The Commune Survey Theater is celebrating its 40 years of existence, which makes them a reference weight in the national theater scene. A work in progress for culture that has made known Portuguese and international playwrights and contributed decisively to shape new actors.Carlos Paulo, a founder and one of the engines of this company, talks about this collective journey, his career and new play currently on stage "the Valladolid controversy."
How was this adventure thru almost 40 years of the Commune?
Carlos Paulo: It was a dream at the time, because we created the Commune to have in our hands our fate, we wanted to do theater and liked it. We lived among Fascism and censorship. We wanted to make a collective of actors and the vision was to create new audiences, creating Portuguese and international drama and new spaces. Also be a group of itinerancy. We do it all. We have a house in Lisbon with four rooms, traveled throughout the country and have been in 18 countries worldwide. Another component of our work is the teaching of new actors. We see these artists on television, I can speak of José Pedro Gomes, Rita Salema and Armindo Gonçalves who started all the Commune was its home company and for us it's all a matter of pride. It is an area of growth, such as a parents' house, when we are ready we go on living. And that is how we have kept this part we have very young and older actors and that is the Commune's, never like forty years ago. We are available and responsive to change in order to respond. The theater is so.
As an actor and teacher what are the differences between this new generations of new artists and yours?
CP: Now what is different is that it is apparently easier, but only in appearance. Television has created a market that allows easier access to the actors, but it is false, is disposable, use them two or three times, then they are familiar faces, they abandoned them, leave them. There is a lack of basic training, then they are with kids who are 17, 18 years old of age, appearing in magazines and suddenly in their twenties put them aside and they do not understand why. In our time, we climbed on the ladder, from play to play, show to show, winning our space and our place. That's why I feel sorry for them because then there is no structure to follow into a direction, to create new companies, new groups to draw on the experiences they already have. Today, mainly in the theater, which we see has happened people is formed at the conservatory, or have basic training and they do not suffer this way I call disposable, which is very easy. Earned much less than in my time. I stopped doing television for ten years, because I think the quality has fallen a lot and that the exploitation is rampant. I prefer the theater, where I do not cheat anyone, do the plays I like and I have no shame. But I understand that a young person feels overwhelmed by this world, is a way of appearing. Then there is not a continuity of that work, quite the contrary. Then we see in magazines, some cases are terrible.
In this long journey the Portuguese public also changed?
CP: They have changed. Before there was a very loyal audience to the theater, which was disappearing. Television began to have much strength, videos; cinema itself has a lot of people. Now, there is much new audience in the theater is full of young people, because we have an advantage over these means of which I spoke before, is not disposable on the Internet. They either come to the show, or not come. There, the theater has it, these kids have a great desire to know and come in at the end of forty years, and the Commune has very young audience. Then we live in a world with so much technology that they are delighted with the contact between us and them. The being together in a closed room, for one or two hours all together and it is very beautiful. I believe in the future of the theater, because it has to do with the meeting. We are living an era is that we needed to find out, make eye contact, talk and talk.
This new play makes this interconnection with the celebration of 40 years of the Commune?
CP: The play was chosen because it is a great text. We have always chosen taking into account what people mean now? In these times of globalization and in recent years with this war of religions, races and this play "The Controversy of Valladolid" is about a historical fact, when the Spanish conquered the Americas they faced a new breed that were the Indians. The Vatican held a meeting in Spain, bringing a couple to show that indigenous people were like the others. Portugal is a country of mixtures, a mulatto country, has African, Indian, all kinds of people and we looked at each other like what? Where we get the racism? It is ignoble? It is on the skin? The piece is a reflection on this, on the other and the way you think about their culture. It is very strong and very beautiful and it was a very good topic to think.
The fear of the unknown?
CP: Exactly. Colonization forgot that, everything is an economic exchange between people and very diverse. We are talking about China and how we look at the other. We understand them? It is a mere economic relationship? Have we accepted? When we are open? The theater helps with this, to help us reflect.
Speaking a bit of your career, you said earlier that left the television but not movies. Often I see your work on the big screen.
CP: But is there in the movies I choose things I want to do. I have three movies and made them because they speak of a near reality. One was about Henrique Galvão. I'll make one on Aristides de Sousa Mendes and a third on the murder of Humberto Delgado, Portuguese cinema ultimately addresses these recent events, our own, to understand each other today. The younger generations learn that there were facts of recent history to help, to understand, the why maybe we are suffering from some misunderstandings, hardships and problems. The film is a window and I love to do it.
It is said often that the Portuguese cinema is not good, because the scripts are weak, you agree with this statement?
CP: It depends; there are also bad American movies. The problem with the Portuguese cinema is that it is less, it makes it more visible and so it's easy to point fingers, but there are very good films. Not long ago, a young Portuguese filmmaker won an award from the critique of the international film festival in Berlin. One must be careful with such statements, because if a young man wins a prize in a contest so demanding is because the movie has to have quality. You cannot mix everything, as domestic production is small, is more noticeable the weaknesses, it is normal. There are very bad movie. The cinema has one thing, you go to see an American feature film which is very bad and you think is crap, but then you go see something else. The Portuguese cinema was created this image, but is not true. There are good movies and bad as usual.
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