Ipek Ozguven, Turkey
Currently based in Istanbul. Graduated from Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle University “Theatre Studies” BA program and then obtained MA Acting degree from University of East London with “How does an actor’s cultural identity inform the creation of a performance based on the theme of prostitution?” thesis. Currently doing PhD studies on Theatre in Istanbul State Conservatory and writing a thesis on actor’s body usage techniques.
Started as an actress and currently working in Istanbul Aydın University, Drama and Acting Department as an academic.
Attended several workshops in various fields of theatre and also leaded workshops on the subject of “Actor and Identity”.
Wrote two collaborative plays and directed one of them. Presented articles in international conferences.
Translated plays from French and English to Turkish.
Embodiment of universal emotions
Theatre is an embodied art form. Learning and further on, “meaning” is experienced and embodied in the process of performance making. People can mean not only “verbally” but also with their postures, movements and gestures.
Identity is about belonging to some characteristics which make you same with or different from the others. Accepting that our bodies are signifiers of our culture, to take this further, the characteristics of the actor’s culture is on stage, even before representing anything. This is the pure presence of the actor.
In this workshop, our starting point will be to find out some universal emotions. How does these universal emotions appear in our daily lives? Do their appereance conditions change? We will observe if these emotions, by the end of the exercises and improvisations, will show up any differences in different bodies. If it is a universal emotion, why do we confront with variations? Does one understand what another from a different culture means with her/his body? The exercises and the improvisations will be analised in performative, cognitive, emotinoal and communicative dimensions to find out if our explicit bodies are the representation of our cultural markings.