What Will We Leave to the World? A Psychodrama on Changing Ways of Being Human
Nalan Özçete · Psychodramatist
There is another possibility: together, in different voices!
2ND INTERNATIONAL PLAYBACK THEATRE
ISTANBUL GATHERING
The Human Voice
Touching the Spirit of Our Time: Remaining Human in a Changing World
Dates November 20–22, 2026
01The gathering
Stories brought to life on stage
For more than 51 years, Playback Theatre has brought people's life stories to the stage through improvisation. It is a participatory theatre form grounded in empathy and listening.
The second International Playback Theatre Gathering creates space to reflect together on freedom of expression, participation, equality, cultural rights and human dignity through personal stories. Alongside Playback Theatre, the programme features Forum Theatre, Psychodrama, Sociodrama, Child Psychodrama and Process Drama workshops, conversations and performances.
The gathering takes place November 20–22, 2026, at Üsküdar University Çarşı Campus in Istanbul. It is organised by Tiyatro ve Terapi Sanatları Derneği with Üsküdar University.
02Programme
THREE DAYS, MANY DISCIPLINES, COUNTLESS POSSIBILITIES
Together
in one shared flow.
Join us for three days, November 20–22, 2026, at Üsküdar University Çarşı Campus, Istanbul.
Friday, November 20, 2026
12:00–15:00
Parallel sessionsThe Stage Womb: A New Form of Playback in Playback Theatre
Dimitris Begioglou · Accredited Playback Theatre Trainer
Echoes and Stories of the Art of Remaining Human: The Most Important Person Here Is You
Ana Fernández Espinosa · Accredited Playback Theatre Trainer
Listening Hour
Bea Dora Somogyi · Accredited Playback Theatre Trainer
Saturday, November 21, 2026
09:45–12:45
Parallel sessionsWho Am I Here? Identity, Belonging and Playback Theatre
Polina Novikova · Accredited Playback Theatre Trainer
The Power of Human Encounters on a Shared Stage
Can Ger · Psychodramatist, academic and physician
Listening and Being Heard, Seeing and Being Seen on the Playback Stage
Şeniz Turan · Accredited Playback Theatre Trainer
Making Space for Stories in the Classroom: Building Connection through Playback Theatre
Özlem K. Sevimli · Playback Theatre practitioner
Every Day Matters
Bea Dora Somogyi · Accredited Playback Theatre Trainer
14:00–17:00
Parallel sessionsThe Stage Womb: A New Form of Playback in Playback Theatre
Dimitris Begioglou · Accredited Playback Theatre Trainer
Echoes and Stories of the Art of Remaining Human: The Most Important Person Here Is You
Ana Fernández Espinosa · Accredited Playback Theatre Trainer
Balancing Fiction, Reality, Semiotics and Teaching-Learning Elements in Process Drama
Ruken Akar-Vural · Professor and academic
From Word to Action with Freire: Dialogue Against Bullying
Mert Erdem · Drama educator
Sunday, November 22, 2026
09:45–12:45
Psychodrama with Children
Sümeyra Altan Karlı & Zeynep Temizer Atalar · Psychodramatists
14:00–17:00
Parallel sessionsForum Theatre: “Domino Effect”
Özlem Yıldırım · Drama educator
Listening and Being Heard, Seeing and Being Seen on the Playback Stage
Şeniz Turan · Accredited Playback Theatre Trainer
Who Am I Here? Identity, Belonging and Playback Theatre
Polina Novikova · Accredited Playback Theatre Trainer
More Than What I Hear
Deniz Sevimli · Clinical psychologist and accredited Playback Theatre trainer
This workshop is intended only for mental health professionals and students.
Sessions scheduled at the same time are parallel options. All times are Istanbul local time (UTC+03:00).
03Workshops
WORKSHOPS AND FACILITATORS
Different disciplines,
one shared gathering
Explore approaches from the arts and psychology, led by facilitators from Türkiye and around the world.
01 / Child Psychodrama
Psychodrama with Children
Sümeyra Altan Karlı & Zeynep Temizer Atalar
Capacity: 20 · Duration: 3 hours
A practical workshop exploring children's feelings and experiences through play, roles and symbolic expression.
02 / Psychodrama
What Will We Leave to the World? A Psychodrama on Changing Ways of Being Human
Nalan Özçete
Capacity: 20 · Duration: 3 hours
Reflect on what we inherit from those before us, what we do with it today and what we will leave to those who come after.
03 / Process Drama
Balancing Fiction, Reality, Semiotics and Teaching-Learning Elements in Process Drama
Prof. Dr. Ruken Akar-Vural
Capacity: 20 · Duration: 3 hours
04 / Playback Theatre
Listening and Being Heard, Seeing and Being Seen on the Playback Stage
Şeniz Turan
Capacity: 20 · Duration: 3 hours
05 / Psychodrama
The Power of Human Encounters on a Shared Stage
Mehmet Can Ger
Capacity: 20 · Duration: 3 hours
06 / Playback Theatre
More Than What I Hear
Deniz Sevimli
Capacity: 20 · Duration: 3 hours
For mental health professionals and students.
07 / Playback Theatre
Making Space for Stories in the Classroom
Özlem K. Sevimli
Capacity: 20 · Duration: 3 hours
08 / Forum Theatre
Forum Theatre: “Domino Effect”
Özlem Yıldırım
Capacity: 20 · Duration: 3 hours
09 / Creative Drama
From Word to Action with Freire: Dialogue Against Bullying
Mert Erdem
Capacity: 20 · Duration: 3 hours
10 / Playback Theatre
Every Day Matters
Bea Somogyi
Capacity: 20 · Duration: 3 hours
Explore how listening, storytelling and play can help build connection, trust and belonging in everyday community life.
11 / Playback Theatre and Psychodrama
Who Am I Here? Identity, Belonging and Playback Theatre
Polina Novikova
Capacity: 20 · Duration: 3 hours
12 / Playback Theatre
The Stage Womb: A New Form of Playback in Playback Theatre
Dimitris Begioglou
Capacity: 20 · Duration: 3 hours
13 / Playback Theatre
Echoes and Stories of the Art of Remaining Human: The Most Important Person Here Is You
Ana Fernández Espinosa
Capacity: 20 · Duration: 3 hours
Bring meaningful moments from your life into a shared process of listening, improvisation, creativity and belonging.
04Performances
NOVEMBER 20–22, 2026
Stories
on stage.
·
Merhabağ PT Adhokratic Company
Playback Theatre performance
Conductors: Özlem K. Sevimli, Deniz Sevimli
Moderators: Özlem K. Sevimli, Faruk Emre Yılmaz, Gamze Köle
Performers: Vedat Al, Eda Baykal, Hilal Yağmur, Özkan Çetin, Ayten Çelik, Gökhan Özyönüm, Deniz Sevimli, Özlem K. Sevimli, Faruk Emre Yılmaz and Gamze Köle
Founded in 2025 by Özlem K. Sevimli, with active contributions from Deniz Sevimli, MerhabAğ is a Playback Theatre company of Öğretmen Ağı change-makers. The company brings true stories to the stage through improvisation.
·
Playback Jam – Open Stage
Open stage
Participants: Everyone attending the gathering
Performers, musicians and conductors from different groups come together. Participants can share stories, join the stage and experience different forms of Playback Theatre.
·
Forum Theatre Performance: Belonging
Forum Theatre
Company: Forum Theatre Working Group of the Istanbul Branch of Çağdaş Drama Derneği
Facilitator: Özlem Yıldırım
An interactive performance about belonging in which audience members intervene on stage to explore different responses and possibilities for change.
·
First Playback Theatre Team
Playback Theatre performance
Founders and conductors: Özlem K. Sevimli, Deniz Sevimli
Performers: Elif Hande Çevgel, Mert Erdem, Deniz Demir, Yeşim Özen Gürenekli, Aynur Duman Dolaş, Fadik Balaman, Berna Kaymak and İpek Karadağ
Founded in 2019 by Özlem K. Sevimli and Deniz Sevimli, the team formed its current line-up in 2023. It brings audience members' real-life stories to the stage through improvisation as part of the gathering's closing programme.
05Our shared practice
A space for every voice
Listening, witnessing
and connecting.
Playback Theatre is an improvised form of theatre in which people share moments from their lives and a team of actors brings those stories to the stage. The teller and audience become part of a shared experience of listening, recognition and connection.
Playback Theatre
Personal stories are improvised on stage in response to what has been shared.
Psychodrama
Feelings and experiences are explored through enactment and role work.
Sociodrama
Shared social relationships and concerns are explored through roles.
Process Drama
Participants learn through imagined situations, roles and dramatic action.
Child Psychodrama
Children express feelings and experiences through play.
Forum Theatre
People explore possible responses to social issues by intervening in a performance.
Listening Hour
A structured, non-performative group experience of sharing personal stories and listening without judgement.
06Information
Before you attend
Gathering
details.
Essential information for participants.
- Event
- 2nd International Playback Theatre Istanbul Gathering
- Theme
- The Human Voice
- Dates
- November 20–22, 2026
- Start and end
- Starts: .Ends: .All times are Istanbul local time (UTC+03:00).
- Venue
- Üsküdar University Çarşı Campus
Mimar Sinan Mahallesi, Selman-ı Pak Caddesi No: 4, Üsküdar, Istanbul, Türkiye. Official address and directions (Turkish) - Working languages
- Turkish, with consecutive Turkish–English interpretation in workshops.
- Workshop registration deadline
- (Istanbul, UTC+03:00). Registration and participation conditions
- Organisers
- TİTESDER and Playback Theatre Turkey Academy
- Contact
- +90 541 632 38 59
07Committee
Made possible together
Organising Committee
- Anıl Küsen
- Aynur Duman Dolaş
- Ayşe Can
- Ayten Çelik
- Deniz Sevimli
- Eda Baykal
- Elif Dündar
- Elif Hande Çevgel
- Faruk Emre Yılmaz
- Fatma Tuba Çandır
- Gaye Yaş
- Gökhan Özyönüm
- Hasan Akkol
- Hilal Yağmur
- Mert Erdem
- Nurdeniz Gökçe Uzun
- Özlem Karaduman Sevimli
- Samet Zahireci
- Yeşim Özen Gürenekli
- Zeynep Gümüş Kaya
Committee members are listed alphabetically by first name.
08Our organisers
THE ORGANISING
INSTITUTIONS
The 2nd International Playback Theatre Istanbul Gathering is organised in collaboration by Tiyatro ve Terapi Sanatları Derneği (TİTESDER) and Playback Theatre Turkey Academy (PTTA).
United around “The Human Voice – Touching the Spirit of Our Time: Remaining Human in a Changing World,” the two organisations make space for disciplines, cultures and life stories through art, listening and collaborative work.
TİTESDER – Tiyatro ve Terapi Sanatları Derneği
Founded on October 5, 2022, TİTESDER is a non-profit organisation that aims to strengthen artistic practice, social solidarity and human relationships through theatre and therapeutic arts.
Its work includes training, workshops, performances, international gatherings and social responsibility projects—creating spaces where different voices can be heard, experiences shared and social bonds strengthened.
Playback Theatre Turkey Academy (PTTA)
Founded in 2018 by Özlem K. Sevimli and Deniz Sevimli, PTTA offers training, workshops and performances to support the development and wider practice of Playback Theatre in Türkiye.
Through its First Playback Theatre Team, Bluetooth Youth Playback Theatre Team, MerhabAğ Teachers' Playback Theatre Company and My Family Playback Theatre Team, made up of family members, the academy brings real-life stories from people of different ages to the stage. My Family Playback is a group where different generations within a family come together and make space for families' stories through Playback Theatre.
Its work is grounded in listening, witnessing and improvisation, with the belief that every human voice deserves to be heard and every story deserves a response.
One way to remain human in a changing world is to make room for one another's voices. Through this gathering, TİTESDER and PTTA bring different artistic languages together and create space for new encounters, shared stories and possibilities for being together.
09Registration
Make room for stories
There is a place
for you here.
Complete the event registration form to join three days of shared stories, disciplines and experiences.
Event registration form10Participation
Before you attend
Registration and
participation details.
Who is it for?
The programme offers workshops and performances for people interested in Playback Theatre, Psychodrama, Sociodrama, Process Drama and Forum Theatre. Participation requirements vary by workshop: “More Than What I Hear” is only for mental health professionals and students. Read your chosen workshop's description and participation requirements before registering.
Language
The gathering will be conducted in Turkish. Consecutive interpretation will be provided between Turkish and English in workshops.
Registration donations
Workshop registration must be completed before the gathering through the form published on this website, with a donation made to the association's account. Applications must be completed by (Istanbul local time, UTC+03:00); later applications will not be accepted.
Confirm the current donation amount and payment details with the secretariat on +90 541 632 38 59 before registering.
Accessibility
For step-free access, lifts, accessible toilets or support to participate in sessions, contact the secretariat on +90 541 632 38 59 before registering to confirm that the venue and your chosen session meet your needs.
Cancellations and accommodation
As registrations are donations, cancellations and refunds are not available. Participants travelling from outside Istanbul are responsible for arranging their own accommodation.
Registration and information desk
Contact the organising and scientific secretariat using the telephone numbers listed here.
Attendance certificates
Digital attendance certificates will be emailed after the gathering. If yours does not arrive, contact the secretariat in writing to request another copy.