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ANKARA: Theaters Star In Own Drama

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  • ANKARA: Theaters Star In Own Drama

    THEATERS STAR IN OWN DRAMA

    Hurriyet
    Dec 15 2008
    Turkey

    ISTANBUL - The theather mapping project will mark the theaters of
    Istanbul from the Tanzimat period, a time of modernization in the
    mid-19th century of the Ottoman Empire. This academic project would
    document a rapidly disappearing legacy that the closing of theaters
    has hurt theater life.

    A new project that will map the theaters of Istanbul from the Tanzimat
    period a time of modernization in the mid-19th century of the Ottoman
    Empire, began last week as part of Istanbul's European Capital of
    Culture projects for 2010.

    "A tradition of parting curtains for the future: Istanbul Theatre Map"
    is one of many performing arts projects that will be an important part
    of the 2010 cultural capital activities, said Istanbul 2010 European
    Capital of Culture Agency's Performance Arts Director Dikmen Gurun.

    Gurun said their department had organized a 2008 Theater Festival
    as part of a inter-universities theater festival, and were planning
    a Turkey's Universities Theater Festival in 2009 and a European
    Universities Theater Festival in 2010. She said the department hoped
    these programs would become permanent.

    On the theater-mapping project, Gurun said the closing of theaters
    had hurt theater life in the global city of Istanbul and this academic
    project would document a rapidly disappearing legacy.

    She said Istanbul was introduced to western-style theater at the
    beginning of the 19th century, in that period theatre buildings were
    constructed and foreign theater companies were invited to perform
    in them.

    Gurun said old theater buildings were so rare, they were almost
    nonexistent and theaters built during the Republican period had ceased
    to be functional.

    Theater fires The project is a serious attempt to identify, showcase
    and protect theaters, a critical element of a city's culture and
    art. Gurun said they will comb areas where theater buildings had been
    concentrated, such as Beyoglu and its environs, Å~^iÅ~_li, Ortaköy,
    Dolmabahce, Å~^ehzadebaÅ~_ı-Direkleraras& #xC4;±, including Aksaray and
    Fatih, on the European side and Kadiköy, Uskudar on the Anatolian
    side.

    They are going to research the title deeds, registries and archive
    records of the locations to establish whether there were theaters there
    and will use Refik Ahmet Sevegil and Metin And's books to lead them
    to identify theaters from the time of the Tanzimat period up to today.

    Gurun said Istanbul University Literature Faculty's Theatre Critique
    and Dramaturgy Department supported the project and had created a
    team to assist. The project commended two months ago and will be
    completed in 2010.

    The project will combine field work and archival research on theater
    halls and buildings and comb newspapers to uncover the company's and
    artists that performed, a theater's repertoire and audience profiles
    that would show the impact of each theater on the city's culture
    and arts.

    Many of the historic theater buildings were destroyed by fire, Gurun
    said, and those that remained were difficult to locate, some were in
    narrow passages and others have been converted into movie theaters.

    English translation The data will be collected into a book that will
    be translated into English. The book will contain old photographs,
    pictures of locations, various documents and architectural drawings.

    "The cosmopolitan culture of the city will be revealed, particularly
    when we analyze the Beyoglu theaters frequented by British, French,
    and Italian performers on tour and the Direklerarası-Å~^ehzadebaÅ~_& #xC4;±
    theaters which raised Turkish and Armenian artists," Gurun said.

    "Today, theaters in many cities around the world are being preserved
    due to the results of similar research. This project will overcome our
    own shortcomings in this area. There has been previous research done
    on theaters before, but ours is deeper and more detailed," she added.

    Gurun said they wanted to identify theaters that had shut or were
    on the verge of closing, make a new generation aware of the value of
    theater and embrace its past and present, and reinforce the permanence
    of theater in all its forms. She said she hoped the research would
    remain a permanent archive that would contribute to the academic and
    cultural elements of theater life.

    --Boundary_(ID_roU88vSl4aCZwbDCE71n0g)--
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