"Improvisation is like salt. It can't be carried and must be regulated."

The play "Agora É que São Elas" premieres on September 19th, and Maria Clara Gueiros, Priscilla Castelo Branco, and Júlia Rabello will take the stage in Lisbon. With sketches written by Fábio Porchat, the trio of comedians introduces various characters—and even supernatural beings—to show the audience the "absurdity" of everyday situations.

Notícias ao Minuto spoke with the three actresses, with whom Porchat "even forgot" that the text was his, and with the author himself.

In a conversation that took place while rehearsals were still underway, the comedians explain how this play was a joint effort - on the one hand, Porchat's trust in the trio, and, on the other, the "very fun ride" that is working with the comedian.

We live in such crazy times and have so much to do that sometimes we don't even stop to see the absurdity of things.

For those who don't know anything about the play: What can you expect?

Priscilla [P]: I think the play talks a lot about everyday situations, people, personalities... about the exaggeration of characteristics and situations that we experience in an absurd way, but with which we identify.

Maria Clara Gueiros [MC]: These are situations everyone can relate to, truly everyday situations: a person who hasn't seen a friend in a long time, and when they do, they become an out-of-control exoteric. There's a mother who talks to her daughter about sex and discovers that her daughter knows more than she does. These are situations that start out ordinary and are taken to the extreme. That's precisely the humor.

Júlia Rabello [J]: It's a magnifying glass of these situations we live in: it's funny that we start to realize the absurdity of the situations we live in.

MC: True. It goes back to our perception of the absurd.

So, is the play a way to relativize situations and create unity? Just as sometimes there are situations we experience that we think no one else is experiencing. Is this identification you speak of part of the show?

JR: Laughing at ourselves is a wonderful path. We live in such crazy times and have so much to do, with everything moving so fast, that sometimes we don't even stop to see the absurdity of things. When we stop, we look and see on stage... and we laugh at it. That's wonderful. I think it resets the system.

Q: And comedy certainly has this connection. When we laugh, it leads to another, doesn't it? Besides the play having this connection of identifying [with the situations], I think laughter brings this connection of laughing together, in that moment.

Is laughter really the best medicine?

Q: Of course.

MC: And also the fact that these are scenes that everyone can relate to, in any way—either someone identifies with them in some way or knows someone—that's already a gateway to connecting with the viewer. And then, since the script is so funny, it's a formula for success.

JR: And all this we're talking about, laughing at ourselves, is thanks to Porchat's pen, who already has a way of speaking that everyone can relate to. He already has this [Fábio] Porchat universe - it's a very fun ride.

Improvisation is always a resource. I recommend it for life.

Júlia has already worked with Fábio, specifically on 'Porta dos Fundos,' but what about Priscila and Maria Clara? Is this the first time they've worked together?

MC: In the theater, yes. I've done a few things here and there with Fábio throughout our lives, our careers—which are long for both of us. It's a truly effective partnership. This is the first time in the theater—and, wow, it's a delight.

Q: It's also my first time in theater, but I've already recorded some sketches with him. It's not my first time working together, but it's my first time in theater.

And how did it go now?

Q: I'll talk about us because we've talked about this a lot already. We're very confident in Fábio's humor and perspective. He's quite demanding, but at the same time, he's very open to our input. The rehearsals were quick, we had little time to rehearse, but we were very happy with the results.

F: I was very confident—even before I started rehearsing. I knew I had three very good, very funny comedians. I was thrilled when I saw there, at the read-through, how much they were already adding to the script. It's great when you have comedians who take your script and improve it, making it funnier than I ever imagined it could be. And that's what happened. Even when I was writing, my ear was already very much drawn to them. I know all three of them, I worked a lot with Júlia on 'Porta dos Fundos,' I already knew how Priscila spoke, I already knew a bit about how Maria Clara and Júlia acted. And then, when they came to rehearsal and really started getting into it, it was wonderful, because then I could see the script actually happening, right in front of me. It was really fun.

So there's room for improvisation. Do you have any moments in your career where things went wrong? And do you consider improvisation to be inseparable from comedy?

J: Improvisation is the language you have to be completely literate in if you're going to do comedy, isn't it? Comedy requires that quick thinking, that agility to grasp that moment, that thought, and transform it into something funny. I like comedy that tickles the wit. I love it. I think improvisation does a lot of that. I think it's very important for anyone who wants to work with humor to feel comfortable in that element. I think it's a dangerous, enjoyable element, and that's where the most interesting things come from—and we surprise ourselves. From the beginning, we have a text by Fábio that has a very strong signature. In those texts, if you just follow the math of the text, you'll be making comedy. But, on top of that, there's the fun of dressing up the text and—Fábio himself encouraging [the improvisation]. We brought things, and it's interesting that many of them stayed in the play. Soon we'll be doing Shakespeare, it's so big... a lie [laughs].

MC: The important thing is to know—and every comedian knows—that improvisation is a seasoning. It's like salt. You can't overdo it, and you have to always be alert and regulated—first, by yourself, so as not to say everything that comes to mind, because the chance of error is very high. Being on stage with the three of us, for example, I think we regulate ourselves and have a friendship and a rapport in which there's room, from time to time, to say, "That was bad, that doesn't work," quite naturally. And there are things that are created and work for a while. Because theater is very lively, some jokes get old; their time for them to work in the general context of life ends. We have to always be regulated.

Q: Sometimes things happen in the moment, and if you have a little improvisation, you can overcome adversity. Now, speaking about something very personal to me: My life is improvised. I have difficulty with routines, with organization. So, I improvise my day-to-day life with my personal things. Improvisation is always a resource. I recommend it for life. If something goes wrong in your routine, if you know how to improvise, things flow.

Fábio Porchat [F]: But there's something important, and in rehearsals, I paid close attention to this: what they were bringing in new. What worked. The director is also an outsider's perspective. I had to understand what was funny just for us, what was funny for the audience, what added to the scene, or what just got tossed aside. You might think one improvisation is funny, two funny, ten funny, [but] when you see it, there's only improvisation, and the scene doesn't move forward. So, there's a limit. In fact, sometimes I even think, 'This is kind of contradicting what the scene is saying, it's going in a different direction.' During rehearsals, I kept a close eye on what they were bringing in because the script sometimes calls for things that I don't see, and that they, who are doing them on stage, see. During rehearsals, I think that was the most important thing. And of course, during the play, the director isn't there, and they get up to all sorts of mischief. But every now and then, I show up by surprise, just to scare them [laughs].

MC: Every now and then he asks, like this weekend [in May], to record a session and so far we don't know which one will be recorded.

Like this?

F: I'm doing my show, so I can't attend all the rehearsals. And they're there—so I ask the production team to record the play, to talk about the scene and tell me how it's going.

You also play three male characters throughout the show. What is the biggest challenge, if any, in playing a man?

Q: Gender isn't that important in the situations in our play. It's just to show that it can happen to anyone. It's not necessarily a woman's thing or a man's thing. The optimist scene, for example, which involves two men, and which is about a person with an irritating optimism...

That 'toxic positivity'?

Q: Exactly. And there's no specific need. It's not a question. The difficulty is like in sketches: incorporating that, giving the character a body.

MC: But it's all in the text. I always say that. If we do it as written, it's already a win. Because the text is very well written, and of course we need to tweak it here and there, but the text says it all.

J: I think there's only one scene, which is the couple's sex scene, where we play a bit with the gender issue, because, in general, there's this 'flavor': being men, being women. We even have supernatural beings.

They've taken the texts on and do it very naturally. I can have fun. It's not stressful for me. I even forget it's mine.

Given the topic you're discussing, and the many stories involved, is there one story or character that's more important or urgent in the current context? Or is everything important?

Q: Everything is important, but I'd say we identify more with those people who pray to all the saints and say a lot of prayers and come in and know your sign—but they also know your saint and what prayer to say. These days, I think we all know someone who's super into their astrological chart and knows their sign, color, and birthstone. I think there's a lot of that identification. I think the scene between the daughter and her mother is also very relevant, where they talk about sex. The internet, which gives you some knowledge, is also very relevant. The Angel of Embarrassment, who is an angel who, when you say, "Get out of here," comes and says, "Well..." Or Wonder Woman, where women today are so tired that even Wonder Woman is exhausted—I think that's also relevant.

MC: Everything has a very important point.

Q: I think this scene, the conversation between the mother and her teenage daughter, is very interesting. It's a portrait of a society where parents don't have that connection with their children and think they're still children. But on the internet, children already have access to things that even their parents don't know about. Ultimately, there's that perspective. There's also a scene where it's a father and mother with a baby. There's this societal anxiety about wanting the child to talk, walk, be special, and for the six-month-old to already be singing the national anthem. There's something a little distressing about these parents, who don't let the child be a child, who don't give them time for things. It's like, 'Oh my God, will my child ever talk?' Calm down, he'll talk eventually. There's this place that speaks of time, of haste, of generation. I think all of this is very present in the play.

As far as we know, Fábio doesn't perform on stage, but he's the one who writes plays. If you had to choose: would you write forever or act?

I think I acted. I really enjoy being on stage and experiencing the live experience from people, I enjoy watching those people laugh live. For me, it's the best thing in the world. It's what I know how to do and what I was made for. I love writing, and writing is one of the most powerful things there is, but acting is something that's in me. I love acting.

But usually, when you're watching from the outside, it's very distressing as a director to watch a play with other people doing their own writing. But in this case, I feel very calm. I still laugh. They took it upon themselves. They took the writing upon themselves and do it so naturally, so calmly. I can enjoy it. It's not stressful for me. I even forget it's my writing.

We spoke about a year ago, following the return of 'Histórias do Porchat' to Portugal. Was it a good return?

It was great. The Portuguese people welcome me with great warmth. I truly feel at home. I'm very happy to see that 80% of my show's audience is Portuguese. There are many Brazilians, of course, but also many Portuguese. I'm very hopeful that these fans, who enjoy my work and laugh at what I do on stage, will also come see the girls and laugh at them. The scripts are mine, the direction is mine, but they are very powerful.

Ultimately, it's about laughing, about identifying. It doesn't matter if you live in Brazil or Portugal, you'll identify with these situations and laugh. It's what Júlia always said: either you are that person or you know someone who is. And, in the end, that's what the public wants: to go there, spend an hour laughing, and then leave to eat pizza. In Portugal, people go out to eat tastier things, but in the end, that's it.

Read Also: "We're taking ourselves very seriously. Not just in comedy, but in life."