Portraits
Teresa Coutinho
February
2022
Thu
3
About SOLO
Can we look at your show as an autobiographical work? In what way? What do you think this show can reveal about you as a creator?
This show is inevitably the result of my career as a creator so far. There are very clear reminiscences of O Distante, O Debate Eterno, Ways of Looking, shows in which, in one way or another, I was interested in thinking about the manipulation of the spectator, the place of Women in society, how power plays a preponderant role in the relationships between people. When I created O Eterno Debate, a show with a very clear approach on sexism and the internalised ways of living that we got used to see portrayed on television, I wanted the show to say what I wanted to say, without being moralistic. Even if this show ended up resulting in an object far from what I am, no matter how much lies in there that I believe in. I wanted it to talk about these issues, but I wanted it also to have a sense of humour. In Ways of Looking, I thought a lot about working from John Berger's work and his Ways of Seeing, on the manipulation of the spectator and on how the invention of the camera has changed forever the way we look at a work of art. As I was creating and as an actress, in being confronted with other creators’ work, I realized that I still haven’t said what I want to say. I think this is a very difficult and blurred frontier. How far can you go? It is when I decided to do SOLO, starting from the work of Laura Mulvey and from her analysis of the representation of Women in cinema, that I realized that not taking my experience to the stage, not talking about these issues from a more personal point of view, wouldn’t be fair. So, the text has undoubtedly moved towards an autobiographical approach and inevitably started to relate with many other things, particularly the silence that is inherited within the family, the education by silencing, very present in the way our grandmothers, our mothers lived their lives. The show is, yes, an autobiographical work, which ideally never loses sight of the idea "the more personal, the more universal".
During your creative process, were you inspired by any autobiographical work or self-portrait?
I cannot say that it has directly inspired me, although we are, as we know, an amalgam of influences and encounters that have an impact in us that we do not always foresee. Works from Sophie Calle, for example, were fundamental in my life.
This work intends to portray the evolution of your perception of the "feminine" from your contact with art throughout your life. In this sense, what idea(s) of "feminine" do you seek to build and/or deconstruct with this piece?
First of all, it is important to say that the words "Women" or "Feminine" are themselves a construction that is being - and fortunately - increasingly questioned. These are words that have a broader sense today and it is desirable that this process continues, no matter what. The ideas of "beauty" and "elegance" are also object of analysis and deconstruction in the show. There is an irony with which we talk about these concepts. Perhaps it is worth answering with the performance, with the text, in which it is said at one point :"Abolish the language. Redo the language. A mirror that reflected the inside."
Which face(s) may we see evoked, mirrored or even impelled in SOLO? Which face(s) cannot we see? Will there be any/some?
My face and Lucia's are seen without intermediaries, through the look of the camera. Mariana only becomes visible as the show progresses. However, her gaze is present from the beginning. We have access to her gaze, but not to her face. As a piece that is also about inheritance and silence, my Grandmother and Mother are evoked. They're also veiled as much as possible, but their faces are seen, they're there. What exists in it in terms of biography crosses with fiction, it doesn't matter what is actually true or not. In theatre, it is precisely this alternative to our reality, the possibility of creating an alternative to life, that interests me. A place where, even briefly, we can for example abolish a dictatorship or rescue those who are no longer here with us.
Can we look at your show as an autobiographical work? In what way? What do you think this show can reveal about you as a creator?
This show is inevitably the result of my career as a creator so far. There are very clear reminiscences of O Distante, O Debate Eterno, Ways of Looking, shows in which, in one way or another, I was interested in thinking about the manipulation of the spectator, the place of Women in society, how power plays a preponderant role in the relationships between people. When I created O Eterno Debate, a show with a very clear approach on sexism and the internalised ways of living that we got used to see portrayed on television, I wanted the show to say what I wanted to say, without being moralistic. Even if this show ended up resulting in an object far from what I am, no matter how much lies in there that I believe in. I wanted it to talk about these issues, but I wanted it also to have a sense of humour. In Ways of Looking, I thought a lot about working from John Berger's work and his Ways of Seeing, on the manipulation of the spectator and on how the invention of the camera has changed forever the way we look at a work of art. As I was creating and as an actress, in being confronted with other creators’ work, I realized that I still haven’t said what I want to say. I think this is a very difficult and blurred frontier. How far can you go? It is when I decided to do SOLO, starting from the work of Laura Mulvey and from her analysis of the representation of Women in cinema, that I realized that not taking my experience to the stage, not talking about these issues from a more personal point of view, wouldn’t be fair. So, the text has undoubtedly moved towards an autobiographical approach and inevitably started to relate with many other things, particularly the silence that is inherited within the family, the education by silencing, very present in the way our grandmothers, our mothers lived their lives. The show is, yes, an autobiographical work, which ideally never loses sight of the idea "the more personal, the more universal".
During your creative process, were you inspired by any autobiographical work or self-portrait?
I cannot say that it has directly inspired me, although we are, as we know, an amalgam of influences and encounters that have an impact in us that we do not always foresee. Works from Sophie Calle, for example, were fundamental in my life.
This work intends to portray the evolution of your perception of the "feminine" from your contact with art throughout your life. In this sense, what idea(s) of "feminine" do you seek to build and/or deconstruct with this piece?
First of all, it is important to say that the words "Women" or "Feminine" are themselves a construction that is being - and fortunately - increasingly questioned. These are words that have a broader sense today and it is desirable that this process continues, no matter what. The ideas of "beauty" and "elegance" are also object of analysis and deconstruction in the show. There is an irony with which we talk about these concepts. Perhaps it is worth answering with the performance, with the text, in which it is said at one point :"Abolish the language. Redo the language. A mirror that reflected the inside."
Which face(s) may we see evoked, mirrored or even impelled in SOLO? Which face(s) cannot we see? Will there be any/some?
My face and Lucia's are seen without intermediaries, through the look of the camera. Mariana only becomes visible as the show progresses. However, her gaze is present from the beginning. We have access to her gaze, but not to her face. As a piece that is also about inheritance and silence, my Grandmother and Mother are evoked. They're also veiled as much as possible, but their faces are seen, they're there. What exists in it in terms of biography crosses with fiction, it doesn't matter what is actually true or not. In theatre, it is precisely this alternative to our reality, the possibility of creating an alternative to life, that interests me. A place where, even briefly, we can for example abolish a dictatorship or rescue those who are no longer here with us.
© José Caldeira / TMP
