İsmail Galip Arcan

İsmail Galip Arcan was born on November 3, 1894 in Istanbul. The artist, who died in the same city on August 8, 1974, is remembered as one of the important names of Turkish theater and cinema. Arcan, who is both a stage artist, a playwright and an experienced make-up artist, has left his mark in many areas throughout his life devoted to his profession.

His interest in theater started at a very early age. He appeared on stage in Ahmet Fehim Efendi's theater when he was only 15 years old. He took part in the play Tabib-i Aşk, Ahmet Vefik Pasha's adaptation of Moliere. Then he appeared in Namık Kemal's work Âkif Bey. Although he continued his education at Beşiktaş Soğukçeşme Military Junior High School and Kuleli Military High School, his passion for theater was left unfinished during his high school years.

He joined the Burhanettin Theater, which was founded in 1910, and went on tours with this troupe. In 1914, he joined Darülbedayi and took part in the management of the institution.

Arcan went to Paris in 1920 and conducted research on theater there. He worked on important stages such as Comédie-Française and Théatre L'Odéon. The artist, who performed with the Raşit Rıza Efendi Group upon his return to the country, also stepped into playwriting. He adapted Henry Bernstein's play Bora into Turkish and this play was performed by Medical School students in occupied Istanbul in 1921.

After his second trip to France in 1923, Arcan joined Muhsin Ertuğrul's Ferah Theatre, and when the troupe disbanded, he went to Germany and studied German theater in Berlin. Later, he started directing at the City Theater and continued to work at this institution until his death in 1974.

The artist gave diction lessons at the State Conservatory between 1932 and 1942. He published two valuable books named Makeup in Theater in 1941 and Diction in Theater in 1947. Arcan, who also worked in the fields of cinema and radio, took his first step into cinema with the 1916 film Himmet Ağa'nın İzdivacı.

He appeared in about twenty-five films. She became widely known in the cinema with her character in the series Bican Efendi and in the radio with her character in the series Habibe Molla. His best-known works as a playwright include Milk Brothers, Nobodies, Liars and Air Money.

He brought together thirty-eight free-meter poems in his poetry book My Novel: Poetry Miir, published in 1962. He passed away in Istanbul in 1974.

He studied at Ravza-i Terakki School. saw. He appeared on stage for the first time when he was 15 years old, in Ahmet Fehim Efendi's theater, in Ahmet Vefik Pasha's play Tabib-i Aşk, adapted from Moliere. Then he took part in Namık Kemal's play Akif Bey. He continued his education at Beşiktaş Soğukçeşme Military Junior High School and then at Kuleli Military High School; However, he dropped out of high school due to his interest in theater.

In 1910, he joined the Burhanettin Theater founded by Burhanettin Tepsi and went on tour. Arcan, who joined Darülbedayi in 1914, was elected to the management of the institution at that time. He went to France in 1920 and started doing research on theater with the support of the French Ministry of Education, and worked at the Comédie-Française and Théatre L'Odéon (Paris).

After returning to Turkey, he acted in the Raşit Rıza Efendi Group. On the other hand, the artist was also experimenting with playwriting. In 1920, he began to work in the field of literature by adapting Henry Bernstein's work Bora; This play was staged by Medical School students in occupied Istanbul in 1921.

He went on his second trip to France in 1923. After returning to Turkey, İsmail Galip Arcan entered Muhsin Ertuğrul's Ferah Theatre. After the dissolution of the troupe, he went to Germany and conducted research and analysis on German Theater in Berlin. When he came to Turkey, he started directing at the City Theater and continued to work at this institution until his death in 1974.

Productions in which he took part

He took part in 20 productions in total; 12 of the most well-known are listed.

• Smugglers (1929)
• On the Streets of Istanbul (1931)
• Bosphorus Mystery (1922)
• Cute Barber (1933)
• Kadı of Mount Athos (1938) — Priest Gregoryus
• Crazy Hell (1954)
• Blackwater (1958)
• If My Wife Cheats on Me (1933)
• Hürriyet Apartment (1944)
• Ankara Post (1928)
• Word One God One (1933) — uşak
• A Kavuk Overturned (1939) — Revnaki

Production and imprint information was taken from TMDB.