able to achieve real inner reform. 

How did the theatre become a part of your life? 

Spiritism has come into my life through the theatre! I only went to the Spiritist Centre to see the Spiritist plays performed there. The play “Além da Vida” (Beyond Life) really touched my heart and that is when I decided to study the Codification of Allan Kardec. I began getting engaged in plays and realised I needed proper training. I then got a degree in Theatre Directing. Theatre enabled me to go through an inner reform, it put me in contact with experiences I would never have had and took me to places that have made a profound impression on me. 

Spiritist theatre – the plays performed in most Spiritist Groups – is often amateurish and improvised. In which way do you think it contributes to back up other activities and services provided at Spiritist Centres? 

It helps disseminate the core ideas of Spiritism. Theatre, as the synthesis of all the other art forms, has the power to touch the emotional side of people, taking them to a new reality they had never imagined. From that point on, people are ready to follow the path towards their real destiny. The example takes people with them. People know they have before them a disguised depiction of life. Without Spiritist art, the Spiritist Movement is impaired. Spiritist art is the connection between two of the Teachings main guidelines: “Love one another” and “Educate yourselves”. 

How do people who act in the plays benefit from the experience?

It is an individual process. I have seen people who are completely unmoved by the experience and I have seen people go through a complete transformation. Working in group – and theatre is essentially a collective effort – provides a great opportunity to learn for those who are willing to. I often say to those who work in the plays that they will learn more from the rehearsals than from the final performance. As we practice we go through new experiences and are subject to new influences. The public performance is the outcome of that process. 

From a director’s point of view, what is the difference between a non-religious play and a Spiritist play? 

From a moral perspective, there is no difference. I should be able to act as the same person in any occasion. Those who change inside and outside the Spiritist Centre do not truly believe in Spiritism. In my work with non-religious plays, I am a vast array of possibilities before me, but must always show respect for others. In Spiritism, one needs to be even more careful, as the ideas I’m putting across are not mine. They are the ideas that belong to Spiritism, which has an important role in providing comfort to people. I need to tell the same story, but in a different way, and facing a very demanding public, which is great! 

How much do the Spiritual Benefactors interact with us incarnates in a Spiritist play, from the process of choosing the theme to the rehearsals? 

Spiritist theatre is, as the title says, the theatre of the Spirits. Without their participation there is no reason to be there. They start much ahead of us, from the planning process, from the moment we choose the play, the actors, the characters, the way we go about in the rehearsals etc. As a director, I can feel a constant interaction with the Spiritual World. I feel the Spiritual Direction of the play is always there supporting us. In many instances you have a scene to deal with, you think about it and the solution to that particular problem just comes up. Directing a Spiritist play is an excellent exercise of humility.  

How do you protect yourself from the bad side of exposure and success, which are part of the life of the theatre? 

Theatre does indeed touch your ego. The exposure is part of its nature, the feedback is immediate. We understand we are there playing a temporary role, that the work and the glory are not ours, they belong to Christ. If you lose sight of that, all is lost. 

Can you have Spiritist plays of all genres? 

Absolutely! Drama, comedy, musical, children’s, and thrillers – they all help us tell the stories of the Spirits. And we will soon get closer to the art the Spirits want us to do: celestial theatre. 

Some scripts are too didactic. What do you think of that? 

That is awful! Many people disregard the intelligence of the public. The best example of respecting the thinking of others was set out by Jesus, with his parables. Everyone could understand them, and the knowledge was passed on from generation to generation. Honestly, when I see a play like that I feel like walking out of the theatre. The best way to avoid falling into mediocrity is to do good adaptions of well-known Spiritist plays by renowned authors such as Emmanuel, Victor Hugo, Brother X, Manoel Philomeno de Miranda, Hilário Silva etc. 

Finally, we have seen a great number of Spiritist blockbusters in Brazilian cinemas in the last few years. Also, many people are producing homemade films and making them available online. What is the future of Spiritist theatre? 

This film-producing fever is excellent for the Spiritist Movement, but like all fevers it will end one day. We must analyse those films. An amateur production does not need to be a poor production. The future of theatre in Spiritism can be likened to the future of the Spiritist Movement. Spiritist theatre will be the result of whatever Spiritists make of the Spiritist Movement. “Spiritist theatre, light on stage, light on our lives!”