MURAT OZCAN

Ozcan graduated from the Izmir Academy of Fine Arts/School of Theatre in 1987. His thesis was on the art of buffoonery within the works of Shakespeare and Carlo Goldoni. Ozcan immigrated to Paris in 1987. He directed and acted for over nineteen years throughout Europe. In 1990, he established Compagnie Ti-a-tro with Laurent Charvillat in Paris. The same year, Ozcan set up a theater company in New York, where he directed The Ballad of Keshanli Ali.

NY/Paris credits include Theatre Journal, Goodbye Godot, Lysistrata (Florence Gould Hall), The Custom (Theater for the New City), and Music and the Shadow People, a collaboration with free jazz bassist William Parker and choreographer Patricia Nicholson (Theater for the New City).

The aesthetic of Ozcan’s productions are marked by minimalism and a stripped back stage world. He believes that the actor is the primary creative source and that actors’ impulses must be freed and externalized making visible for an audience this inner territory. The rehearsal process with Ozcan is one of exploration and discovery within a structure of discipline and repetition.

Ozcan’s understanding of theatre is enriched by his study of Stanislavski, Antonin Artaud, Tadeusz Kantor, Grotowski, and Peter Brook. He combines this with the traditions of Anatolian-European-American Theatre to form a contemporary synthesis. He strives to create a natural, direct, and simple theater, without cultural, spiritual, or personal boundaries.

Credits:

The Addams Family: Producer

Cinderalla: Producer

Singin’ In The Rain: Director