The foundation of Chão De Oliva – Centro De Difusão Cultural in Sintra (CO) was laid in 1987, upon the development of amateur work of cultural animation, developed in schools and associations in Sintra. Then, the Teatro da Meia Lua, amateur theatre company included in CO, was developing creative works, reconciling its proposal to host and schedule shows of different artistic disciplines, making the territory culturally dynamic and proposing various aesthetics.
At the same time, it began an educational project, for different audiences.
In 1990, within the structure of Chão de Oliva, emerged the Companhia de Teatro de Sintra (Theatre Company of Sintra), the first professional theatre company from the Municipality.
A few years later in 1994, it was formed the second professional resident company, Fio D’Azeite- Group of Marionettes. The creation of these two groups, formed the main core of the artistic creation within CO.
The Companhia de Teatro de Sintra (CTS) was the first professional theatrical structure to be created in Sintra, in 1990; and maintains, since then, a continuous flow of creative activity.
The increasing recognition of work of this company is reflected by the invitations to participate in festivals and to collaborate with several companies within Portugal and abroad, such as, amongst others: A Comuna – Teatro de Pesquisa, Companhia de Teatro de Almada, Teatro Praga, JGM, Teatro da Garagem, Mala Voadora, Compª Cuarta Pared (Madrid), Teatro Matarille (Santiago de Compostela), Grupo Teatro Por Que Não? (Santa Maria, Brasil), Grupo Lareira Artes (Maputo, Moçambique), CACAU-Fundação Roçamundo (São Tomé e Principe), Fladu Fla (Cabo Verde).
Within this perspective of crossover of artistic experiences, CTS opted for not having a resident cast, inviting directors and actors according to the characteristics and objectives of each production. Amongst others, we have had the participation in CTS/CO of, Maria Germana Tânger, Mário Viegas, António Augusto Barros, Cândido Ferreira, João Grosso, João Mota, Antonino Solmer, Filipe Crawford, João Fiadeiro, Vera Mantero, Francisco Camacho, Joaquim Benite, Jorge Listopad, Carlos Pimenta, Pedro Penim, José Manuel Castanheira, Filipe Faísca, José Fragateiro, António Casimiro, Daniel Worm D´Assumpção, Miguel Sá Fernandes, João Garcia Miguel, Paula Pedregal, Graça P. Corrêa e os artistas plásticos Leonel Moura, Julião Sarmento e Fátima Pinto.
In the whole of the productions, we have worked authors such as; Gil Vicente, Tchekov, Marivaux, Federico Garcia Lorca, Karl Valentim, Camilo Castelo Branco, Dario Fo, Shakespeare, Stig Dagerman, Eduardo Pavlovsky, Maquiavel, Gao Xingjian, Jorge Listopad, João Garcia Miguel, August Strindberg ,H. Ibsen, Jean Cocteau, Maeterlink, Eugene O´Neil, Pirandello, Ana Saragoça, Tennessee Williams; and the Portuguese with adaptations of Eça de Queirós e Ramalho Ortigão, Cesário Verde, Bernardo Soares/Fernando Pessoa, Alexandre O´Neill, Nuno Bragança, Maria Gabriela Llansol, Pedro Paixão, e José Saramago.
Fio D´Azeite was established in 1992, as a result of a workshop of marionettes and animated forms, produced by José Carlos Barros and José Ramalho.
The work of Fio d’Azeite is characterized by the mastery of the traditional language of the art of marionettes and the search for new formal solutions for this millennial theatrical expression. As themes are concerned, we revisit timeless tales, written and oral traditions, as well as texts of authors who reveal themselves as a source of pleasure and accomplices in restlessness, in a work of research where the figure, the image, the plastic form and the texts are the protagonist.
In this path, we try not to confuse themes of approach, which until now have been associated with childhood, but with reach beyond time and age; with techniques: the preoccupation within the environment, beyond classical knowledge falls upon the aesthetic exploration of artistic focus of our time. In this search, we rely on the multidisciplinary, valuing the image in movement, the parity of the visual elements, as well as the extension of other arts, such as the theatre, music and dance, in a dynamic search, attentive to the contemporary living arts.
Teatro da Meia Lua marks the beginning of Chão De Oliva: An amateur theatre company premiered its first show in 1987. it’s the evolution of work done in Teatro da Sociedade – of Sociedade União Sintrense, that sought to broaden and deepen the work of the actor, the possibility of wandering and to allow a bigger continuity of developed work, with a diversified repertoire.
In 1997, it took a break, resuming later in 2017, with the purpose of framing and giving opportunity to people close to Chão de Oliva, semi-professionals, looking for a space and means to create, deepen and showcase their work.
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