WHERE

FFT Black Box

BeReZe Space

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

Some of us meet each other for the first time, we share our strengths and weaknesses, everybody is quite excited to start the rehearsals. Everybody’s Covid19-Test is negative.

We enter the Tiyatro BeReZe space for the first time. Everybody’s Covid19-Test is negative. Our heaters don‘t work. Erkan is there to help. We set up our projectors and cables to have our first Zoom meeting with Germany.

WHERE

FFT Black Box

BeReZe Space

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

Diana, Morgan, Sedef and Melih do their warm-up together and use little massage balls. Fundus loves to play with Morgan’s ball.

We struggle with turning the heaters on but then solve the problem and our heaters start working. Task for Melih and Sedef: Think about all of your past performances. First, introduce the past performance and then enact it. In the afternoon we have a Zoom meeting with Germany.

WHERE

FFT Black Box

BeReZe Space

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

We change our set-up to create more space for Morgan and Diana to perform.

We talk about how both sides are being influenced by each other’s materials. We decide that the microphone is an essential prop. It creates a catwalk effect that works well. We show each other with Germany the changes we’ve made in our material over Zoom. Then reflect on the changes.

WHERE

FFT Black Box

BeReZe Space

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

–

We talk about how nice it was that the German side had some costumes. We also talk about tutting. Ayşe, Melih and Sedef have lunch outside during our lunch break. Two men who are fasting for Ramadan make frustrated and angry remarks about them eating in public. We have our Zoom meeting in the afternoon.

WHERE

FFT Black Box

BeReZe Space

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

We try to beat the delay but it does not really work out. We collect a lot of material and wave goodbye.

Sedef and Melih try to concretize details and mold their performances into the new structure introduced by Marlin the DAY before. In the afternoon we meet and talk about wanting to play with the delay caused by the technical equipment.

WHERE

FFT Black Box

BeReZe Space

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

Everybody’s Covid19-Test is negative. The mood is bluish and nostalgic. Morgan feels like Elton John in the costume.

Everyone’s test results are negative. We start the morning by watching works of other artists whose works remind us of our own material. In the afternoon we meet.

WHERE

FFT Black Box

BeReZe Space

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

We realize that we are transforming personal memories to common memories.

Umut and Derin put up the posters on BeReZe’s windowfront. Ceren joins the rehearsals and starts getting/creating costumes for Melih and Sedef. We play a game that revolves around an “international pole dancing community”. All of us get up on stage, representing different countries and do something related to pole dancing.

WHERE

FFT Black Box

BeReZe Space

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

–

The weather is really nice which makes us think that summer might be near. We have coffee outside on the street during our lunch break. We realize by the end of the DAY that two long Zoom meetings are quite exhausting even though they were productive.

WHERE

FFT Black Box

BeReZe Space

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

We ran out of coffee in the morning.

Melih performs a piece to Spice Girls: Wannabe, which make all of us sing that song for the rest of the DAY. We find out in the evening that there will be a lockdown for Turkey on FriDAY. We share the bad news on our Zoom meeting.

WHERE

FFT Black Box

BeReZe Space

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

Nobody is tested positive on Covid19.

Everybody has a negative test result. There is an Orange Tabby (cat) sleeping in front of our doorstep when we arrive. Unfortunately, we find out in the evening that Istanbul will be in lockdown between 29.04.2021–17.05.2021.

WHERE

FFT Black Box

BeReZe Space

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

We have technical problems concerning sound and delay. We hear about the announcement of the lock-down which will start in Istanbul on ThursDAY evening. We decide to rehearse already from home by ThursDAY and on WednesDAY we do a recording of the empty space in Istanbul. Malte is building up our poster wall in front of the rehearsal space in Essen.

Because of the news of the lockdown we talk about grief and loss in the morning. Then we work on the “Memories of Places” text. Melih and Sedef keep expanding the list of their own memories of places.

WHERE

FFT Black Box

BeReZe Space

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

The posters are hung up around the Maschinenhaus. Johanna is on her way to take pictures of the posters in Altenessen. Morgan and Diana get vaccinated against the Coronavirus.

We know it’s our last day in BeReZe Space. Umut records the empty space for the big screen in Essen. We watch some of the old Zoom recordings of our meetings. Melih and Sedef go over the text they worked on yesterday. We have falafel for lunch and meet with Germany in the afternoon. We do a sound orchestra movement improvisation as a group and say bye.

WHERE

FFT Black Box

Istanbul, at home

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

We meet up at FFT like before. Today the two dogs Pina and Fundus are at the rehearsal space, too. Our colleagues in Istanbul join the digital meeting from their flats. The rehearsal is the most challenging one, because we are trying to work with a screen, two tablets, an extra mobile camera and two zoom meetings. In the end it works out with one zoom meeting, one screen and two tablets. Generally: We are upset, but hopeful.

We find working spaces at home. We turn on our computers and log in to join the zoom meeting. We are all scattered now but manage to stay connected with each other and with Germany.

WHERE

FFT Black Box

Istanbul, at home

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

Finally the costumes arrive at Melih’s and Sedef’s flats in Istanbul.

There is joy at home because the costumes arrive.

WHERE

Maschinenhaus Essen (Rehearsal Space)

Istanbul, at home

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

We move to the rehearsal space at the Maschinenhaus in Essen and are impressed by the huge screen. Melih, Sedef, Umut and Ayse join from their private homes. All tests are negative.

No more tests needed for us since we are all in lockdown at home. We compliment each others’ spaces. They like our home setting, we like their studio.

WHERE

Maschinenhaus Essen (Rehearsal Space)

Istanbul, at home

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

One tablet is not completely charged so we cannot use it as planned.

–

WHERE

Maschinenhaus Essen (Rehearsal Space)

Istanbul, at home

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

Lukas is joining us to film the scenes/clips. We have a quite tight schedule. But happy: We were able to record the dark scene with the light costumes at daytime.

There is performance anxiety and adrenaline at homes, behind computer screens.

WHERE

Maschinenhaus Essen (Rehearsal Space)

Istanbul, at home

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

We are doing a run-through of all of the scenes for Bozica who is taking the photos. Lukas is doing some last recordings. We do have a tight schedule. In between Sedef’s prepaid Internet expires. She buys a new one. That is why the German team has unexpectedly an extra break of 10 minutes.

–

WHERE

Maschinenhaus Essen (Rehearsal Space)

Istanbul, at home

AND IN THIS VERY MOMENT …

We are having lunch together, drinking some champagne and non-alcoholic Sekt for the drivers to celebrate the premiere which never took place. Some of our Turkish colleagues eat sushi. We ordered pizza.

There is celebration lunch meals ordered/sent by Ayse to each home of the Istanbul team. It is sushi because sushi reminds her of Marlin’s and Ayse’s past collaborations for which she had visited Düsseldorf that has a reputation for good sushi. We say “prost”/”şerefe” to each other on the screen.