João Paulo Seara Cardoso
João Paulo Seara Cardoso, of Marionetas do Porto and the director of EXIT, was also responsible for MISERIA in which he was the solo performer. In this well-known Portuguese tale, an old ironmonger tricks death and is condemned to eternal life. The characters, including an itinerant monk, the devil, and the angel of death were 9" tall realistically rendered figures. They were delicately manipulated on a meticulously crafted and lighted tabletop setting that depicted a tree one of whose branches reached into the old man’s stone dwelling through a window. Fire, brought on stage by the performer on his first entrance, was an important element of the old man’s work by providing warmth and cooked food. The constant presence of smoke and live flames also provided a visual fanfare announcing the arrival of Satan. Mr. Cardoso augmented his masterful manipulation with a multi-hued vocal range that was a source of powerful characterizations that never abandoned the coarse rural ambience when the supernatural elements of the story emerged. Even after Mr. Cardoso carried away the lamp on his final exit, the glow of this beautiful piece remained with the gratified audience.
