“Even though people usually praise the dramatic performances, I tend to believe that comedies are even harder to play,” Ferreira said. “It’s been a fun experience learning to trust the gags, learning to trust the lines, the script and the director’s view, and not play the comedy itself.”

Produced by Rhode Island Latino Arts and Trinity Rep, the Teatro en el Verano production follows the Calderon family siblings as they return to Rhode Island after years in New York City and urge their mother to reveal the identity of their father. The bilingual play celebrates Hispanic and Latino culture and nods to Brazilian heritage with opening music from “A Grande Família” (“Big Family”), a popular Brazilian sitcom.

“For every single scene, I work to understand my objective in that scene, my obstacle, and my strategy to pass by my obstacle,” said Ferreira, who is from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, and moved to the United States to attend Brown. Ferreira said he draws inspiration from actors like Bryan Cranston in “Malcolm in the Middle,” and he uses research to glean insights for his own art.

This marks Ferreira’s second summer with Teatro en el Verano, a program that was founded in 2016 and offers free summer performances in Providence, Central Falls, Pawtucket, Newport and Woonsocket. At the various performance locations, Ferreira has enjoyed the curious responses and audience engagement.

“I think this shows that when you remove the barriers of belonging to the space and financial concerns, you can convince more people to try out theater and discover they enjoy it,” Ferreira said.

He said his summer experience has been an extension of his studies in Brown’s Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies, through which he first learned about the internship opportunity.

“It’s been a fun experience getting to experiment with another side of my acting skills, and I am learning a bunch of insight and just knowledge on how to do this job,” said Ferreira, who aspires to become a working actor and writer after graduation.

In addition to acting, Ferreira has also worked on campus as an arts administration and events coordinator for the Rites and Reason Theatre in the Department of Africana Studies, where his duties include cataloging props, books and files, managing donations and overseeing storage.

As he prepares for his senior year at Brown, Ferreira is excited to continue to learn and grow as an emerging thespian, with the support of faculty mentors.

“My Brown professors are part of the industry, even though they choose to be part of academia too,” Ferreira said. “They introduce you to so many people and so many opportunities."