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Osman Sengezer
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Orhan Şengezer began his education in Istanbul and completed it in Ankara. He succeeded in passing the entrance exam to study at the Architectural Faculty of the Middle East Technical University. There he studied art history, the history of architecture, and architectural principles and techniques for two years. Şengezer’s interest in the theatre had begun during his high-school years and together with Abdullah Kuran, who taught a course on principles of architecture, he founded a theatre club at the university. He continued his studies for four years in the Librarianship Department of the Faculty of Language and History. He then spent two years studying in the Department of Theatre Writing and Critique and another two at the Department of Art History.
Starting in 1960, he spent eight years working as assistant to the famous German stage designer, Ulrich Damrau, Chief Designer at the Ankara State Theatre, working, as he himself put it, “:in the kitchen of the theatre, opera and ballet.” In 1962, he was appointed to the staff of the Ankara State Theatre. When this was divided into two organizations, he joined the newly-formed State Opera and Ballet Company. Later he continued his work at the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet Company. Turgut Zaim, Tarik Leventoğlu, and Refik Eren worked as his assistants for many years to become stage designers.. Şengezer worked with many foreign stage designers. He directed the Ankara State Ballet. For a long time he produced publications on opera and ballet. He worked for a time as Director of Art Technique at the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet and continues to work there as Chief Stage Designer.
He has produced over 450 stage and costume designs and these include designs for opera, ballet, modern dance shows, plays, musicals, films and TV. As well as working for the Ankara and Istanbul Sate Opera and Ballet Companies, he has also worked with the Izmir State Opera and Ballet Company, Van Sate Theatre, Istanbul and Eskisehir City Theatres and TV channels. He has also worked for the Ankara Meydan Theatre, Ankara Experimental Theatre, Ankara Arts Theatre, the Dormen, Kenter, Nisa Serezli- Tolga Aşkıner theatres, Akbank Children’s Theatre, Yeditepe Players, Dilek Türker, Theatre Ayna and many other private theatre companies.
He has been on tour in almost every city in Turkey. He has also been on tour outside the country to England, France, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Hungary, Bulgaria, Russia, the United States and Cyprus where he presented his designs to the audience.
From 1963 up to now, he has take part in joint and solo exhibitions. He held exhibitions of his design sketches and models in Ankara in 1968, in Istanbul in 1978, and in Antalya in 1992. Since 1958, he has written critiques and articles for many magazines and newspapers. Two books have been published about him: one in 1989 entitled “Décor Costume: Osman Şengezer” published by Yon Ajans and in 1993 another entitled “Writings: Osman Şengezer” by Parantez Publications. His name is to be found in The Encyclopaedia Britannica, Meydan Larousse.
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