Frederico Araujo about home, dreams, death and research
"I don’t have money to see a psychologist weekly, but art helps me cope with my problems."
We sat down with Frederico Araujo for a conversation based on Frisch’s Questions. These are not yes-or-no questions, but invitations to reflect. They prompt you to think about your beliefs, social norms, and moral dilemmas.
How do you describe home?
Home is a place where I feel comfortable — a safe space where I can be at peace. When I’m there, I feel happy, as if the sun is shining inside my heart and body. It’s the place I long to return to whenever I’m away.
Of course, we don’t always live in this perfect, happy place. There have been times when my home didn’t match the idea of home I carry within me. If that’s the case, it's time to move and find a new home. If you are not happy at home, then you are not at home.
For me, home is the best place in the world. I remember arriving at my mom’s on Fridays as a kid, excited for the weekend. As soon as she opened the door, I’d say, “Oh, my beautiful home!” I didn’t feel the urge to go out or visit the beach because I had everything I needed at home: love, food, my mother.
Even now, living in Brussels, I feel lucky. I have a good place filled with warmth and care. I just rent a room, but it feels like home — my safe space. Theater is also a kind of home for me. Every time I step on stage, I feel like I belong. It’s where I need to be, it’s where I was born to be.
Do you dream ethically?
No, but I dream a lot, both when I’m asleep and awake. In my dreams, there’s no moral framework. It’s more about my wishes and my life. Dreaming is a space where I reflect on my goals and hidden thoughts or feelings that resurface.
I also believe that dreams are often prophecies, forms of supernatural communication, and messages that “they” want to pass on to me. And I don’t ignore those messages. Sometimes, a person appears in my dream, and I have no idea why. Or I say things I don’t fully understand, yet I’m confident they are connected to something unconscious within me.
Is there a dream you want to share?
Lately, I’ve been struggling with my documents in Belgium and figuring out how to stay here. I’ve been in a constant state of fear and concern.
In one of my recent dreams, I was in a meeting where people could ask a lawyer questions. In that dream, I finally had all the documents and papers I needed to stay permanently. All the heavy emotions I carry in my personal life — the effort, the uncertainty, the exposure — manifested in my dream. But at that moment, I had my rights. I was told: “It’s okay, you can breathe now”. It was as if my problems were finally solved. I no longer felt the pressure weighing me down.
Sometimes, I feel like Sisyphus, endlessly pushing a boulder uphill. But in that dream, I wasn’t carrying the weight anymore — I could fly because I didn’t have that stone on my back. I could finally fly because I had turned into a bird.
Are you afraid of death, and since when?
That’s an interesting question. I’ve thought about death for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories is sitting on my bed on a Saturday morning — I knew it was Saturday because I didn’t have to be anywhere. My mother was still lying in bed, and I started wondering: what happens when we die? It was a child’s curiosity. Do we simply disappear, or does life continue in some way? I still don’t have the answer. I still don’t know. And I am still wondering… But I do know that this question has been with me since I was about four years old.
What truly scares me is the thought of my mother dying. I don’t think I’m prepared for that moment. I don’t have another family, I don’t have children. There’s no one else I could redirect the love I feel for her to. I imagine that for some people, losing a loved one might be easier to bear if they still have children or a partner to hold onto. But for me, the thought is terrifying.
I’m not afraid of my own death, though. I might be afraid of suffering a lot before dying. I think it would be a pity if I died soon – there’s still so much I want to do and achieve; I haven’t won my Oscars yet – but I’m not scared. But for some reason, I don’t feel like my time will come anytime soon. So no, I’m not afraid of dying. But I am afraid of losing my mother.
Do you know what drives you to research?
Yes, I did my master’s at RITCS, and during those three years, I realized something: I use my personal struggles and experiences on stage, transforming them into poetry, into something magical.
I don’t have money to see a psychologist weekly, but art helps me cope with my problems. Creating is my way of dealing with life, it's my shout for help. When I make my own work, I always look inward. I try to understand my own odysseys and pains. In the act of creating, problems somehow become smaller.
My work is deeply connected to fear, to struggles, to moments of crying. From that dark place, I build my performances. I have never created a show because I was completely happy and everything was perfectly good. Maybe this will change. Maybe one day, I’ll create from a place of light. But until now, my starting point has always been struggle. That’s where the urgency to create comes from.
Take SHARK, for example. It started from a personal problem—my fear of having to leave. Through this piece, I said: “I don’t want to leave. I want to live here.” The performance came directly from that fear, from that fight. All my work is connected to pain.
Frederico Araujo - SHARK
For an hour, two players keep a volleyball in the air. As a metaphor for life and theater. Rallying in a match, they explore questions about societal boundaries, such as immigration, identity, and otherness.
How much do you adapt to be part of "a new team"? Is their effort enough to achieve their goal? To what extent does performativity in theater and sports overlap? Are they players or performers? As time passes, their bodies grow more exhausted from the effort of keeping the ball in the air. SHARK is an exploration at the intersection of sports, performance, and theater.
Frederico Araujo is an actor and director from Brazil, where he graduated in 2010. In 2023, he obtained a master's degree in Directing at RICTS in Belgium. In his work, Araujo explores how he can turn life into poetry through play. Play is his most important value—like a child inventing new worlds.