691 Conference Proceedings 18Th Iuaes World Congress / Anais 18º Congresso Mundial de Antropologia A – D 18th IUAES World Congress: World (of) Encounters: The Past, Present and Future of Anthropological Knowledge July 16–20, 2018 oP 115. learning sexualities: anthropological approaches Playing masCuliniTiEs – young ACTORS STRATEGIES TO PERFORM 1 Bernardo Fonseca Machado 2 PhD Student at University of São Paulo Temporary Professor at Federal University of Goiás Resume In this paper, I work with young aspiring actors trajectories, particularly interested in understand how do they negotiate expressions of masculinity in their bodies in the process of interpreting characters. During six months, between 2015 and 2016, I have made participant observation in two theater groups of a private university of the United States: I have followed classes, rehearsals and presentations, as well as conducted interviews. I pursue the following question: how do bodies, while acting, update and produce repertoires of gender and sexuality? Keywords: theater, gender expressions, acting, sexuality As an art, theater relies on human body to create the scene. The presence of a person on stage already establishes a materiality and produces a series of meanings. Actors and actresses strive to emit gestures, voices and emotions with precision. From this work depend the quality and the effectiveness of the scenic event. In teaching theater environments, young students learn techniques for this craft. During class they test their potentialities, and also their limits. This paper discusses the strategies adopted by theater students to play their characters. I am particularly interested here in the ways in which they expressed themselves in terms of gender. How are they negotiating the signs of masculinity in their bodies? I work with an excerpt from my PhD research that deals with the transit of theatrical repertoires between São Paulo and New York. During 6 months between 2015 and 2016, I have done fieldwork in two theater groups in a private university in United States. I attended classes, rehearsals and presentations, as well as conducted interviews with students. 1 I have formalized this discussion in a previous occasion: at the Congress 11º Fazendo Gênero held in Florianópolis, Brazil in 2017. I thank to José Miguel Nieto Olivar and Guilherme Passamani for the inspiring comments. 2 Scholarship provided by São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), processes number: 2014/15902-2 and 2015/04818-3.