Hello...Kamusta...Merhaba!

There are so many different ways to communicate. On a daily basis I greet people with a simple hello but when I spent some of my summers in Istanbul, Turkey I'd say "Merhaba", and if I were to ever meet my family in the Philippines I'd say "Kamusta"! 

Just to present a quick introduction of myself, my name is Yasemin Atesnak, I am 18 in just a few months (woo hoo), and as stated before I am from Turkey and the Philippines. I started doing musical theatre in eighth grade and am more than happy to say that I will be studying this art for the next four years, even though I haven't made my final college decision yet because musical theatre programs take forever to announce if they want you or not! Ha! It's a thrilling experience to say the least, but as a theatre artist, thrills are kinda what I live off of. 

I've starred in a couple of short films made specifically for AICE Media Studies, and those experiences were what inspired me to take this course. While a life on the stage is all I want for myself, I don't quite know when I'll get the chance to contribute to an artwork without necessarily being a performer. It's a challenge for me to be behind the camera; it's not something I'm very used to, and when I have a specific artistic vision, I'm very picky with who I trust with it. In all of my filmed creations I've made for this class, I've been behind the camera, because I know where my storytelling capabilities are at with acting. To challenge myself, I've decided to be completely behind the camera for my AICE Media Studies Final Project. As much as I love performing, I am confident that I'll somehow make a living off of my performance art, and I don't really know when I'll have the opportunity to direct something again-so here I go!

Going back to my trilingual introduction, communication is always something I have been fond of as well, a human being, and as a performer. I am a vessel for storytelling. I have always been interested in the various ways a story can be told. Every language is so individually unique, but one I'd like to focus on is body language. Movement can say so much. Movement can say anything you'd like it to. I am continuously learning different techniques to express feelings through my tonality, or my truth, or my dancing, but I've never really specifically learned how to talk with my hands. That's why my film is going to bring Ryan Scott Oliver's "Crazytown" to life with hand puppets. Well, hopefully...let's hope he checks his emails!