It intends to keep the documentation concerning the history of the theater of São Paulo and to conduct various researches on this subject.
In its collections and funds it keeps several types of document, either about the shows, or companies, artists, the theater department of the University of São Paulo among others.
We also develop researches like, for example, an inventory of the old theaters of the city of São Paulo from the 18th century until the 1930s.
An other subject that has been investigated is the history of costume in Brazil in the XIX century.
In 2012 we conducted a seminar about initiatives for the preservation of theatrical documents in Brazil which brought together a hundred documentalists. A second edition of this meeting is planned for the year of 2018.
Finally, we publish on our website the research results of the scholarship students from our collections and funds.
The CDT – Center of Theatre Documentation – USP is formed by LIM CAC (Information and Memory Laboratory of the Department of Performing Arts of ECA / USP) and by the NT (Support Center for the Research of the Costume of Cena). In common, we maintain an integrated database, the CDT website, conservation actions, share research, and conduct events for both institutions. The CDT receives and maintains documentation about people and entities related to the theater, organizing and conserving all material, seeking to make it available to the research through the on-site consultation or its database. In addition, it promotes research related to the São Paulo theater, with special interest in historical and documentary perspective. The CDT also hosts other projects in partnership, such as the Critical Bibliography of the Brazilian Theater (BCTB), held in collaboration with researchers from other Brazilian universities.