October 2016
I was born in Istanbul, on October 4th. The year I was born, according to what they say, it snowed so much in Istanbul that even the life has stopped. Meanwhile October 4th is also the World Animal Day. Anyway, what I was saying? Since my infancy, I never slept. During my babyhood… Just kidding. I am not going to tell you about these.
My life with full of physical activity is started with rhythmic gymnastics at a very young age. Then it is followed by classical ballet which I continued consistently after our gymnastics teacher left us. After a hardworking 10 years that I spend at Nilay Ballet School, I accomplished my ballet training and received my instructor certificate from Ministry of National Education. Meantime, I got accepted to the Istanbul University State Conservatory Theater Department in 2006.
During my college years, I was always making researches about the performative works that I always have dreamed of doing. The curiosity that I have about the connection between theatre and Japan discipline, which started after I start Aikido just before the graduation from the conservatory in 2011, has made me mail Tadashi Suzuki community. Then I found myself in Japan, attending their workshops. If you ask me did it satisfy my curiosity? Definitely! Yes indeed!
After I came back from Japan, I got a phone call from my friend about auditions of Antigone. Then I found myself in The Antigone play at the Istanbul State Theaters. It followed by The Miser play that I act, again at the Istanbul State Theaters. Meanwhile, I had the opportunity to be part of the several TV series, some of which were short, some a littler longer lets say, but none of them lasted long. These things about luck.
When it comes to the summer of 2013, I got a phone call from my dear professor Zişan Uğurlu. She was going to do a workshop in New York. After spending some time about how would I go to New York, I made it to be there. While accomplishing the amazing one month long workshop with full of new perspectives that I gained, I also realized the fact that I forgot all my dreams and plans within the daily rush in Istanbul. Life was going just fine and the charm of the comfort zone was pulling me in. With a decision I made there, I thought it was the right time to go to the Ecole Internationale de Theater Jacques Lecoq, the physical theater school that I researched while I was at the conservatory and always kept in my plans. Before its too late and without getting older, I packed all of my stuff, left everything as it was and without knowing French, I found myself in Paris, studying Lecoq.
Paris had been an adventures just by itself, who knows maybe one day I'll collect into a book of these. After earning, learning and experiencing things beyond the imagination, I came back to Istanbul where I live in 2016. Since my return, I have given all my focus to aikido. It is going just fine, actually really good.
I hope we will start doing theater with friends soon, I think I will continue from where I left off.
I mean, that's how it should be, right?
It should.
Well, I hope it will...
Simel.