The Acting Department at Arkin University of Creative Arts and Design (ARUCAD) held a webinar titled “Semaver Kumpanya: From Past to Present” on 22 October 2026. Moderated by Lecturer Şafak Ersözlü, the webinar featured actor Sarp Aydınoğlu, who has been part of the company since its founding. Drawing on his own experience, Aydınoğlu discussed how Semaver Kumpanya began, the plays it has staged and how its members work together.
Aydınoğlu traced the company’s origins to an open call issued by director Işıl Kasapoğlu in 2002. The call brought actors and theatre practitioners from across Türkiye to Çevre Theatre in Istanbul’s Kocamustafapaşa neighbourhood, where the company went on to stage its first production, William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”. Aydınoğlu recalled how the cast worked on dance, singing, acrobatics and juggling alongside acting rehearsals.
Aydınoğlu described what it was like to rehearse with large casts, drawing on later productions such as Orhan Kemal’s “Murtaza” and Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”, which the company staged with 84 performers at the Istanbul Theatre Festival. He explained how the company’s slogan, “Theatre on the Other Side of the Golden Horn”, reflected its decision to work in Kocamustafapaşa. He also recalled the long table where company members read scripts and shared meals between rehearsals.
During the question-and-answer session, Aydınoğlu drew on examples from rehearsals to explain how trust between actors and directors gives them room to try different interpretations onstage.
Aydınoğlu traced the company’s origins to an open call issued by director Işıl Kasapoğlu in 2002. The call brought actors and theatre practitioners from across Türkiye to Çevre Theatre in Istanbul’s Kocamustafapaşa neighbourhood, where the company went on to stage its first production, William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”. Aydınoğlu recalled how the cast worked on dance, singing, acrobatics and juggling alongside acting rehearsals.
Aydınoğlu described what it was like to rehearse with large casts, drawing on later productions such as Orhan Kemal’s “Murtaza” and Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”, which the company staged with 84 performers at the Istanbul Theatre Festival. He explained how the company’s slogan, “Theatre on the Other Side of the Golden Horn”, reflected its decision to work in Kocamustafapaşa. He also recalled the long table where company members read scripts and shared meals between rehearsals.
During the question-and-answer session, Aydınoğlu drew on examples from rehearsals to explain how trust between actors and directors gives them room to try different interpretations onstage.