Teatro de Marionetas do Porto (Portugal)

Two actors, in an encounter between puppets, objects, words, movements, small nameless particles, light, music and many other elements, provoking compositions and imagery journeys.

A non-linear place is created, detached from the world. Bewildering, delusional, with no known laws. A kind of a living painting.

Starting from the literary universe, namely some poems by Sonhador Definitivo E Perpétua Insónia, an anthology of surrealist poems written in French, translated by Regina Guimarães and a lot of experimentation linked to materials, one takes off to the dream, in flight, traveling underground through a universe that escapes to reality.

In Jardineiro Imaginário, there is a return to this continent of imagination, creating images that sprout automatically, transporting each body to another place. The interior and intimate theatre, persistent and endless, inhabited by an imaginary gardener, created with the artistic complicity of a multidisciplinary team.

BIO

Teatro de Marionetas do Porto was founded in 1988. The company’s theatrical practice represents extremely diverse experiences in the contemporary puppet theatre, looking to find new concepts and new ways of regarding the interpretation and the relationship with other areas of creation. The company was also dedicated to the study and revival of old forms of traditional theatre, like Teatro Dom Roberto, which has been presented more than a thousand times. Their founder and artistic director, João Paulo Seara Cardoso (1956-2010), studied theatre and puppet theatre, attended courses in the Institut National d’Éducation Populaire and Institut International de la Marionnette, in France. He worked with João Coimbra, Marcel Violette, Jim Henson and Lopez Barrantes. In 1982 he initiated the study and spreading of the Teatro Dom Roberto, Portuguese traditional puppets that had more than 1500 presentations. He published children’s books and was the author of television series for the young audiences. The group splits its activity between the programming of the Teatro do Belomonte, in Oporto, and an intense activity touring in Portugal and abroad. Presently, the TMP is engaged in a major project, the Puppet Museum of Oporto, opened in 2013 and in 2016 the company set Pólo das Marionetas/Quinta de Bonjoia where they have been working on social integration with local communities.

Isabel Barros throughout her career, has developed work as a choreographer, interpreter, programmer and trainer. She was born in Porto and is a member of the board of directors of Balleteatro which she founded. She has been the artistic director of Marionetas do Porto since 2010, and of Museu das Marionetas do Porto, inaugurated in 2013. She has a board range path of artistic creation, in which the crossing of languages, namely dance, theatre and puppetry, stands out. From very early she was interested in creating moments of programming related to dance, theatre and performance, giving privilege to transversal and alternative formats and space for emerging creators. After her initial training in classical dance with Ruth Howner she held several courses in contemporary dance and composition in Paris, where she lived and studied. She took part in several seminars led by Gisèle Barret and Pierre Voltz at Institut d’Etudes Théâtrales – Paris III. In 1996, in Berlin, she took an internship with Susanne Linke where she developed solo performance work. She studied theatre and completed a degree in Theatre at Escola Superior Artística do Porto. In addition to the regular presentations of her work, she has been a regular contributor to Marionetas do Porto since 1994, at the level of co-creation, movement and choreography of the company's various shows. She was awarded the Almada prize (1999), attributed to Balleteatro, as a distinction for the work carried out at the programming level. In 2018 she received Medalha Municipal de Mérito - Grau Ouro.

_CREDITS

_{Concept and direction: Isabel Barros Puppets: Ricardo Leite Music: Carlos Guedes Original text and translation: Regina Guimarães Poems: Jean Arp, Robert Desnos, Camille Coemans, Paul Nougé Lighting design: Filipe Azevedo Scenography: Collective Costumes: Cláudia Ribeiro Performers: Micaela Soares, Vítor Gomes Production: Sofia Carvalho Graphic design: Rita Sá Couto Light and sound operation: Filipe Azevedo Puppet builders: João Pedro Trindade, Catarina Falcão Seamstress: Alexandra Barbosa Photography: Paulo Pimenta Company sponsored by: República Portuguesa - Ministério da Cultura | Direção-Geral das Artes}