20 March World Children's Theater Announcements

INTERNATIONAL STATEMENT (Malala Yousafzai & Guila Clara Kessous)

ME, YOU, THEM

Theater is vital for children, starting from the time when they are most sensitive.

Dramatic art gives us the opportunity to step outside of our family and connect with the society we live in for the first time, and it does this through typical childhood “pretend” moments.

"Pretend to be" is essential for the development of the child's imagination; so that the child can imagine a rich and elaborate future for himself, with other people…

There is an "I" in the theater that "plays" or acts as if things were really happening. Thus, “they”, the audience, think that what is being played is real. And then we reach "you".

me, you, they

This unity of "me and you" on the stage is so strong that it almost creates "we" in a secret language. Participating in theatrical action as a spectator, or, as the great Brazilian theater actor Augusto Boal says, as a spectator/actor, is to relate and accept as if, just as we did in our childhood.

The child realizes that this universe exists through a game played with reality. And a child learns only through small moments of experience because he is not yet aware of patterns, rules and dogmas.

I/you/they…

Then another person, what adults call the "other," comes on stage to play with "me." “They” have to believe in the beautiful, they have to dream and be taken away from the reality created by the rest of humanity. These "they" don't shout war cries, they try to understand the world. “They” have to sit in silence, anchored in this dazzling light created by me and you. It is such a perfectly balanced relationship that even the violence of one against the other is "not real". And all this “faking” and this “faking” is the most fun educational process a child can experience.

“I/you/they…”

It's like a bit of magic – “Abra-ka-dabra” or “one, two, three – right-full!”

In this way, the child can have more beautiful dreams and the adults can understand better….

If the process doesn't work in reverse...

Because ASSITEJ understands this situation, we have the honor of being an ambassador for hope, youth, arts and education, and we proudly celebrate it. We hope that, with our combined strength, we can pass on to future generations the importance of learning through the art of theatre, to support a world built on peace, respect and social justice.

Translation: Özhegan Uştuk (Assitej Türkiye Center)

NATIONAL STATEMENT (Salih Kalyon)

Hello Dear Friends!

Today we celebrate '20 March World Children's and Youth Theaters' day. Spanish poet and playwright Lope de Vega described the theater as follows; 'Theater consists of three planks, two people and a whim. Three planks represent the decor, two people represent the audience, and one enthusiasm the actor. About three centuries later, Tomas Fasulyeciyan, one of the theater actors of the Ottoman period, simplified the definition of the Spanish poet and said: “Theater is a passion for two planks!” This definition is based only on the decor and the actor. What about the audience? Can there be theater without an audience? Who will it be for? Of course, does Master Fasülyeciyan ever forget? He hasn't forgotten! It just simplified the issue.

There are more than four hundred open-air theaters, each with a capacity of ten thousand, on the lands we live in. This information shows how many theaters and audiences there were in these lands years ago. In those times, it was necessary to have a theater for a place to be described as a city. Today, there are eighty-one provinces in our country, but unfortunately, there are no theaters in all eighty-one provinces.

Theater, as a word, is derived from the Greek Theater, meaning the place where the play is played. The Ottoman Empire ruled for 657 years in the lands that housed these theaters, which were built thousands of years ago. However, it was considered a sin for Muslim people to be interested in theater. Those were the days when even the testimony of theater actors was not accepted. So, is the testimony of a person who goes on stage and speaks through other people's mouths and utters lies ever accepted? After the proclamation of the Republic, our great leader Atatürk focuses on art and culture as well as science and technology, and there are developments at the level of civilized countries in the country. Great Atatürk establishes the Ankara State Conservatory with the suggestion of Muhsin Ertuğrul, the founder of modern Turkish theatre. Let's remember that the unique sentence in Mustafa Kemal's speech is an indication of this understanding: “Gentlemen, you can all be a deputy, prime minister, or even president! But you can't be an artist, love these children who have no other purpose than to make art!' Yes, the great leader is emphasizing the importance of the issue by saying so. As you know, dear children, Atatürk presented the National Sovereignty Day, which we celebrated on April 23, to you children. Because he trusted you so much. Master theater man and poet Suat Taşer also defines the four-walled world for theater by combining all the elements that make theater into existence.

Today, March 20, is World Children's and Youth Theatres' Day. What does the poet Nazim Hikmet say? 'Let's give the world to children, at least for a day, let the world learn friendship...'

Dear children, our nation's '20 March World Children's and Youth Theater Day' and the following '27 March World Theater Day' will definitely be celebrated every year. Never doubt that.

I embrace you all with love and respect on this important day, 'March 20, World Children's and Youth Theater Day. I kiss you all. Stay well. Nice nice '20 March World Children and Youth Theaters' day.