The Sadri Alışık Theater celebrates 11th anniversary
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 30, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - For almost a dozen years, the Sadri Alışık Culture Center has been providing education in cinema, narration and speaking, dubbing, authorship, conservatory exam preparation, singing and personal development and diction, plus acting
The Sadri Alışık Theater, which has a history of hosting well-known actors, workshops and student productions, has just celebrated its 11th year at the "Kuçuk Sahne" (Small Stage) in Beyoğlu.
The Kuçuk Sahne first opened its doors in 1951 with "Of Mice and Men," a dramatization of John Steinbeck’s novel of the same name directed by Muhsin Ertuğrul. Sadri Alışık, Munir Özkul and Şukran Güngör gave outstanding performances in the production. After Alışık died, the Kuçuk Sahne’s name was changed to Kuçuk Sahne-Sadri Alışık Theater; in the 11 years since then, it has put on various productions for both adults and children and hosted well-known Turkish and foreign actors.
German actor Johannes Gali was the guest performer at the theater in April. Gali made a name for himself in European theater and in the cultural scene, becoming known as "Clown Gali" in the 1980s. Gali has a particular interest in fairy tales and myths, as they relate transformational processes with clear and simple symbols. Since 2001, he has been facilitating training for large international companies on the topic of intercultural communication and body language. He also carries out projects sponsored by the European Commission on the theme of "Intercultural Understanding and Cultural Exchange through Fairy Tales and Myths." Applying his method of using theater as a tool for transformation, Gali also heads a theater project working with street kids in China, Latin America and Europe. This charitable endeavor is part of a multi-pronged series of projects in which theater is used as a tool to bridge cultures through sharing knowledge in various foreign languages.
Greek guest director in May
This month, the Sadri Alışık Theater hosted Greek director and actor Evdokimos Tsolakidis, who has been teaching improvisation and acting techniques in Greece, Egypt, London, Rome, Mexico and Morocco for almost a dozen years and has performed modern and classic drama as a director and actor in Greece, and elsewhere in Europe. Tsolakidis has also been behind a revamping of how actors are trained in Greece.
Here in Istanbul, the actor/director held a workshop with students from the Sadri Alışık Culture Center, or SAKM, at Kuçuk Sahne. After 11 hours of coaching, the students put on an entertaining performance as part of the workshop and both audience and students had an enjoyable time. Afterwards, the students had an opportunity to speak with Kerem Alışık, the founder of the culture center, and learn more about the students, their education and international activities.
Sadri Alışık Culture Center
SAKM was formed after a brainstorming session while Kerem Alışık, Meral Oğuz and Gülşen Tunçer were waiting for the matinee performance of their play "Ağir Roman." As they waited, Tunçer asked why they did not host theatrical education at the Kuçuk Sahne. The idea prompted Kerem Alışık to go into action to realize it and SAKM has now completed its fourth year.
The culture center is located in Istanbul’s Cihangir neighborhood at a different location from the theater stage in the Atlas Passage. Workshops and courses are given in Cihangir, but the plays are staged at Kuçuk Sahne. The students will perform their plays at Kuçuk Sahne in the third SAKM Youth Festival, running between June 15 and 27. Theater groups from other colleges will also participate in the festival with their own plays, all of which will be free of charge.
Additionally, a symposium on "Theatrical Education in Turkey" has just been staged at Sadri Alışık Theater. The event was held in honor of Muhsin Ertuğrul, 30 years after his death, and faculty members at the conservatory discussed issues related to theatrical education. The opening was presided over by Dr. Sevda Şener and Dr. Özdemir Nutku. The papers presented and the discussions held will be published as a book in the future.
SAKM founder Kerem Alışık’s interest in the art of theater was sparked by his grandfather, who was a governor in İzmir and personally interested in art. Theater and art run in the family Kerem Alışık’s father, Sadri Alışık, was a great actor famous in Turkish cinema history for his role as "Turist Ömer"; his mother, Çolpan İlhan, is also a great actress and his mother’s brother was a great poet, Atilla İlhan. In addition to acting, Kerem Alışık also writes poems, including an intriguing verse about a girl he had never met. "I saw her in Beşiktaş and I wanted to write a poem to her that was true," he said. "You can write a poem to a child whose name you don’t know or to a prisoner in jail; you can write a poem to anyone and everyone. This is a measure of how you affect yourself. You see someone you don’t know just for three or four times and he or she has an effect on you. It makes you think different ideas. Or, you could see a person who got wet in the air and caught a cold ... In short, you can be inspired from anything that affects you inside. Every moment in life gives you a reason to write."
As for SAKM’s upcoming projects this year, there will be a television series and a movie project, with the actors for the latter selected from among the culture center’s students.
SAKM provides career opportunities both in and outside of its structure for its students, who can act at Sadri Alışık Theater. Eleven students have taken part in this year’s play, "Yeşil Papağan Ltd," with famous actors such as Çolpan İlhan, Ahmet Saraçoğlu and Yusuf Atala. The students can also take part in television projects through an agreement SAKM signed with the Tumay Özokur Casting Agency. The courses and programs can be found on the SAKM Web site and interviews are carried out personally with applicants. Students are admitted to the course according to the interview process. There is no age limit on participation in the courses Ğ anyone, whether 7 or 77, can join. The course programs are scheduled for weekends and weekday hours to suit people who work.
In addition to acting, SAKM provides education in cinema, narration and speaking, dubbing, authorship, preparation for conservatory exams, singing and personal development and diction. Some of its teachers are Kerem Alışık, Çolpan İlhan, Gulşen Tunçer, Kemal Başar, Toron Karacaoğlu and Tunçer Çucenoğlu, among others. For more detailed information, visit the SAKM Web site at: http://www.sakm.net.
The Kuçuk Sahne first opened its doors in 1951 with "Of Mice and Men," a dramatization of John Steinbeck’s novel of the same name directed by Muhsin Ertuğrul. Sadri Alışık, Munir Özkul and Şukran Güngör gave outstanding performances in the production. After Alışık died, the Kuçuk Sahne’s name was changed to Kuçuk Sahne-Sadri Alışık Theater; in the 11 years since then, it has put on various productions for both adults and children and hosted well-known Turkish and foreign actors.
German actor Johannes Gali was the guest performer at the theater in April. Gali made a name for himself in European theater and in the cultural scene, becoming known as "Clown Gali" in the 1980s. Gali has a particular interest in fairy tales and myths, as they relate transformational processes with clear and simple symbols. Since 2001, he has been facilitating training for large international companies on the topic of intercultural communication and body language. He also carries out projects sponsored by the European Commission on the theme of "Intercultural Understanding and Cultural Exchange through Fairy Tales and Myths." Applying his method of using theater as a tool for transformation, Gali also heads a theater project working with street kids in China, Latin America and Europe. This charitable endeavor is part of a multi-pronged series of projects in which theater is used as a tool to bridge cultures through sharing knowledge in various foreign languages.
Greek guest director in May
This month, the Sadri Alışık Theater hosted Greek director and actor Evdokimos Tsolakidis, who has been teaching improvisation and acting techniques in Greece, Egypt, London, Rome, Mexico and Morocco for almost a dozen years and has performed modern and classic drama as a director and actor in Greece, and elsewhere in Europe. Tsolakidis has also been behind a revamping of how actors are trained in Greece.
Here in Istanbul, the actor/director held a workshop with students from the Sadri Alışık Culture Center, or SAKM, at Kuçuk Sahne. After 11 hours of coaching, the students put on an entertaining performance as part of the workshop and both audience and students had an enjoyable time. Afterwards, the students had an opportunity to speak with Kerem Alışık, the founder of the culture center, and learn more about the students, their education and international activities.
Sadri Alışık Culture Center
SAKM was formed after a brainstorming session while Kerem Alışık, Meral Oğuz and Gülşen Tunçer were waiting for the matinee performance of their play "Ağir Roman." As they waited, Tunçer asked why they did not host theatrical education at the Kuçuk Sahne. The idea prompted Kerem Alışık to go into action to realize it and SAKM has now completed its fourth year.
The culture center is located in Istanbul’s Cihangir neighborhood at a different location from the theater stage in the Atlas Passage. Workshops and courses are given in Cihangir, but the plays are staged at Kuçuk Sahne. The students will perform their plays at Kuçuk Sahne in the third SAKM Youth Festival, running between June 15 and 27. Theater groups from other colleges will also participate in the festival with their own plays, all of which will be free of charge.
Additionally, a symposium on "Theatrical Education in Turkey" has just been staged at Sadri Alışık Theater. The event was held in honor of Muhsin Ertuğrul, 30 years after his death, and faculty members at the conservatory discussed issues related to theatrical education. The opening was presided over by Dr. Sevda Şener and Dr. Özdemir Nutku. The papers presented and the discussions held will be published as a book in the future.
SAKM founder Kerem Alışık’s interest in the art of theater was sparked by his grandfather, who was a governor in İzmir and personally interested in art. Theater and art run in the family Kerem Alışık’s father, Sadri Alışık, was a great actor famous in Turkish cinema history for his role as "Turist Ömer"; his mother, Çolpan İlhan, is also a great actress and his mother’s brother was a great poet, Atilla İlhan. In addition to acting, Kerem Alışık also writes poems, including an intriguing verse about a girl he had never met. "I saw her in Beşiktaş and I wanted to write a poem to her that was true," he said. "You can write a poem to a child whose name you don’t know or to a prisoner in jail; you can write a poem to anyone and everyone. This is a measure of how you affect yourself. You see someone you don’t know just for three or four times and he or she has an effect on you. It makes you think different ideas. Or, you could see a person who got wet in the air and caught a cold ... In short, you can be inspired from anything that affects you inside. Every moment in life gives you a reason to write."
As for SAKM’s upcoming projects this year, there will be a television series and a movie project, with the actors for the latter selected from among the culture center’s students.
SAKM provides career opportunities both in and outside of its structure for its students, who can act at Sadri Alışık Theater. Eleven students have taken part in this year’s play, "Yeşil Papağan Ltd," with famous actors such as Çolpan İlhan, Ahmet Saraçoğlu and Yusuf Atala. The students can also take part in television projects through an agreement SAKM signed with the Tumay Özokur Casting Agency. The courses and programs can be found on the SAKM Web site and interviews are carried out personally with applicants. Students are admitted to the course according to the interview process. There is no age limit on participation in the courses Ğ anyone, whether 7 or 77, can join. The course programs are scheduled for weekends and weekday hours to suit people who work.
In addition to acting, SAKM provides education in cinema, narration and speaking, dubbing, authorship, preparation for conservatory exams, singing and personal development and diction. Some of its teachers are Kerem Alışık, Çolpan İlhan, Gulşen Tunçer, Kemal Başar, Toron Karacaoğlu and Tunçer Çucenoğlu, among others. For more detailed information, visit the SAKM Web site at: http://www.sakm.net.