Margarida MestreBack

Margarida Mestre

"From the presentation and desire for realization to the lived experience, words will convey a perspective, a look at what happened from the beginning of my participation to the three days of presentations in Odemira, in November 2022. How many perspectives could this project be seen from? In what way would its essence change? What is the core, the center, the grand objective? How many objectives are there? I was invited by Madalena Victorino to lead sessions on approaching voice work, word expression, collective voice strength, and vocal practice around language and speech. Among the many ideas inherent in the journey ahead, the desire for many people to speak the Portuguese language in this project year stood out. Other words inspired the exploration of possibilities: "Landing," "Rooting," and "Living." There were also indications of other inspiring words: "The bridge (to establish relations between cultures, languages), the journey, the map, the house, friendship." And so it was. In two trips to Odemira and São Teotónio, I guided experiences around these assumptions, exploring possibilities, vocal ensembles, a first approach (for some) to what singing together could be, giving and listening to our voices ("Dena-Lena," giving and receiving), and, especially in schools, writing and expressing ideas, sensations, and opinions. "The voiceless girl spoke! Taranpreet too, lowered the mask, and for the first time, I saw her beautiful and large teeth. Taranpreet spoke words and short phrases as if she forgot she didn't know Portuguese. Margarida lifted us and made her offering of names with rhythms. Names, rhythms, and circles: is there a more ancient heritage? It crosses cultures, all bodies. Give and Receive. Margarida says We are landing here, estamos a chegar. Each one arrived with those names that carry the distant in their mouths, sounds from other geographies that begin to enter this landscape. We are landing our names, fallen from the sky, offering them. It was the gift we brought with us, like stones from the cave." (Matilde, a session vision in school) Simultaneously, I witnessed the affectionate and generous relationship on both sides. Participants, management, and facilitators, all dedicated to realizing this idea, this collective and human intersection project. Cars transporting people from villages to São Teotónio, comings and goings, with the will to do everything possible to be together. The show will be called BOWING BACK because now we will all bow to each other in relationship as a response, a dialogue, continuous communication. (Madalena Victorino, in an email) The invitation in September was to build a score of voices to be sung by the participants, based on songs/sounds from various cultures converging in this project, forming a kind of chorus integrated into the final performance. Madalena writes to me: This choral manifesto about a possible way of using life is a unique moment when the entire cast comes together to sing, speak, use voice and body simultaneously. Like a sea that is heard and moves to the beat of a pulse that evolves and transforms. A human and vocal organic system with possibly solos, but where the collective voice is the ground and the vital force of the thing. I see a sound dance of images that creates a beat, a pulse that changes like our heart does. There is firmness, belief with gentleness, combativeness, much joy, concentration, mystery, and gravity. And ideas and desires followed: We really want you to explore the musical scales of the East, as you did a bit already, and find these new melodic sounds for us to sing. I also thought about looking for melodies of work, prayer, popular, traditional, classical, from the different cultures we have with us, Ireland, Nepal, Brazil, India, Italy, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Portugal, Punjab, and have them mix and not disappear, show themselves, seeing their identity in part and their fusion, blending in another. Use the quotation and with it can create encounters with other quotations to discover the new way of using these songs. (Madalena, in an email) So I started by searching, by my means and asking participants, for songs from their countries. Traditional songs or those they like to listen to on YouTube or from other sources. These songs reached me, and I built a first approach to the group and this material, always with the present intention of bringing something to their experience that would add information and practice around voice and its possibilities of expression and expansion through the group and in space (already thinking about outdoor spaces where the collective power of voices would be predominant and important given the acoustic characteristics). Rehearsals took place on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I went on Saturdays, picking up Nusaiba (a 14-year-old girl from Bangladesh, who had meanwhile moved to Lisbon but remained connected and participating in the project) in Moscavide, and we would arrive in Odemira around 3 pm. Nusaiba's stories, what I learned from her about Bangladesh, landscapes, family, and her immigration example, landscapes, air temperature. We returned around 9:30 pm and arrived in Lisbon around midnight. On the first day, I took the time I deemed important to establish a deep experience of the voice, an internal sense of sound and its external design in the form of melody, experiences of rhythm and joint harmonies, moments of improvisation, and learning a song. In that first session, I realized that in each 3-hour session, there were countless tasks to do: dances, songs, music, ensembles, movements in space, visual experiences. It quickly became necessary for me to focus on teaching the songs (and versions of them, adapted to the group) and finding solutions for this expression of collective strength, the vibration of the group, the ability to be together, to understand my gestures on one hand and, on the other hand, to listen internally to the group, in order to prepare ourselves to give our best in the time we had. Songs emerged: Nepal, Punjab (through Shoaib's voice), Bangladesh (to which we added a "sister," that is, a segment of an Alentejo traditional song), Pakistan (in Manpreet's voice), songs of Arabic and Sanskrit origins, and the versions were being constructed considering the abilities and ideas, mine and the group's. We didn't forget the Israeli lullaby and the "song of the dead" that we rehearsed or tried to bring to the show but had to give up... Why do we sometimes have to give up on something that initially seemed so important? Aesthetic, time, and respect for the material lovingly provided, and because those who brought it ask us: So, are we not going to sing my song? And why is it difficult to give it up? The final score was complemented by an introduction related to ideas such as the "birth of words," a "language factory," or even the "language bug." This involved throwing multiculturalism into the listening space through the calling of names: Farouk, Nusaiba, Shoaib, Sara, Manpreet, Samuel, Taranpreet, among many others—names that became rhythm for the arrangement of bodies. "You are arriving," says Margarida, "so step forward, occupy the space, and say your name like you are really here" (Matilde, a session vision). There was also a moment for that desired choral force, vital and collective, in harmony. In these 3-hour rehearsals, experiences, repetitions, and learnings unfolded: "Taranpreet's dance, the dance of Punjab and Nepal, samosa carpets, passports, student residence guides, the alphabet, the rap guys..."; fine-tuning directions, making commitments, discovering solutions, experimenting with costumes, listening, and recording sung solos—a frenzy of people, voices, music, and movement, always enthusiastic and with focused attention. How did the team organize to ensure the organization of such a large group? How was the central group formed? The central trio: Madalena, Inês, and Matilde; the cast of 8 professional dancers; Pedro Salvador; How did Banda Chão Maior get involved? How did they work, and what was the relationship between the show and musical composition? Which moments did they choose to create musical vocabulary? What names were given to the themes/scenes? What factors were important to consider to build the show within the time of these rehearsals? At the end, there were rides, cars coming and going with people, without people, everything delivered to their homes, final words, thoughts, and organization for the next stage... What specific type of production was this? How many volunteers were present? On the Tuesday of the presentation week, we arrived for a dress rehearsal in the outdoor space. It was very cold, decisions had to be made quickly so that no one would get sick (and some already were!). It was the first time everything was tried in the real space: wet grass, falling humidity (sweaters, scarves, and hugs, many hugs), voices lost in the bridge and the night space. The large group scattered on the bridge, and the whole was not felt. We realized: a situation to resolve. What's there doesn't work. A dress rehearsal with all due respect for the participants, with Madalena always recalling the big ideas, the reason for everything we were doing. The generous group followed. About 70 people, attentive and expectant, directly impacted by the reality of the outdoor space. How was it for Madalena to deal with what didn't work? What does she think in these moments? How does the cast and the core team constantly transform into a "protection team"? How is this notion always present in people/artists accustomed to dealing with the unknown, and how does this exercise also help them face risk, developing capacities and flexibilities that enable resilience in difficult places and also protect others? How did the project's leadership already create trust that allows this... Banda Chão Maior was already with us at this point, playing and accompanying the whole scene. On November 9, general rehearsal. Rain. The rehearsal took place in the market space, where it usually happened. We took advantage of the time we had together, simulated spaces, imagined streets, fine-tuned scenes, approached the music of Chão Maior, and got even closer to the real show. We knew that the next day was where everything converged. Some situations were not resolved; I believe we trusted in the ensemble, the will of everyone, our ability to understand each other, and the faith brought by the entire story built over the months. We trusted that the night would bring some solutions. And it did. "It is on this ground that words will bloom" (Margarida and Matilde). On the actual day of the show (November 10), it didn't rain. Regarding the Choir, Madalena suggested doing it under the bridge. I tried it on the spot and thought it worked (Mestra's idea!). We will have to pass that information to everyone; I know we are prepared. In the afternoon, we met with the central team, reviewed each scene, fine-tuned solutions, imagined the best, and trusted. We occupied the student residence space, prepared with immense care and taste by the production and several volunteers who had arrived, and lovingly illuminated by Madaíl and Giacomo. Each room has the names of the occupants, hangers with costumes, a chair, a treat. In the common space, there are snacks for everyone, and there are many. There is excitement in the air, nervousness, makeup, hair, scarves, coats, various languages, voice warm-ups, and body warm-ups, coming and going, going up and down... We gather in the market, inform that the choir happens under the bridge; we have to follow and trust the "Maestrina." We know what to do. There are numerous things to organize, numerous spaces to illuminate, small teams in each place... What technical team was this, and how was it organized? How did they think about this event? We warm up our voices and all start, in a circle and in silence, to execute the first meditation. Everyone, in a joint breath, accomplices, protected, and confident. Something in the language was solved in the form of sound and circle (Matilde, a session vision). I write briefly about the shows. How could the show be described? What words enter into what happened in the village of Odemira? What audience was there? What happened each night? I write from the perspective of someone who is on the inside: we prepared as if for a long journey, with stops to observe, feel, listen, think, walk, be together. You can't BE without it being for a good amount of time. And each of those pieces I know was designed with great care and intention. I witnessed and collaborated in the construction of a human structure, in the creation of a good moment in time made from courageous and hopeful ideas. Ideas of a present and future society and community. We would like there to be a collective understanding among everyone and in the direction of the audience we want to confront but also energetically embrace. The world is changing, and we are here to stay... (Madalena Victorino, in an email). I feel and know that this project is made with the care of knowing all the people well. What steps were taken to know the reality of each one? How long did it take to do this—to know their reality and intervene in improving family, social, and political situations that are not yet conducive to "well-being" or "comfort," especially for those coming from outside? But also for those who are "inside," they lived a unique moment of unity, affection, and togetherness that will hardly dissolve. The new songlines of today that draw the new land in which we can live well. (Madalena, in an email). And how is that feeling of togetherness that was created now translated in the present? Is it visible/sensible? The artistic object that we presented, impactful in the heart of the village of Odemira, will remain in all of us, participants and audience, as a transformative event in our lives. In what aspects does it transform? Because everything that happened was the result of creativity, will, organization, the union of forces, ideas, and tremendous respect and generosity from each one towards the other. "... the way the roots of different trees help and communicate underground to survive, to be together." (Madalena, in an email) With enormous gratitude for being part of this ensemble, Margarida Mestre December 2022"

Photography by: João Mariano - 1000 Olhos