A creation experience from theme to choreography: The process of expressing the theme of ‘Being on Journey’ in ‘Selam Olsun’ project through choreography

Abstract

Selam Olsun is an theatre project prepared by the academicians and students of the theater department of a state university. The project was created by intertwining storytelling, poetry, dance and music composition in the light of the 13-episode text adapted from S. Eyüboğlu’s book, called Yunus Emre. Selam Olsun’s dramaturgy is based on the theme of being on a spiritual journey, which is the basis of Yunus Emre’s understanding of Sufism. This idea is expressed with a choreography that interacts with other disciplines. The choreography was created by simultaneously reflecting prominent themes of the text on both bodies and space. Improvisation, Skinner Releasing Technique and Laban Movement Analysis methods were used to ensure that the themes are internalized, developed and physically applied by the actors. It has been observed that the theme of being on a spiritual journey, which is an implicit motif in the narrative plane of the text, eventually turned into an active sensory experience within the process of choreography. This article has been written to present a roadmap to those working in this field by examining the elements of choreography in the process of revealing the main theme of the text, together with the relevant literature reviews. As a result of the study, while emphasizing the importance of using choreography in a subtle way in order to transform the theater play into a complete sensory experience, it is suggested that dance, movement and body awareness classes should be handled in a more comprehensive way both in theater plays and in acting education.