STAGE >Unemployed people found successful theater company

The Bitlis Art Theater is established by 13 unemployed young men. The team has enjoyed great success despite financial difficulties. The theater company participates in international theater festivals, and has been invited to participate in Theater Meeting. AA Photo

The Bitlis Art Theater, established by 13 unemployed young men, has enjoyed great success despite financial difficulties. The theater company participates in international theater festivals, and has been invited to participate in Turkey’s 6th annual Theater Meeting in Izmir.

The theater has staged two children’s plays and two plays for adults, Gökmen Okdayan, the theater’s art director, said, adding that the group’s members work arduously and meticulously.

“We were the only theater company invited to the [İzmir Theater] meeting,” said Okdayan. “Last year we participated in theater festivals on an international scale, which was a great success for us. I appreciate and thank all of our performers. Our team has managed to do a great deal of work in a short time. I hope we will be able to keep going this way.”

The group’s members are all unemployed, and the theater operates out of a space 20 meters square, Okdayan said. Bitlis is the cultural and artistic capital of its region, and the group is working to develop the city in this direction, he said. They see the work they are doing as a service to the country.

The play of of the theater

“The plays we stage are watched by many people. We reached 25,000 audience members in southeastern and eastern provinces of Turkey with our play ‘Lead Soldier,’” Okdayan said.

If the group’s financial anxieties are solved, they will be able to be more productive, said Okdayan.