Documentary about the show, inspired by the users who live and lived at Casa de Saúde do Telhal, and their artistic works. Help us give mental health a voice.
Context of the ALMAS DELIRANTES project
At the beginning of the 20th century, Luís Cebola, psychiatrist, Clinical Director of the Casa de Saúde do Telhal (Sintra), and Portuguese writer, compiled the literary volume "Almas Delirantes", where he presented various psychopathologies not from a medical point of view, but elaborating metaphorical and lyrical portraits, demonstrating that his perception of patients was more than an object of study, constituting a process of identification, empathy and compassion. The author also used the work to highlight the importance of acceptance and understanding of these pathologies, directly raising the question that anyone, at any time in their life, can suffer from some psychopathological condition. "Delirious Souls" contains poems, texts and letters written by people admitted to the psychiatric hospitals the author passed through. The work also served as a repository for the museum created by the author, at Casa de Saúde do Telhal, "The Museum of Madness", which preserved the artistic creations of hospitalized patients.
It is based on this 1925 work that the show "ALMAS DELIRANTES" will be built. Starting from these texts and stories from the beginning of the 20th century, as well as stories from patients who currently live at Casa de Saúde do Telhal, as it is the objective of Teatro Efémero, that part of the creation of the show may arise from the possibility of listening and observing at first glance. hand who lives their day-to-day life with psychopathologies, in order to make the show closer and more current, but also so that connections between the past and present can be explored, by looking for one of the places where the author himself was and got inspired.
The project is divided into two axes : the show and the film, the film will be a complement to the show, it will follow the entire creation process, rehearsals, writing process, research, visits to the Casa de Saúde do Telhal, artistic residency and show , and will be made available free of charge on an online platform, so that everyone can have access to how a theatrical creation process works, from scratch, and also so that they can get closer to the theme, it is basically a way of giving visibility to the theme , to users, always in a protected way, and also to deconstruct barriers and prejudices associated with mental health. It is part of the project planning that users can be close to the process, that they can contribute, or even participate with their artistic works, which have been a formula since the 1920s adopted by Dr. Luís Cebola and that remained until the Nowadays, "Labortherapy" in artistic activities, which has proven to be an occupational therapy with results of evident improvements in the health status of patients. The case of painting, in particular portraits and caricatures, aims to encourage the patient to project their internal conflicts onto the canvas, regardless of the beauty of the work and the artistic training of its author. To this end, copying is avoided and spontaneous and personal expression is encouraged. That is why, the objective of Teatro Efémero, is that this project can have elements that refer to and include these artistic works by the users themselves, there will be space for the text of the show to undergo changes throughout the process, based on visits to the Casa de Saúde , but also with the personal experiences of the actors, with the investigation throughout the rehearsals and dramaturgy. It is therefore a project that may be in constant transformation until its final phase.
Unfortunately, the project only managed to raise half of its total budget, as you can see in the budget area, and so we were left without funds to make the documentary. As we believe it is an essential part of the project, we do not want to abandon the idea, and that is why we need your help so that we can have a person dedicated to the post-production of the records we are making and will make until the end of the creation process. Without a budget to pay someone who can do the work of editing the film and be 100% dedicated to the project, we will not be able to move forward with the documentary and its availability online.
About the author
Teatro Efémero is a Cultural Association , based in Sintra since March 2018. Over the last few years, it has produced several theater shows and projects that have as their common point new dramaturgies, inspired by pre-existing works. The texts that are based on theatrical creations are written and adapted by the company, and normally the scenographic part is one of the elements that most influences the creation. However, Ephemeral Theater is not just confined to a formula and aims to create common points between the various arts and artistic disciplines, taking theater as its starting point. As a working method, he believes in collaborative and cooperative processes, which he has in recurrent practice in his projects.
Since 2018, until now he has created SUBSOLO [2018], a show that addressed the refugee crisis and the role and relationship of the Western population with it, the children's show, Uma Viagem de Estórias [2018], inspired by the short story "The Mercador de Coisa Nada" by António Torrado, the third production by Teatro Efémero, was inspired by the work "O Doido ea Morte" by Raúl Brandão, relating it to urban art and current political affairs, it is titled LIE LIE LAND [2019], the show a vulgar artist [2021], based on the works of Franz Kafka in direct relation to the film “Birdmand or (The unexpected virtue of ignorance)” by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. In 2021, Teatro Efémero developed several activities for the Municipal Library of São Domingos de Rana, namely the Shared Writing Workshop , the show Myths and Legends and Know Your Rights , an interactive show aimed at the first cycle, starting from the “Declaration of Children’s Rights”. The Shared Writing Workshop has been promoted in several libraries, and is still available for implementation in several spaces. The show Know Your Rights , has toured several schools and libraries in the country. It was co-produced with Companhia Faísca Teatro, with the show KOLAKEIA [2022], based on the work "Othello" by William Shakespeare, presented at the Archaeological Museum by São Miguel de Odrinhas, another co-production with MUSGO Produção Cultural, Madrasta Dance, RUGAS Associação Cultural and Teatromosca, in the show Trilogia de Guerra: Agamemnon [2022], with text by Jaime Rocha and direction by Paulo Campos dos Reis. In the same year, and in parallel with the co-productions, he created the Medieval Staged Route through the Town of Sintra, an interactive walk, which revisits the medieval myths of the area in question.
For more detailed information about Teatro Efémero's journey, visit our website .
Budget and due dates
BUDGET
- Salary of 1 video editor for 2 months of work: 1000€/month
- PPL commissions: €184.50
*the total project, show + documentary, all the desired technical and artistic team, had a total budget of €29,460.00. The project was only funded with €17,651.21 by Sintra City Council. Teatro Efémero competed for specific support from the General Directorate of Arts, having achieved a score of 89.50% for this project, but did not receive support due to the lack of funds allocated to the support program in question. With just over half the budget, we had to restructure the project, reduce the team, cut back on scenographic materials and we have no budget available to make the documentary. For it to be possible, even taking into account the very precarious situation, the reduced schedules, we need to be able to have someone dedicating themselves 100% to editing the film, so that it can be made available freely. It is only possible to guarantee this work, having the means to pay this amount, which at the moment Teatro Efémero unfortunately does not have.
SCHEDULE
- The amount requested corresponds to post-production work, which will be from December 4, 2023 to February 10, 2024 [interruption for Christmas holidays, between December 18, 2023 and January 2, 2024]
Estimated timetable for collecting video material for the documentary:
(The filming process starts simultaneously with the beginning of the rehearsal process)
Filming
● July 3 to 11, 2023 - visits to Casa de Saúde do Telhal - research to support the writing of the text
● July 3rd to August 14th, 2023 - writing process for the show's text
● August 21 to 25, 2023 - dramaturgy and text reading rehearsals
● August 28th to October 9th, 2023 - creative rehearsals
● September 18 to October 31, 2023 - visits on different days to the Telhal Health Center with the actors and promotion of activities
● October 9 to 20, 2023 - Forno da Cal artistic residency
● September 20th to November 13th, 2023 - Creative essays
● November 13 to 15, 2023 - general rehearsals and adaptation to the presentation space - Multiusos Cultural de Belas Building
● November 16 to 18, 2023 - Premiere of the show - Cultural Multipurpose Building in Belas
● November 20 to 22, 2023 - adaptation and rehearsals at Teatroesfera
● November 23 to 26, 2023 - presentation of the show - Teatroesfera
● November 30, 2023 - presentation of the show to users of Casa de Saúde do Telhal
Editing and editing
● December 4, 2023 to February 10, 2024 - film editing and editing work
● February 10, 2024 - presentation and viewing of the film with users of Casa de Saúde do Telhal
● February 17, 2024 - Film premiere at location to be confirmed
● February 18, 2024 - availability of the film online on its own platform, indefinitely
Summary schedule of the total project:
- Collection of materials, research and visits to Casa de Saúde do Telhal: June 16th to September 1st
- Creation process and rehearsals: September 4th to November 15th
- Premiere: November 16th
- Presentations: 16, 17 and 18 November at Ed. Multiusos de Belas; November 25th and 26th at Teatroesfera; December 1st and 2nd at FORNO - Espaço Cultural
- Documentary post-production: December 4, 2023 to February 10, 2023 [interruption for Christmas holidays, between December 18, 2023 and January 2, 2024]
- Documentary release/premiere: February 17, 2024
Images
