Gazete Oksijen / Young theatre artists are coming

PSM Atölye, established to bring new talents to the theater community, introduced its third-year graduates with short plays they staged themselves.

The production quality of our plays is always above a certain standard now. We have very talented actors and invaluable, creative artists behind the scenes. The audience loves and wants to watch good plays. They are more affected when they encounter a good story that touches their lives and comes from this society.

However, it is often said that we have not been able to train enough playwrights for years. There is ongoing debate about the preference for translated plays over solid original plays. Fortunately, we have seen a relative increase in local plays in recent years.

PSM Atölye, which has significantly contributed to Istanbul's cultural life and has been strengthened by Mey|Diageo's corporate support in the last two years, was launched three years ago to meet this need.

The support of Mey|Diageo, a global brand with commercial activities in 180 countries formed through an international partnership, is very important. At PSM Atölye, expert trainers provide education in dramatic writing, theater directing, and production to carefully selected students each year. The 19 students who graduated this year staged four original plays they created entirely on their own at Zorlu PSM 100% Studio last week.

New Ideas, Brilliant Narratives

The education team, including Serdar Biliş, one of the advisors and trainers of PSM Atölye and the director of plays like "Saatleri Ayarlama Enstitüsü," "Aşık Shakespeare," and "Aydınlıkevler," shared their students' excitement in staging these four plays, each lasting about 30 minutes.

One of these plays, "Kısık Ateşte Düdüklü Tencere," tells a 'kitchen story,' a theme that has become fashionable in recent years in the TV and film world. In the busy kitchen of a popular restaurant, the chef cannot focus on his work. He faces his family history and destiny just at that moment. With its successful timing, continuous pace, and sarcastic dialogues, it was the most memorable one. "Artık Hiç Geçmeyecek," which focuses on the struggles of three young women living in Istanbul, Izmir, and Ankara with societal, spiritual, and personal issues, is a tragicomedy that also touches on the increasingly important housing issue today. The struggles of three interconnected women with similar problems are depicted through very familiar situations.

"Yüzyılın Oyunu" looks at the evening of a young theater actor who, after a successful premiere, takes a fast-paced tour through the world of contemporary theater and TV series, blending dreams, delusions, and realities. In "Kuzguncuk Sular Altında," a film crew trying to make a documentary about interesting and historic house doors stumbles upon a completely different story in the house of an elderly woman living alone.

These four short plays were enjoyed one after another.

Filiz Ova, General Manager of Zorlu PSM, provided information that PSM Atölye has graduated 69 students with 22 plays so far. Applications for the new season will start soon. Young people who want to participate should frequently check zorlupsm.com/psm-akademi.