Ana Pais

Biography

Ana Pais has been researching the performing arts at their intersection with affect theory. She is an Assistant Researcher (CEEC) at ICNOVA (FCSH–NOVA University Lisbon) and also works as a dramaturg and curator. She holds a PhD in Theatre Studies (CET–University of Lisbon). She coordinated the project “Affective Noise: Atmospherics of the State of the Nation” with Queen Mary University (Parsuk/FCT project). She is currently the Principal Investigator of the FREEWILL project (FCT), as part of the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of April 25.

In 2022–23, she was a Visiting Professor in the postdoctoral performing arts program at UFBA (PPGAC), Salvador, Bahia. She is the author of the books The Discourse of Complicity: Contemporary Dramaturgies (2004), Affective Rhythms in the Performing Arts (2018)—based on her MA and PhD, respectively—and Who’s Afraid of Emotions? (2022). She also edited the anthology Performance in the Public Sphere (2017), along with its English version available for free download at www.performativa.pt. She has published numerous articles nationally and internationally, notably in journals such as Performance Research, Luso-Brazilian Review, and TDR.

She was a theatre critic for Público (2003) and Expresso (2004). As a dramaturg, she has collaborated with theatre and dance makers in Portugal. As a curator, she has conceived, coordinated, and produced several discursive curatorial events, including the P! Project: Performance in the Public Sphere (Lisbon, April 10–14, 2017). She is currently researching theatricality and the affective dimension of far-right populist performance.