Independent theatre is being hindered

Umit GÜÇLÜ

Cihangir Atölye Sahnesi (CAS) is an independent organization that combines acting education with theatrical production. Founded by actors and theater directors Muhammet Uzuner and Arzu Gamze Kılınç, this collective sees acting not only as a professional endeavor but also as an ethical and social responsibility. We spoke with Uzuner about the transformations in the theater world and their production of "Elephants and Ants," adapted from Yaşar Kemal's play and directed by Kılınç.

What motivated you most when you founded CAS? What do you see today when you look back? Our longing for players who are genuine, honest, connected to society, and act with a collective understanding is what really drove us. We wanted to see acting not as a profession, but as a research ground for a more qualified person and a more qualified life. Today, we see that we have achieved this goal through the feedback we receive on the games we produce, the lives we create, and the way we create games. CAS now trains its own instructors and technical staff; the system is self-sufficient.

You offer a free conservatory education, how do you balance talent and equal opportunities?

Yes, our conservatory is completely free. We've encountered many talented young people before, but they lacked financial resources. Based on this understanding, we've established a system where no fees are charged at any stage, including the application process. There are no obligations or penalties at the end of the training. Our only expectation is that they become genuine actors. This aligns with the fundamental philosophy of CAS.

In your acting training, you also emphasize the social responsibility of the individual. How does this approach translate onto the stage?

We believe that "there can be no healthy individual in an unhealthy society." Acting is a profession that requires building relationships with both the individual and their environment. Someone who can establish honest and sincere relationships, first with themselves and then with their environment, realizes they are not alone on stage. We embrace an approach to acting that is based on intellectual foundations rather than emotional delusions. Because actors must bear responsibility not only on stage but also in all aspects of society.

You describe theatre as a “collective life.” How does this collective structure survive in an individualistic world?

Those who come to CAS encounter a different way of life. This is a major transformation for young people raised with an individualistic perspective. The concept of freedom, in particular, is revisited here. What does absolute freedom of expression mean? What does it take to live with a sense of community? These are questions that are part of our daily lives. Acting is also nourished by these discussions. Someone who hasn't cleaned their own table at home struggles at first, but eventually adapts to the collective structure. This is directly reflected in the relationships on stage.

How should the sustainability of independent theatres be ensured?

There's a curious situation in Türkiye. As independent, non-commercial theaters, we're producing theater despite the state and capital. Far from supporting it, they're obstructing it. Commercial theater organizations dependent on capital receive significant support from the state, especially local governments. How do they get it? For example, municipalities allocate their theaters to plays already staged in large, commercial venues. In other words, those with capital support them. This is because they prioritize occupancy rates. In other words, the municipality acts like a corporation. However, it should have a vision that introduces the local audience to diverse theater plays and groups.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality is taking a step by purchasing a play, but this is creating a "free theater" addiction in audiences. As for the state, there's no support whatsoever. There's no support from the Ministry of Culture. A theater law is urgently needed. Today, independent theaters are struggling with the burdens of rent, taxes, VAT, and insurance.

The state still hasn't grasped that art is a social necessity. Our taxes are turning into obstacles. However, the public should be directly engaging with art producers, listening to their problems, and developing solutions. Unfortunately, a culture and arts policy in Türkiye either doesn't exist or isn't being consciously formulated. Public officials have always viewed art as a threat; they've never believed in it, nor have they wanted to. We've been experiencing this at its most severe level, especially recently. The state shouldn't consider itself superior to the citizenry. Today, neither municipalities nor the government have a single authority that theater artists can address. The public should offer not only support but also vision; it should open national and international doors.

You're opening the new season with Yaşar Kemal's adaptation of "Elephants and Ants." What kind of journey awaits the audience?

Our play is an adaptation of Yaşar Kemal's novel "The Sultan of the Elephants and the Red-Bearded Lame Ant." Directed by Arzu Gamze Kılınç, it's a play in which the author depicts our world through the politicization of the animal kingdom. It could be described as a social panorama: servile individuals, attempts to climb the social ladder, vested interests masquerading as mediators, the intoxication of power, the blindness of power, the crushing of the opposition... It's all there. It's a play that rekindles the hope we struggle to sustain today and gives us strength. One of the most important aspects of the play is its critique not only of the government but also of the people who see their relationship with it as self-serving.

We've seen you in the cinema for a long time. You've been on stage more in recent years. Have you moved away from cinema?

I love cinema, and of course, I haven't abandoned it. Theater and cinema are the fields where we practice our professions. But it's rare for good work to emerge from the pit the country has fallen into. Few scripts are produced anymore, or they never see the light of day. Making a film used to be a great act of courage, especially financially, but now it's become a miracle. In fact, independent theater and independent cinema face very similar challenges. But I must say that one of the problems—in terms of filmmaking—is the lack of creative thinking, and the ideas generated don't touch our social lives. Filmmakers get a little bogged down in their microcosms.