We deem it nonexistance that the Turkish National Center of ITI has neither prepared a national declaration nor published the decleration of international headquarters' on march the 27th, "World Theatre Day". March 27th, World's Theatre Day is the only universal day of this art while all performances of taht day are made free to celebrate it.
Since 1962, declarations authored to tell about the value of the art of theatre have without interruption been undersigned by names like Arthur Miller, Eugene Ionesco, Lawrence Olivier, Peter Brook and Pablo Neruda. Upon Turkey's suggestion during the ITI congress convened in Stockholm in 1977 that it would be fair that national declaration should be prepared as every country had different coverages and dimensions regarding the subjects dealt with on the "Theatre Day", it was assumed that local declarations should be made under the responsibility of national headquarters and since 1978, the Turkish declarations have been undersigned by respectable theatre persons starting with Muhsin Ertuğrul, Haldun Taner, Bedia Muvahhit abd İrfan Şahinbaş.
A declaration can be effective if it is available and with what it tells about. Interruption of an action which has already become traditional may mean being unjustly treated more than assuming an attitude. Because for amatour groups, professional artists and students, celebration of the Day is an integration of actions reminding that there is the art of theatre. Celebrating the Day without a declaration this year has been sour to those who are excited from the theatre. And the audience which the declaration is actually meant for have been deprived of thinking or remembering theatre as an art and evaluating the diplomacies which it is directed by. With these impacts, the way of action the ITI Turkish Headquarters has chosen to critisize the Ministry of Culture who has not made any allocations for and the media who have not placed necessary emphasis on them is one sided and emotional.
The meaning of "The World Theatre Day" must not be affected by periodical problems that may be come over and yhe day of March the 27th should remind the essence of the art of theatre instead of personal problems on local speculations.
Gülşen Karakadıoğlu
President
The Union of Turkish Theatre Critisizers
Translated by Demet Feyman
