Get your nose on!

Today we are moving on to somewhere even more fun! How did we end up putting those red noses on our noses? Let's see. But before that, I need to start from pandemic times.

Hi! I am Derya, your narrator. 🙂

During the pandemic, we were mostly at home, like everybody else, focused on self-development and practice different things. Berkay started baking breads, and I was trying to grow tomatoes and learning music. Since Eskişehir is a really small city, we were still able to visit friends even during the lockdown. Everything was much slower, but not too bad. Our practices continued at homes and sometimes in a nearby schoolyard.

When the lockdown started to ease and restrictions became fewer and more flexible, we were able to meet in common areas and parks again. Luckly, around that time, two Argentinian performer artists who were travelling the world were visiting Türkiye. When they were in Istanbul, they heard about us - a circus community in Anatolia, so they dediced to visit us and see our city.

Traveling the world as acrobats, jugglers, and musicians, they turned streets and small events into their stages. Inspired by their courage and way of life, we decided to create our own show and try it out on the streets.

We used the nearby schoolyard, which was still close because of the pandemic. We practiced our skills, prepared a couple of solo acts, and also worked on duo juggling acts. To add some spice, I included my ukulele and harmonica, and Berkay brought his unicycle skills. Eventually we put everything we had! We were also discussing the costume a lot. We wanted to be seen as a duo, so came up with the easiest option, striped T-shirts and overalls and, red noses! After a few weeks, we were ready to try it out on the street!

As far as I remember, we made 35 Turkish Liras. Not that bad for a first try. 🙂 Then we did a couple more times, performing in front of some cafés and bars. It didn't take long for us to realize something was off and not quite working. Because we were getting reactions barely even though we put our all energy. But we needed some time to figure out what is missing.

Looking back now, I can clearly see that this show wasn't about making money or simply trying something out on the street. It sparked something inside us, the joy of performing and willingness to do better. The red nose, for us, was simply a way to make it feel like a real circus performance. And also we found it super cute and funny! But we had no idea what a red nose or clowning actually meant. It used to seem like if we put on striped T-shirts and a red nose, we would instantly become clowns or circus performers,

But it wasn’t that easy. As my teacher whom I recently worked with said to me: "If it were easy, everybody would do it." Nevertheless, I couldn't be prouder of that attempt and putting the red nose on my nose.

During one of his researches, Berkay came across a teacher who would become our first theatre teacher and have a great impact on our lives. Our step to physical theatre and Lecoq pedagogy was about to start.

Everything we share comes from our lives, with a great passion and years of work. Our creation is full of curiosity and enthusiasm, but it also needs support. You can support us by donating, or by sharing this with your family and friends if you feel it's worth supporting.

We are more than happy to share this journey with you, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do. 🙂

Stay curious,
Derya