Artistic Touch to Village Life

The İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Village Theaters have changed the lives of many people with their successful works. Taking art and theater out of city centers and into rural areas, the Village Theaters have organized 125 performances to date, reaching 17,000 viewers with their volunteer actors. Women who previously hesitated to pass in front of the village coffee house are now performing theater plays in the same village coffee house.

The Village Theaters unit of the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality positively changes the lives of many people living in villages by bringing art to rural areas. Acting with the understanding that ‘there is something everyone can do on stage’, the Village Theaters adapt theatrical disciplines to the existing cultural richness of the villagers and present plays. Theater trainings and performances organized in the rural areas of İzmir have received intense interest. Within the framework of regular theater activities established in the last two years, training is currently provided at 11 locations. The Village Theaters provide education in many villages of İzmir, including Bergama, Foça, Dikili, Ödemiş, Tire, and Urla, and have organized 125 performances to date, reaching 17,000 viewers.

No selection is made to participate in the theaters; anyone interested in art can find a place for themselves on stage. There is a significant interest in the Village Theaters’ trainings in Urkmez, especially from women living in the village.

The healing power of art

Vedat Murat Güzel, the coordinator and director of the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Village Theaters, stated that the interest in the theaters is more than they expected, saying, “We think we have opened a new area in the art of theater. Because we adapt theatrical disciplines to the lifestyles of the villagers. By embracing their culture, traditions, customs, and practices, we try to enable them to act without playing roles on stage. We are creating a significant change through art. I am very happy as I observe the effects of this situation on them. I have the opportunity to directly observe and experience the healing power of art.”

They perform theater in the coffee house they once hesitated to pass

The intense participation of women in the Village Theaters draws attention. Women living in rural areas find an opportunity to participate more actively in social life thanks to this project. The courage given by the ability of women who realize the transformative power of theater to express themselves on stage also reflects in their daily lives. Ayşe Duruk, who participates in the trainings as a theater actor in the Urkmez Village Theater, described the daily life in their village, which has changed due to the influence of theater, with the following words: “Seven years ago, they said a theater would open in our village, and I said let me go and see. I’m glad I went. I am very happy thanks to theater. In the past, women in our village hesitated to pass in front of the coffee house. Now we are performing theater in the coffee house. These are the beauties that theater has brought us.”

“On stage, we become the voice of women”

Gülay Erdoğan, another volunteer theater actor who has been actively involved in theater for over ten years, also stated, “Theater has added a lot to me. Thanks to theater, we have been everywhere. It never crossed my mind to go abroad. We went on a tour to Munich, we received awards. Theater has given me a lot. I wish everyone would engage with this art. We invite women who have never seen theater to theater. We become the voice of women. We shout from the stage what women cannot shout.”

“Theater healed me”

Emine Kır, who stated that she started her theater journey very late, said, “I do not have literacy. I am currently 74 years old. I was bored, so I went to watch my theater friends and participated in the trainings. I stepped onto the stage after I turned 70. I really liked the stage. I haven’t come down from the stage for four years. When I came here, I had illnesses. Many of my illnesses have healed. I thank our Metropolitan Municipality, those who provided this opportunity, those who made us so happy.”

“Once you taste the dust of the stage, you can’t give it up”

Müjgân Hasdemir, one of the Village Theater actors, stated that she previously attended Turkish Classical Music courses and has not left the theater stages for about ten years. Hasdemir said, “Theater is an educational place; theater is instructive. Once you taste the dust of the stage, you can’t give it up. I am 84 years old, and my life has become beautiful thanks to theater. I lost my husband five months ago; I wish there were theater at nights so that I wouldn’t be alone. The only thing I want from women is to be strong and participate in art. Women should come here as long as they are strong.”