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FILIPE VALLE COSTA Founder & Co-Artistic Director
Filipe is a Brooklyn-based artist from Lisbon, Portugal. He holds a B.A. in Theatre from Graceland University and a M.F.A. in Acting from the University of Florida. Filipe is the Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Saudade Theatre and currently teaches Acting with Waterwell Theater. As a theatre maker, he directed the West Coast Premiere of Mickaël De Oliveira’s The Constitution, co-created EL COMANCHERO or [The Path to the Kingdom of Heaven], among others. Filipe’s onstage acting credits include: Torera (Alley Theatre), Good Grief (INTAR), Lilia (Rising Circle), I’m Dreaming (But Am I?) (Cherry Lane), Henry V, Love’s Labors Lost (Shakespeare Forum), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Northern Stage), End Days, Sirens, Dracula (Hippodrome), EL COMANCHERO Or [The Path to the Kingdom of Heaven], My Favorite Suicide, The Constitution (Saudade Theatre). TV credits include: Snowfall (FX), Chicago Med (NBC), Blue Bloods (CBS), Gotham (FOX), Unicornland. Film credits include: Geostorm, Son of a Kingpin, Posthumous.
DIOGO MARTINS Co-Artistic Director
Diogo is an actor, writer and producer born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal, currently based in New York. He holds a MFA in Acting from the Actors Studio Drama School, and is one of the proud Co-Artistic Directors of Saudade Theatre. Diogo is also an original member of the Actors Theatre of New York and a member of the LAByrinth Theatre Intensive Ensemble 2014. Besides his work in theatre - acting, writing and producing - Diogo has been involved in a number of independent short films and has lent his voice to a series of other projects, most notably the audiobook version of José Saramago’s Skylight. On television, Diogo is known for his work in FBI (CBS).
VANESSA VARELA Executive Director
Born and raised in Miami, Vanessa received her B.S. in Television Production from the University of Florida. After freelancing on reality shows in Miami, she moved to New York where she worked as Assistant Editor at Mackenzie Cutler, and then as Production Manager at Media2, where she produced unscripted television series, on-air and arena graphics packages, AV services for live events, corporate videos and digital promos. In Los Angeles, she joined boutique Beverly Hills agency Nathaniel Howe Studios as Producer, overseeing the creation of broadcast graphics packages, on-air promos, network rebrands, VR & AR projects, sales and marketing content and more. Back in New York City, she is currently managing AV/media crews at several storied sports & live-entertainment venues across New York State.
PEDRO MARNOTO PEREIRA Resident Artist
Pedro Marnoto’s work has ranged from fiction and documentary film to theatre and live video editing. Film work includes the short “Gu” (2015), official selection at the New York Portuguese Short Film Festival and the Caminhos do Cinema Português; and the documentary feature “Voices in the Fog“ (2018). For the stage, he directed Primary Colors' stage production of Neil LaBute's “The Shape of Things” (2011); and assistant directed Saudade Theatre's production of Mickaël de Oliveira's “The Constitution” (2017). In 2016, Pedro directed the music video for “Prom”, for Brooklyn-based band Cherry Coals’ debut EP. In the same year, he collaborated with pianist Renato Diz and singer Maria Quintanilla on the short film "Conversation II” (2016), for their album “Distance Chemistry”. They teamed up again in 2019, for the film-concert "At a Volume Only You Can Hear", that included live video editing; the show premiered as part of the first edition of RHI-Think, in Portugal, under the name “Porto, NY”. Pedro is currently working with Saudade Theatre on the production of the play "For the Sake of Dreaming", set to premiere in 2021.
PEDRO CARMO Resident Artist
Pedro is from Lisbon, Portugal. He has performed plays from Shakespeare, Racine, Brecht to Paula Vogel, J.P.Shanley or Jenny Schwartz. Some of his feature films have been selected to the Cannes Film Festival (“Misteries of Lisbon” by Raul Rouiz) and the Toronto Film Festival (“The Other Side of Ressurection” by Joaquim Sapinho).
Living in NYC for the past ten years, he continued his accomplished career with projects on Broadway (“Breakfast at Tiffany’s” directed by Sean Mathias), TV (Person of Interest, Pan Am; One Life to Live) and Film (“The Dry Rain” - NYC Indie Film Fest, “The Hunter” by Ian Samplin).
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Pedro Carmo directed his first short film called “Way” which landed him a nomination for best director in the Int.Film.Fest. of World Cinema 2016.
BIBI COUCEIRO Company Manager & Resident Artist
Born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal Bibi is grateful she grew up with the culture, ocean and the sun by her side. She is now an actor based in New York City, where she graduated from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and The Neighborhood Playhouse, intensive course. She also holds a BA in Theatre & Performance Studies from the University of Warwick, in the United Kingdom. Though, it was in the country of The Three Sisters, Russia where she truly found the interest for Theatre. Since then she has been majorly interested in creating work surrounding human rights, gender equality and Portuguese history. She is thankful for being a part of Saudade Theatre to help spread more Portuguese voices. Obrigada.​​
TOMÁS ANDERSON Resident Artist
Born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal, Tomás began acting at the age of 12 in a small British theater company, The Lisbon Players. In 2016 he moved to NYC where he trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. His passion for storytelling and filmmaking led him to pursue a degree in Theatre and Film at Hunter College. He has produced and acted in several NY productions and looks forward to many more. Tomás is thrilled to continue working between Portugal and the US, helping Saudade Theatre produce original, thought-provoking Luso-American work.
MARIA INÊS MARQUES Visiting Dramaturg & Translator
Maria Inês Marques (b. 1990, Porto) is a DFA candidate in Dramaturgy at Yale School of Drama. She holds a BA degree in Languages, Literature and Culture from the Faculty of Arts, University of Porto. Her dramaturgy credits include: La Scène, by Valère Novarina (TeCA, Portugal); The Moors, by Jen Silverman (Yale Repertory Theatre, dir. Jackson Gay); Bulgaria! Revolt!, by Miranda Rose Hall and Elizabeth Dinkova; Altogether Reckless, dir. Chris Bayes (Yale School of Drama); José Rivera’s Cloud Tectonics and The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, by Rainer Werner Fassbinder (Yale Cabaret); Neva, by Guillermo Calderón, dir. Kate Bergstrom (Brown University/Trinity Rep). She worked as managing editor for Theater (Yale University and Duke University Press). She has served as script reader for Theatre for a New Audience and Yale Repertory Theatre. Maria was the translator and dramaturg of the English language world premiere of Boris Yeltsin and The Constitution, by Mickaël de Oliveira (Yale Cabaret; Theatre Under St. Marks, NYC). She currently collaborates with the Portuguese company Colectivo 84. Maria’s writing has appeared in Theater and TDF Stages. Maria's review of Toshiki Okada’s God Bless Baseball earned her the John W. Gassner Memorial Award (2016).
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