MONGA

In her new work, Jéssica Teixeira continues the investigation she started in her first solo performance, E.L.A. [A.L.S.O], in which her body was the raw material for building her playwriting. Now the actress aims to revisit the rawness of the past and debunk myths to build other possible imaginaries. She does that through the story of Julia Pastrana, from Mexico, who was vulgarly called “the ape woman” and became a freak show attraction. Drawing from the genre of psychological thriller, the artist dances, performs, and sings, owning her strangeness in life and on the scene, and becoming more and more natural in being strange.  

Jéssica Teixeira is a multiartist with a teaching degree in drama and a master’s degree in arts from the Federal University of Ceará. She makes her strange body her main raw material for an investigation into playwriting and theater, which resulted in her first solo show, E.L.A. [A.L.S.O.] (2019), which continues to be performed in Brazil and abroad. Her audiovisual experience includes parts in the short films Partindo do Princípio de que a Terra é Plana, Sou Toda Curva e Desvio [Assuming That The Earth Is Flat, I Am All Curve And Swerve] (2023), Possa Poder [Bittersweet Power] (2022), and Curva Sinuosa [Winding Curve] (2021), in the feature film Assexybilidade [Acsexybility] (2023), and in the series Os Outros [The Others] (2023).  

CAST AND CREW
General direction, playwright, and acting: Jéssica Teixeira
Art direction: Chico Henrique
Music direction: Luma
Technical and lighting direction: Jimmy Wong
Video artist and camera operation: Cecília Lucchesi
Lighting for first preview performance: Aline Rodrigues
Opening song: Real Resiste, by Arnaldo Antunes
Recorded writing: Entre Fechaduras e Rinocerontes [Between Locks and Rhinos]
Stage production and stagehand: Aristides de Oliveira
Production: Rodrigo Fidelis, Gabi Gonçalves e Corpo Rastreado
Created by: Catástrofe Produções e Corpo Rastreado 

@ela.jessicateixeira