Domingo Ferrandis is a passionate advocate of the power of empathy and scenic pedagogy to denounce abuses and stigmas, and to challenge stereotypes, prejudices, and hypocrisies. Over the past 25 years, he has traveled the world promoting this belief, combining his roles as a director and actor with dramatherapy and theatrical proposals designed to address pressing issues related to human rights, social development, climate change, and, above all, mental health. His scenic productions are based on deeply human stories, some of which are autobiographical, using fiction, abstraction, and magical distancing to captivate the audience. These works are laden with symbolism and are intended to inspire reflection, debate, change, and action. His approach is centered on making a significant impact on society, generating constructive dialogue, and promoting transformation.
Domingo began his career as an actor, collaborating with prestigious theater companies like Fura dels Baus and working with acclaimed directors such as Carlus Padrissa. Over two decades, he toured internationally renowned stages, including La Maestranza in Seville, Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Teatro Romano de Merida, El Maggio Musicale in Florence, La Bastille in Paris, Wortham Theatre in Houston, and the National Taichung Theater in Taiwan, among others. He has had the opportunity to work with renowned directors like Jonathan Miller, Graham Vick, Rick Sordelet, Carlos Saura, Paco Azorín, and Víctor Ullate, participating in various large-scale productions.
Domingo has excelled as a scenic activist and has been involved in socially conscious films, such as «The Golden Gag.» His theatrical projects address issues affecting human coexistence, the climate crisis, the protection of vulnerable individuals, injustices, and violence, particularly against women and girls. Some of his notable works include «Houston: Diversity of the World,» which celebrates multi-ethnic and cultural diversity in Houston, and «Festival Lorca and You Houston,» featuring three works by García Lorca: «Blood Wedding,» «Poet in New York,» and «Gypsy Ballads.» «Manos de mariposa,» premiered in Paris and performed in Houston, Austin, and McAllen, where Rice University awarded him a diploma for his artistic contribution to the fight against feminicides, immigration, and disappearances. This same work was presented and discussed in front of 800 teenagers in Aguascalientes, Mexico, and premiered at the Museum of Indomitable Memory in Mexico City. «Paradox,» addressing the abuse and rape of a woman, premiered in Austin and Houston. «That Day» by Daniela Esquivel, an autobiographical work about beloved family members who died from Covid-19, premiered in Mérida, Mexico. «Mujermente hablando» by Mariozzi Carmona, addressing macho behaviors, premiered at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City on International Women’s Day. He also created «A World Apart Inside the World,» premiered at the 10 Sentidos Festival in Valencia, involving the Àmbit Association, which supports former inmates with dual mental health issues and addiction. «To Mozè Morze,» premiered in Wroclaw, Poland, with dementia patients and their professionals to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s. «Pedro and the Captain» by Mario Benedetti premiered in Valencia for the 10 Sentidos Festival in an old air-raid shelter, addressing the theme of hatred, among other titles.
Domingo has directed various European projects, such as «ATENEA,» involving vulnerable groups from six countries and using his dramatherapy and Autobiographical Theater methodology to create six plays, premiered in Germany, Italy, Greece, and Slovenia. He has also been involved in projects like ‘Urbanus-19’ and ‘SELENE,’ addressing the impact of COVID-19. As a collaborator with the company SOLIS SRLS, he has contributed to projects such as ‘CULINARY,’ exploring immigration through food and theater; ‘SILENCE,’ raising awareness about violence against women and adolescents; ‘Janus,’ focusing on the mental health of young people and the increasing suicide rates in Europe, among others. His outstanding practice and Autobiographical Theater methodology have been recognized and have their own blog on the European Commission’s Epale Portal.
Domingo is a pioneer of dramatherapy in Spain and the first Spanish member of the American Dramatherapy Association (NADTA). He is part of the academic committee for dramatherapy in Latin American countries and is a member of the faculty of the Master’s program in Applied Theater at the University of Valencia since 2015. He has been invited by universities around the world, including the University of Toulouse II in France, the University of Temuco in Chile, the University of Veracruzana Xalapa in Mexico, and the University of Psychology UWr Wroclaw in Poland, to conduct workshops and training. Additionally, he has been invited to conduct dramatherapy interventions in associations such as AVALCAB (Anorexia and Bulimia), ASVA TP (Borderline Personality Disorders), LARE (Alzheimer and other dementias), AKOE (neuroeducation), where he has used his art to visualize brain functions. He has also participated in inclusion programs for vulnerable black women at Project Row House, under the direction of the Playback Houston Theater Company, and in education through the Theater in Education program at the Wharton Dual College in Houston, under the direction of Marcela Salas.
Domingo has published several books, including the «Dramatherapy Handbook: Theory and Practice» (2018), which he presented alongside his co-author Grease Schuchner at the NADTA Congress in Boston. He is also the co-author of «Applied Theater: Image Theater, Playback Theater, and Dramatherapy» (2015, Octaedro, co-authored with Tomás Motos) and has contributed to works such as «Other Scenarios for Theater» (2013, Ñaque, co-authored with Tomás Motos, Antonio Navarro, and Dianne Stronks). His bidirectional approach to dramatherapy, combining Expressive Arts and Autobiographical Theater, has been published in various online journals, including the Spanish Association of Psychogerontology’s «Theater with the Elderly,» the Spanish Performing Arts Journal APES 5, and «Autobiographical Theater» in Issue 145 of the Apuntes Journal of the University of Chile.
Domingo’s training spans various areas, thanks to his mobility and dedication. He has studied Suzuki techniques – SITI, Shogo Ota’s Slow Tempo, and Chekhov’s physical actions with Adam Nobel, as well as Skinner Releasing techniques, the Eight Efforts, and Laban Movement with Melissa Noble at the University of Houston. He has acquired knowledge in Creative Body Mime, bunraku, and kabuki with Serge Nicolaï of the Theatre du Soleil. His training in dance-theater and physical theater includes studying with Olivia Corsini, a disciple of Paolo Grassi and Pina Bausch, as well as with prominent choreographers like Ana Extremiana, Mercedes Ridocci, Idoia Zabaleta, and others. In the theatrical realm, he has worked with Broadway stage director Rick Sordelet in New York, as well as with Alejandro Giles, a director known for his work on «Ay Carmela» and a disciple of Agustín Alezzo and Eugenio Barba. In the film industry, he has received training from Benito Zambrano, the director of «Solas,» and Azucena de la Fuente, a disciple of Uta Hagen. In the field of dramatherapy, he has learned from pioneers and experts such as Sally Bailey, Sue Jennings, Robert J. Landy, Nisha Sajnani, Carlos J. Rodriguez Pérez, and Armand Volkas, among others.
Domingo Ferrandis 