Carlos’ research was initiated in 1998, when theatre pedagogue Jacques Lecoq provoked him to explore the tragic depth in Commedia dell’Arte and mask performance. During his time with Lecoq, Carlos encountered in Italy the work and influence of Nobel Prize winner, Dario Fo and mask sculptor, Donato Sartori. In 2003 Carlos became Sartori’s pedagogical assistant and collaborator. By the hand of Sartori he began to explore the architecture of gestures and the anthropology of the mask. There, he became specialized in the dramaturgy and acting technique of Contemporary Commedia dell´Arte.
The influence of Lecoq - Fo - Sartori and his own socio-cultural studies pushed Carlos to create the International Laboratory of Theatre Research - Manifesto Poetico, hosting his research, performances and productions. With Manifesto Poetico Carlos started a consolidation of his own signature theatre expanding his research of masks to a greater concept of the mask on the space, not only the body. With Manifesto Poetico Carlos' work reaches into a wider variety of theatrical territories and styles, leading him to the development of Spatial Dramaturgy with Manifesto Poetico co-director Paige Allerton, and the constant creation of new theatrical languages where the body and the space are the base of storytelling and emotional communication.
Donato Sartori, Dario Fo and Carlos García Estévez - 2010 Padua (ITA)
