Beatriz Ferreira Lessa (born June 10, 1958), known as Bia Lessa, is a
Brazilian filmmaker, theater director and former theater actress, and
curator. She very often collaborates with her husband, Dany Roland.Bia
Lessa was born in São Paulo on June 10, 1958, but her family later
moved to Rio de Janeiro. At a young age Lessa had a penchant to
acting, and eventually took lessons at the prestigious O Tablado
Theater. One of her first acting credits was in an adaptation of Maria
Clara Machado's Maroquinhas Fru-Fru, made by Wolf Maya. She later
founded her own theater group, Carranca, alongside Gilda Guilhon and
Daniel Dantas, and one of the first plays they ever performed was
Bertolt Brecht's Mr Puntila and his Man Matti.In 1981 she acted in
Nelson Rodrigues' O Eterno Retorno and in Antunes Filho's adaptation
of Mário de Andrade's novel MacunaÃma; she was one of Filho's major
collaborators for two years. She would, however, abandon her acting
career to become a theater director, and in 1983 she directed her
first play, an adaptation of Graciliano Ramos' novel A Terra dos
Meninos Pelados. Her play was very well received, what would inspire
her to direct further plays, her most famous outputs being adaptations
of Virginia Woolf's Orlando (starring Fernanda Torres in the title
role), Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters, Robert Musil's The Man Without
Qualities and Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. Most
(if not all) of her plays count with the participation of her husband,
musician Dany Roland, who contributes with the sound design and
occasionally the soundtrack itself. In 1997 Lessa and Roland directed
their first independent full-length film, the critically acclaimed
Crede-Mi, which was loosely based on Thomas Mann's 1951 novel The Holy
Sinner. Lessa and Roland have two daughters: Maria and Clara.In 1999
she organized the expo Brasileiro que Nem Eu. Que nem Quem? at the
FAAP in São Paulo, to critical acclaim. She also designed the
Brazilian pavilion at the Expo 2000 in Hanover, Germany, and organized
the Grande Sertão: Veredas expo in 2006, which celebrated the 50th
anniversary of the publication of João Guimarães Rosa's eponymous
novel, at the newly inaugurated Museu da LÃngua Portuguesa.
Brazilian filmmaker, theater director and former theater actress, and
curator. She very often collaborates with her husband, Dany Roland.Bia
Lessa was born in São Paulo on June 10, 1958, but her family later
moved to Rio de Janeiro. At a young age Lessa had a penchant to
acting, and eventually took lessons at the prestigious O Tablado
Theater. One of her first acting credits was in an adaptation of Maria
Clara Machado's Maroquinhas Fru-Fru, made by Wolf Maya. She later
founded her own theater group, Carranca, alongside Gilda Guilhon and
Daniel Dantas, and one of the first plays they ever performed was
Bertolt Brecht's Mr Puntila and his Man Matti.In 1981 she acted in
Nelson Rodrigues' O Eterno Retorno and in Antunes Filho's adaptation
of Mário de Andrade's novel MacunaÃma; she was one of Filho's major
collaborators for two years. She would, however, abandon her acting
career to become a theater director, and in 1983 she directed her
first play, an adaptation of Graciliano Ramos' novel A Terra dos
Meninos Pelados. Her play was very well received, what would inspire
her to direct further plays, her most famous outputs being adaptations
of Virginia Woolf's Orlando (starring Fernanda Torres in the title
role), Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters, Robert Musil's The Man Without
Qualities and Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. Most
(if not all) of her plays count with the participation of her husband,
musician Dany Roland, who contributes with the sound design and
occasionally the soundtrack itself. In 1997 Lessa and Roland directed
their first independent full-length film, the critically acclaimed
Crede-Mi, which was loosely based on Thomas Mann's 1951 novel The Holy
Sinner. Lessa and Roland have two daughters: Maria and Clara.In 1999
she organized the expo Brasileiro que Nem Eu. Que nem Quem? at the
FAAP in São Paulo, to critical acclaim. She also designed the
Brazilian pavilion at the Expo 2000 in Hanover, Germany, and organized
the Grande Sertão: Veredas expo in 2006, which celebrated the 50th
anniversary of the publication of João Guimarães Rosa's eponymous
novel, at the newly inaugurated Museu da LÃngua Portuguesa.
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