Conservatório dramático e musical de São Paulo: A primeira escola de teatro do Brasil

This article studies the Drama and Music Conservatory of São Paulo as an acting school since its foundation in 1906. Although the institution is currently dedicated exclusively to music education, we need to remember that it was the first drama school in South America and represented an important aspect of the growth and modernization of theater in São Paulo in the early 1900s. It is on this latter aspect that this study focuses on as it provides background information and examines the role of the institution in the context of São Paulo and Brazilian theater of that period. The essay attempts to understand the artistic orientation of the acting program (until the 1940s when the course was eliminated) and to evaluate its merits and shortcomings throughout the years.