The literal translation of the Turkish word tuzluk, also the title of Izzy Sazak\u2019s new solo show in this year\u2019s Fringe, is \u201csalt shaker\u201d (Tuz for salt, luk for thing). In the case of this show, the word refers to the hand-operated folded paper fortune-tellers from the artist\u2019s elementary school. Growing up in Turkey, Sazak was a social pariah in school. Deemed not Turkish enough due to their mixed Turkish\/Colombian heritage and their imperfect spoken Turkish, making tuzluks was a way to create hopes, dreams, and futures.<\/p>\n
Everything we know about Turkey?<\/p>\n
The show begins with Sazak stepping onto the stage. They start speaking in almost a dream-like fashion: This is a face, this is an eye, this is an arm\u2026 while pointing to various body parts that may or may not align with their description. Wearing white linen pants, a tank, and blazer, they break their reverie after a bit and introduce themselves and their piece.<\/p>\n
The hero of Sazak\u2019s childhood was their father. An important businessman who wore a suit to work, Sazak saw him as James Bond, a hero, a prince, someone saving the world. In a side comment, their father warns them not to make this play, because then everything the audience know about Turkey will come from the show. When I attended, this garnered many chuckles from the audience, whose knowledge of Turkey is probably paltry at best. (In a pre-show handout, Sazak informs the audience of Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Deconstructing our heroes<\/p>\n At its core, TUZLUK Directed by MK Tuomanen, this is a strong solo show. It displays the artist\u2019s dynamism as a performer, writer, actor, clown, and choreographer. I could see parallels with other solo shows directed by Tuomanen, such as their collaborations with Chris Davis, which also carry a certain frenetic energy, whimsy, and humor. Despite the nonlinear timelines and nature of this show, the storytelling is clear. There is one section about a dam breaking where I was confused, but otherwise it was quite cohesive. Seemingly random threads are picked up and woven in by the end.<\/p>\n Simple staging<\/p>\n When Sazak steps into the audience for interaction, a technical challenge arises: it\u2019s often difficult to see them due to the lighting setup, with no house lights. This is likely a limitation of producing a Fringe show in a small venue, or maybe it\u2019s a technical glitch that can be solved. The audience interaction felt natural, helping to draw us in and create an intimate environment, almost like being invited into a home. <\/p>\n The props on stage consist of tuzluks. Ranging from miniature to gigantic, these objects transform into other characters, other props, and much more. This simple set design is effective and clean. <\/p>\n For anyone who didn\u2019t fit in<\/p>\n At times serious, at times facetious, this world-premiere solo show defies singular categorization. Anyone who grew up feeling like they didn\u2019t quite fit in will resonate with this brave, thought-provoking, and compelling piece.<\/p>\n Our Fringe Coverage Friends Drive donors made this review possible. Be sure to subscribe<\/a> so you can stay in the conversation! If you want to join our supporters, you can make a gift here<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The literal translation of the Turkish word tuzluk, also the title of Izzy Sazak\u2019s new solo show in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284823,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4877,6033,6276,3896,7865,69,71,70,7625,1483],"class_list":["post-284822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-arts","tag-culture","tag-magazine","tag-movies","tag-music","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-philly","tag-theater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nis a coming-of-age story. Sazak realizes that the heroes of their childhood are perhaps not heroes at all, but morally gray humans with their own flaws and foibles. Like American kids who grow up and realize that the Thanksgiving they learned about in elementary school, with Pilgrims and Indians living in bliss, was propaganda which the US educational system used to hide the genocide of Native people, Sazak discovers and unearths their own dark themes. They take off the rose-colored glasses of childhood, with its binaries, absolute truths, and good-vs-bad perspectives. Sazak seeks nuance and deeper truths. <\/p>\n