Veda Yurtsever Wrote for "Tiyatro Dergisi" (Theatre Magazine)

VEDA YURTSEVER WRITES FOR "TİYATRO DERGİSİ"

We, the workers of the State Theatres, have for years been forced to try extraordinary methods to keep the institution standing. We kept struggling so that, at the very least, the institution would not be shut down until this temporary period passed. As people who work honestly and believe in the existence and necessity of the State Theatres, we developed new ways of speaking — "let the broken arm stay inside the sleeve", "no need to wear the institution down".

It was not over, alas; we could not end it… We saw two general directors who did not know how the institution works and who had not rendered it the smallest service. Regrettably, we could not prevent them from placing their personal egos above the State Theatres, one of the state's most deeply rooted institutions. Instead of turning even our smallest criticism to the benefit of the institution's workings, they took it as an insult, armed themselves and went on the attack on every platform.

Like him or not, our previous General Director was an artist of the institution, and our channels of communication were open. For example, one day I called him on his private phone (the General Art Director of Istanbul DT is my witness) and said: "Why did we take actors into the institution without an examination? The schools are struggling to produce competent graduates now. We cast young people in our plays without even hearing their voices, using them as statues. At the very least, let a traineeship examination threshold be introduced." And he, as a responsible director, explained the reasons for the situation. I hung up saying "we are taking a great risk with actors of unproven talent, we will weaken the institution's performances." No one opened an investigation against anyone because of that conversation.

The reason I have drawn this out is our need to assess what has happened — and what is to come — with fairness, to leave a sentence with the public and to fulfil our historical responsibility once more.

Gaye Alacalı is one of the institution's hardest-working, most responsible and most talented actors. One day, on a platform where DT artists talk, she voices a sentence critical of the institution. What our General Director fails to understand at this point is the sense of belonging in actors who work hard and give stage performances to the last drop of their blood. For us, the institution has become our home, our nest, our child. The return on the labour we give is precisely this sense of ownership. That is why we do not want it harmed — and when the time comes, the sharpest criticism is made by us, within our own walls. Gaye Alacalı is summoned to the General Directorate in an unlawful manner, her phone is confiscated and she is kept waiting in a room for three hours, and she is asked to apologise. And this with neither a lawyer nor a representative at her side! Gaye Alacalı, rightly, demands an investigation into this treatment. While the investigation continued along these lines, and since we were certain it would turn in Gaye Alacalı's favour, we were watching quietly — but no. Those blinded by personal ego, too blind to see that they are pouring poison on the institution's roots, decided to open yet another front.

Dilara Keyf Günüç is my devoted, hard-working, talented friend, with whom I started work at the Diyarbakır State Theatre in 1996. She has performed in countless plays, won awards, and like every actor who sweats for the theatre, she is among those who consider the institution their home. She is sharp-tongued — indeed, at first that made her one of the actors I did not warm to — but in time I came to grasp her good faith, and even to envy her fearlessness. Precisely thanks to this unbowing stance and sharp tongue, she was elected Artists' Representative on the Disciplinary Board with the highest vote. She stated in the clearest terms that what happened between Gaye Alacalı and the General Directorate was "unlawful", fulfilling her duty as a representative. Now they turn the arrows on this friend of ours and, with a speculative attitude bearing no relation to the truth, try to discredit her responsible stand and her name.

Our salaries are being served up at unreal figures. Newspaper stories are being made with lies claiming Dilara Keyf Günüç has not worked since 2018–2019 and does not deserve her salary. Dilara Keyf Günüç is, of course, initiating an investigation; all of this will backfire, naturally. But I know this dirty machinery will not stop — it may even be turned on me for writing these lines. I want the public to know that we do not work in an institution where the rule is "no one speaks, no one dissents, heads stay bowed".

Now let us clean off the mud they have thrown…

1. First of all, for two years (2020–2021) not only Dilara but no one could work, because there was a pandemic. 2. Afterwards, Dilara Keyf Günüç took part in staged readings. 3. She worked at the children's plays festival. 4. She took a role in the earthquake relief organisation and worked night and day for the earthquake victims. 5. She submitted 2 play projects; they were not accepted, for various reasons. 6. She repeatedly requested roles in plays, and was even told: "You won the Sadri Alışık best actress award for your last play — we can't just hang any role on you"… 7. As disciplinary board representative, she tried to be everywhere for everyone…

Dear colleagues — indeed, dear fellow workers of the institution — what is a "right"? Does law change according to the person or the situation? Is it people we must protect, or principles? It is our historical responsibility to lay the stones in such a way that, looking back years from now, we will feel no shame. Rast gele…

VEDA YURTSEVER