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In this series of interviews we try to get to know the artists who were the artists of İstanbul Fringe Festival in 2022. Our second guest is Przemysław Błaszczak from Studio Kokyu.   Ayse Draz, Art Unlimited Performing Arts Editor & Mehmet Kerem Ozel, Writer © Magdalena Mądra What is the essence of performance in your opinion? It is very interesting question. If you would ask me what the essence of the theatre is, I would probably answer, a meeting. Meeting where I have something important to tell you, to transmit to you, and you come to meet me with the openness to hear, to receive, to get inspired, to follow my story. But this question is in fact, what is the essence of performance, so my answer will be conscious doing. Performance is a certain structure of actions, precise, good (in my opinion) if not accidental. As I understand performance, it is also well prepared. Then, when it is happening, we can witness a performance of the doers – we see them inside of precise st...

In this series of interviews we try to get to know the artists who were the artists of İstanbul Fringe Festival in 2022. Our first guest is Ayako Takahashi from Ayalis in Motion.  Ayse Draz, Art Unlimited Performing Arts Editor & Mehmet Kerem Ozel, Writer What is the essence of performance in your opinion? The essence of performance for me is to connect the others; connect to myself, the fellow dancers, the audience, and the environment. When I think about performing, I often focus on becoming transparent to minimize my ego. When we become transparent and minimize our ego, our bodies on stage can become simple vessels. The audience can come into our bodies and experience their own journey through our bodies and performances. I am not interested in conveying my messages so much, but I am hoping that the audience will experience themselves using (witnessing) our bodies. Of course, I have my motivation and theme in each piece I create, however, forcing people to understand what I...

Organized by GalataPerform and being the first playwriting festival in Turkey, the New Text Festival was held for the tenth time this year between November 1st and 28th, 2021, with a hybrid structure focused on the theme of "Breath", both in the physical space and digitally. We hosted Joan Yago in the last of our conversations with international playwrights whose plays were translated into Turkish and staged and read at the festival. Ayşe Draz & Mehmet Kerem Özel What is the essence of good play/playwriting in your opinion?   Wow, I am not sure at all. But it probably has something to do with the fact of knowing what do you want to do to the audience, what do you want to happen to them, and then work hard thru your writing until make sure that this is working in the way you want. Do you believe in the transformative power of art? How? I want to believe. Otherwise why would I keep doing that? I know that theatre has the power of “lighting the spark”: a show can make you do...