Saltar para o conteúdo principal

FCCNFCT Digital Services

Access the national information on scientific and technological funding in Portugal

Activity Funded

Performance and Theatre during PREC

Performance e Teatro no PREC

Reference
2023.10644.25ABR
Project Start Date
2024-09-01
Project End Date
2026-08-31
Principal Investigator
Coinvestigator
Scientific Area
Humanities
Funding Program
O 25 de Abril e a democracia portuguesa

Abstract

The PREC.PT project aims to recover the memory of the theatre during PREC by answering to what and how performing arts were thought and programmed. The literature review specifically on the role of theatre during PREC, its agents and modes of production, shows a knowledge gap, with no in-depth study dedicated to this subject. There are two main categories of analysis of the theatre system during PREC: (i) the history of the agents - actors and directors, almost exclusively - which includes their activity during this period within the broader scope of their life and work; (ii) the history of theatre groups that were active or were born during PREC. The result of these works is a shattered panorama, fragmentary and often inattentive to the singularities of the performing arts between April 25, 1974 and November 25, 1975. Fifty years after April 25, with due historical distance from the object of study, but still relying on the memory of some of those involved, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive study of this period, using not only the documentation produced at the time, but above all the oral memory of those who took part in it. The recent death of Carlos Avillez, founder of the Teatro Experimental de Cascais in 1965, who made an indelible contribution to the renewal of the Portuguese theatre scene with new languages and repertoires, shows the urgency of this project. During PREC, theatre played an important role as an agora, a stage for socio-political confrontation and debate, rehearsals for democracy building. At a time of political polarization, including among theatre agents, theatre experimented new forms of social organization and new modes of intervention in society. It is therefore important to map the events, collect the scattered documents and interview the participants, in order to study, make available and offer new readings of interest to the present, insofar as we are also living today a period of polarization of discourses and social instability, in which theatre can serve the public sphere as a tool for participation. In an attempt to answer the research question – Did performing arts contribute to democracy building during PREC, and, if so, how? - we will base our research on three main axes: (i) activism and intervention; (ii) gender, minorities and inclusion; (iii) polarization, debate and consensus. Along these three lines, the analysis will be developed on two levels, within the theatre system itself, and in the theatre's relationship with the community. With a common basis in the study of Portuguese culture and theatre, the team members complement each other to meet the goals of this project, having extensive experience working together in the context of CET. This ensures efficient functioning, collaborative work and regular communication between the team members. The PI brings together knowledge about the object of study, and experience in digital humanities, particularly in the creation of digital archives on theatre in the 20th century. The co-PI's main line of research is political theatre in the 20th and 21st centuries, and he combines his activity as Assistant Professor and scholar with his role as dramaturg and translator at TEP, a partner institution in this project. To carry out this project, seven tasks were outlined: (i) collecting and digitizing direct and indirect primary sources; (ii) selecting the group of c. 50 interviewees and preparing the interviews, based on a detailed study of the actions and involvement of each one in theatre during PREC; conducting the interviews; (iii) collaboration in the production of TEP dedicated to the PREC theme; (iv) transcribing, editing and processing the interviews; (v) creation and development of digital resources: podcast and bilingual digital platform, in Portuguese and English, for oral and documentary archives on theatre during PREC; (vi) holding a workshop/accredited course aimed at high school teachers; (vii) editing a compilation of the interviews, alongside with essays that systematize the information gathered, contributing to future research. The results will be (i) a podcast resulting from the processing and selection of excerpts from each of the interviews; (ii) presentation of the preliminary results in the context of the Jornadas de Estudos de Teatro, which will have the 50th anniversary of democracy as its theme; (iii) bilingual digital archive, in Portuguese and English, with the interviews and documentation (including audiovisual) collected during the course of the project; (iv) presentation of TEP's play on PREC; (v) accredited course/workshop for high school teachers on the theme of Theatre and Democracy; (vi) book. The team members will include this topic in the syllabuses of the modules they teach.

Institutions

Main Institutions

  • Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Letras (ULISBOA FLUL)

Other Institutions

  • Círculo de Cultura Teatral/Teatro Experimental do Porto (CCT/TEP)

Funding 25.000,00 €

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - Portugal

25.000,00 €