He knows Teatro das Figuras like few others and has already played several roles within the structure of this cultural space. Now, Gil Silva has a new challenge ahead of him, as delegate director of Teatro Municipal de Faro (TMF), a stage where it promises to continue the work that is already being done, but also to invest heavily in attracting more young audiences.
Gil Silva was the guest of the radio program Impressions, powered by Sul Informação and by Rádio Universitária do Algarve RUA FM (102.7 FM), where he spoke about his vision for Teatro das Figuras, but also about the current situation of this structure, which began as autonomous, but which is now a municipal service of the City Council. Faro.
A little more than a week after being appointed to the position, Gil Silva assured that his management will be guided “by continuity, taking into account the work of Joaquim Guerreiro [former CEO, who died in September] was very good and efficient».
«But I also want to ensure the consolidation of human resources at Teatro das Figuras and invest in programming, because I think we are at a stage where a leap is needed, which includes supporting local structures, encouraging co-productions and attracting new public,” he added.
The main “target” of Gil Silva, in the strategy that will be implemented, are the young people, «a very difficult audience to capture».
“Young audiences have a very different experience from previous generations. They are more immediate and have other ways and tools to see what interests them, such as video and digital. What we will have to give this audience will have to go from there, although, of course, it will have to go further. There is a kind of show that they adhere a lot to, the stand up comedy", said.
The idea is to program «offers that make them feel good, while investing in the educational service, to give them tools so that they can read, enjoy and enjoy the shows they are going to see».
These will be short-term steps. For the future, Gil Silva wants a Teatro das Figuras capable of going beyond the borders of the municipality and the region.
“I think that the future should also pass that way. Right now, Teatro das Figuras is not just a physical place, it is already a brand that has been running around the country. We will each time have to assert ourselves and be a reference at the national level and also at the international level, although this already forces us to have other means and skills», he revealed.
The new managing director of Teatro das Figuras demonstrates complete confidence in the potential of the “house” he manages to grow and in the team associated with it, whose dedication and competence he praised. Even because you know what TMF is.
“I've been here since the beginning, I'm one of the original team's resistant ones. Apart from me, there are only three other people who have been there since 2005. I entered through a competition, to occupy the position of Front of Home. From there, I progressed and took on other positions. In 2008, I went into production and, in 2013, I temporarily assumed the direction, between Anabela Afonso's departure and Joaquim Guerreiro's arrival. At that time, I took over the programming, which I have been responsible for since then», he framed.
Gil Silva was, in this way, witness of the trajectory of a cultural structure that went through good times and less brilliant ones. And one of the most remarkable moments was the extinction of the municipal company TMF, passing the theater to the sphere of direct management of the Chamber of Faro.
“As a municipal company, we had total autonomy. We had our biggest shareholder, which was the Chamber of Faro, but we could decide autonomously. As municipal services, we have our own budget, which we manage, but we have lost, in legal terms, this autonomy», he explained.
This situation, at the beginning, generated some uncertainty, as there was a need to integrate the employees of the TMF company into the structure of the Chamber.
But, since the end of 2013, and after the “shock” of moving from a municipal company to a municipal service had passed, there was a stabilization, taking into account that «almost all those who worked at TMF are now City Hall employees».
«At this point, the Theater is alive, it's strong. Obviously there are still some gaps, which we are trying to solve, namely in terms of human resources – which is probably the biggest problem we have -, but we are working towards that”, he revealed.
On the other hand, since 2014 there has been an increase in investment for shows, «otherwise we wouldn't be able to offer the programming we offer today».
This is also possible due to the “paradigm shift” in the programming of this cultural structure for some years now.
«Nowadays, mainly in more commercial shows, we share the ticket office, which, in a way, takes away the risk and allows us to better manage the budget», explained Gil Silva.
In other words, the Algarve public will be able to continue to count on Teatro das Figuras to bring renowned national and foreign artists, but also to make known what is done around here.
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