As a recent and educator of the theater, Filho arrived at his strong theoretical point of view through practical experimentation. His technique is complex in its attempt to reach a level of simplicity and truth. He fights against naturalism which he perceives is an extension of television acting, one where the actor "fakes at being natural but can never be that." Filho favors the actors who have developed their cultural sensibility over those who are adept at experiencing their emotions and projecting them on stage. His goals are to prevent all voids between the voice and the body; to propose a discussion through theater and to share that experience with the community.
The Brazilian stage director developed his acting method and keep teaching it in a free course in acting at Center for Theatre Research (CPT) in Sao Paulo.
The goals of the theater school went beyond the conventional Stanislavskian interpretation courses taught at any of Brazil's acting institutes. To this day Filho continues to emphasize the need to develop the actor's consciousness and their responsibility as social beings. In the training, he instructs the young actor to have "above all a philosophy and ideology as a man of the theater, a clear point of view in your approach to realities."
Filho's opposition to any display of narcissism on stage is twofold. On the one hand, it is a natural reflection of his artistic manifesto: that Art must not be viewed as a luxury item for the elite, but as an accessible tool that can guide Brazil to its national consciousness and empower people to think about their reality. On the other hand, it is a consequence of his rigorous technique classes where actors are instructed in the development of their instruments. The training incorporates exercises based on Zen principles and on the writing found in the "Letter Concerning Motionless Comprehension" by an anonymous Japanese author from the seventeenth century, as well as techniques developed by contemporary Japanese director Suzuki.
Being both a research and experiment group, the members of the company (sixteen of whom are permanent) work six days a week for an average of fourteen hours a day on exercises that include dancing, music, swimming, circus techniques, capoeira (Afro/Brazilian martial arts), tai chi chuan and theory classes.
Antunes Filho is to find oneself in the presence of a piercing, intense artist who prefers the search for "pre-mythical language" to the sound of "polished, empty talk." In 1988, Filho's artistic trajectory was recognized by the Association of Theatre Critics who honored him with the International Trophy for Revealing Brazilian Theatre to the World.
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