Guilherme Meletti Yazbek

Guilherme Meletti Yazbek (he/him/his) is a Brazilian scholar, educator, theatre director, and actor. His current research focus includes improvisation, actor training, and the relationship between architecture and movement in both artistic and daily life situations. He is particularly interested in the relationship of queer bodies and urban spaces.

Yazbek completed his MA in 2022 at the Performing Arts program of the University of São Paulo (ECA-USP), specializing in Theatre Theory and Practice under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Luiz Fernando Ramos. His master's research was interdisciplinary, encompassing performing and visual arts, and focused on the production of Brazilian visual artist Laura Vinci in the theatre field, specifically within the group Mundana Companhia. His studies also explored the scenic experiences of the Bauhaus and the "performative turn" of the 1960s/70s, including North American minimalism and postmodern dance.

Yazbek holds a BA in Performing Arts with a concentration in Theater Direction from the University of São Paulo (2010), where he studied under renowned names such as Antônio Araújo, Cibele Forjaz, and Maria Thais, among others. As an actor, he joined the Experimental Center for Performing Arts (Núcleo Experimental de Artes Cênicas) at SESI São Paulo in 2015, under the coordination of Miriam Rinaldi. He later became a teacher at the same center from 2018 to 2021, facilitating the Viewpoints technique of improvisation practice. Additionally, he has over a decade of experience as a school teacher in respected Middle and High Schools in São Paulo.

Yazbek's training includes intensives at SITI Company (Suzuki/Viewpoints) and the École International de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq (Laboratoire d’Étude du Mouvement), as well as workshops with international artists such as Thadd McQuade (USA), Torsten Blume (Germany), Francesca della Monica (Italy), Mario Biagini (Italy), and Brazilian artists like André Malosá, Mariana Muniz, Ricardo Neves, Wagner Schwartz, among others.

Some of his main projects include acting in the play "Tiros em Osasco" (2016), directed by Yara de Novaes, and co-directing "Loucas de Pedra" (2016), a play that received awards for best show, direction, and lighting design at the ACESC Festival. In the field of cultural management, he served as the curator of Projeto Encontros (2012/2013), a visual and performing art initiative in São Paulo subway stations. He was also the executive producer of "Bento Batuca" (2018), directed by Luciana Ramanzini and Eduardo Leão, which won the APCA Award for best children's musical show; and the local executive producer of Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape" (2012), directed and performed by Robert Wilson.

When he is not studying, teaching, or rehearsing, you will probably find him singing Brazilian songs or practicing Brazilian percussion.