Exclusive with Muberra Buran – English Teacher
1. Muberra, you are an English Teacher at public school. How important is English in the international career?
English today isn’t just a foreign language – it’s one of the most important gateways into the academic and artistic world. Especially in fields like process drama, theatre, art, and academia, where international exchange is intense, knowing English isn’t just an advantage; it’s practically a necessity. I’ve been teaching English for about 17 years. I also completed my master’s in creative drama and I’m currently doing my PhD in Fine Arts. My research focuses mainly on process drama, theatre, and posthuman drama. I’ve also been involved in various international projects as an Erasmus+ project expert for many years – through that I’ve had the chance to visit around 19 countries and over 40 cities, some through projects and some on my own. I truly believe that multicultural, multi-layered thinking is essential for personal growth. You develop not just through your immediate circle, but through encounters with different cultures.
I am also tennis referee and I take part in international tennis events. I think carrying the discipline of sport, the creativity of art, and the intellectual depth of academia together has shaped me both personally and professionally.
Thanks to English, I can connect directly with academics, artists, and writers from different countries. It plays a decisive role in writing papers, international conferences, academic applications, play translations, and interdisciplinary work. The fact that I met Amina Zhaman and that we’re now creating these projects together is honestly one of the best examples of the doors English has opened.
2. How did you get to know Circassian playwright/director Amina Zhaman and why did you decide to translate her comedies “Chaliapin/O’Neill” and “Stanislavsky/Chekhov” into Turkish language?
Back when I was studying theatre, while training as an actor at Ankara Sanat Tiyatrosu, Amina Zhaman and I met online through a mutual friend. We reconnected later during my process drama, theatre, and academic work. We had the chance to collaborate on an article I wrote comparing AI and a human dramaturg/playwright.
In that study, I wanted to examine AI’s capacity for dramaturgical analysis and compare it with a human dramaturg. That’s why I chose Amina’s play “Chaliapin/O’Neill” – both its dramaturgical structure and the witty, intellectual layers of the text made it perfect for that work. Collaborating through that process brought us even closer.
Afterwards, I told her I wanted to translate her plays into Turkish and submit them to the State Theatres. She was thrilled about the idea. Because these plays aren’t just comedies – they’re strong texts that bring some of the most important figures in theatre history to the stage. Names like Chaliapin, O’Neill, Stanislavski, and Chekhov are incredibly valuable for theatre students, conservatories, and dramaturgy work. That’s why I felt it was important to bring these works into Turkish.
3. How long did it take to translate them? Describe your working process.
Translating both plays took about a month in total. But that’s just how it looks on the calendar – in reality it was an incredibly intense, detailed, and meticulous process. I don’t look at translation as simply transferring language. Translating a theatre text demands a very different kind of responsibility.
I spent at least an hour per page on average. Every character mentioned in the play, every historical reference, name, period allusion, theatrical term, and cultural subtext was researched individually. Because a text that will be spoken on stage can’t just be correctly translated – it also has to sit naturally in the actor’s mouth, fit the rhythm of the stage, and flow naturally in the target language.
As someone who has trained in process drama and theatre, performed on stage, and is doing a PhD in this field, I believe a text has to be worked on not just in written language but in stage language. Written language, stage language, and the naturalness of the target language all have to be considered together. This is serious work and it demands great care.
Whether I’m writing an article, working on my thesis, teaching, refereeing tennis, or translating a play – I bring the same level of care to all of it. Because to truly do something well, you first have to love it. Loving process drama and theatre means approaching the translation with that same love and responsibility. The translations were also prepared and submitted according to the State Theatres’ manuscript submission rules and technical delivery standards.
4. In April 2026 you personally met Amina Zhaman in Istanbul and participated in the public reading of “Stanislavsky/Chekhov” in Turkish with internationally acclaimed documentarist Mehmet Ersoz and famous actor Serhan Susler at Ersoz’s Art Gallery in Gayrettepe, Besiktas. How was it reading the comedy you translated with people you knew before, but seen for the first time live, and in author’s presence?
It was a deeply personal experience for me, both emotionally and professionally. Meeting face to face for the first time with someone you’ve been in contact with online, someone you’ve created academic and artistic work with – that alone was already incredibly meaningful.
On top of that, to give voice to a text I had translated myself, alongside the author, internationally acclaimed documentary filmmaker Mehmet Ersöz, and the brilliant actor Serhan Süsler – it was truly unforgettable. When you translate a text, you work in solitude, but seeing that text breathe on stage is something else entirely. One of the most powerful moments for me was when the words stopped being mine and became something alive on stage. Having the author witness that, and sharing it together – that was priceless.
5. What made a Turkish waitress Guler a central character in the play “Stanislavsky/Chekhov”, in your opinion?
In my view, Güler is one of the strongest dramaturgical centres of the play. Because sometimes a character who comes from outside sees the whole truth inside most clearly. Güler isn’t just a waitress – she’s a character who observes, balances, and builds an invisible bridge between two great theatre minds. And the fact that a Turkish character is at the centre of this text holds a special meaning for me. It expands the cultural boundaries of the play. It brings a different perspective into the world of giants like Stanislavski and Chekhov.
Güler also represents the reality of everyday life. Among grand theories and great debates about art, she carries what is human, what is natural, and what is life itself. That’s why I think she’s such a powerful character.
6. In your latest scientific article you’ve analyzed plays written by AI and a living author (namely a comedy “Chaliapin/O’Neill” by Amina Zhaman). As we all know, comedy is the most difficult genre for playwrights. Please compare AI’s and Amina’s (or AZ’s) sense of humor.
Comedy really is one of the most difficult genres, because it’s not enough just to make people laugh; timing, subtext, depth of character, and human contradictions are all crucial. AI can technically generate humour; it can create wordplay, construct scenes that look structurally funny, and imitate existing examples. But most of the time this humour stays on the surface.
I saw this very clearly in my work. AI mostly repeats patterns; it reproduces existing comedy templates. But in a real writer’s humour, there’s lived experience, intuition, cultural memory, and human vulnerability.
Amina’s humour is much more layered. In “Chaliapin/O’Neill” especially, humour isn’t used just to be funny but it’s used to open up characters, deepen relationships, and offer a critical perspective on theatre history. Her humour has both intellectual depth and human warmth. AI sometimes “generates a joke,” but Amina genuinely “builds humour.” I think that’s where the biggest difference begins.
7. What is Posthuman Drama?
Posthuman Drama is a way of thinking and creating that goes beyond the classical dramatic structure which places the human being at the centre. In traditional drama, the human is generally accepted as the sole subject at the centre. But posthuman drama thinks together about the relationships between humans, technology, artificial intelligence, animals, nature, the environment, hybrid structures, cyborgs, and other non-human entities.
The point here isn’t simply using technology – it’s developing a new dramaturgical perspective where the human is no longer the sole centre. What we call “nonhuman” isn’t just digital systems. Nature, animals, the environment, bodily transformation, hybrid forms of existence, and the idea of co-existence are all part of it. The human no longer exists alone – they exist in mutual interaction with many other entities.
For example, an AI can be an active part of the creative process, but in the same way, nature, the environment, or even a disaster or ecological crisis can be the determining element of a dramatic structure. What matters here is moving the human away from being the “sole” centre and thinking about a relational form of existence.
In my work, I tried to develop the concept of “Posthuman Drama” by bringing together process drama and posthuman thinking. This approach argues that theatre is not just a space for telling human stories – it’s a space for rethinking the relationships between the human and the non-human. Co-existence, mutual transformation, and being part of a web of life that affects and is affected by everything – that is the foundation of posthuman thinking.
8. Why did you pick this theme for your thesis?
Because both process drama and theatre have reached a point where they can no longer be thought of in purely human-centred terms. AI, digital art, and technology are part of this, but the issue is much bigger than that. Our relationship with nature, ecological crises, animals, hybrid bodies, cyborgs, the co-existence of human and non-human entities – all of these are at the heart of this thinking.
While working in this field, I felt that classical dramatic structures were falling short in explaining certain new questions. In particular, the position of the human on stage, the representation of non-human entities, and the idea of co-existence made me think deeply.
The plays I used in my thesis – like Uncanny Valley and Marjorie Prime – powerfully support this thinking through AI and memory. But it’s also possible to read texts like An Enemy of the People from a different angle, looking at the relationship between the human, nature, society, and ethics. Which shows that posthuman thinking isn’t limited to technology alone. Films and series like The Matrix, The Truman Show, Interstellar, Soul, Westworld, Better Than Us, Sweet Tooth, The OA, and Atlas also make you question whether the human really is at the centre. Is the human truly alone? Or do we exist together with nature, technology, and other nonhuman entities? What is a human? What is consciousness? What is reality? These questions have had a profound impact on me both academically and artistically.
That’s why I wanted to bring process drama and posthuman thinking together in my thesis. Because process drama already offers a participatory, transforming, and non-fixed structure – which aligns very powerfully with posthuman thinking. I also plan to apply this in my doctoral thesis. Because for me this isn’t just an academic topic – it’s an unavoidable question of our time: What is the human, and are we truly alone anymore?
9. Name your favorite Turkish and foreign playwrights. What inspires you the most in their works?
I tend to love texts that make people question things, that make you think about existence, and that blur the lines between the human and the non-human. So alongside the classics, works that challenge me intellectually and contemporarily move me more.
Stanislavski, for me, isn’t just a theorist – he’s a hugely important figure who changed the way we think about theatre. His way of reaching the inner truth of a character is still incredibly powerful. Anton Chekhov is deeply affecting through what he leaves unsaid and through silence.
In Turkish theatre, contemporary stage adaptations of works like Saatleri Ayarlama Enstitüsü really move me. Serkan Keskin’s performance in that work, taking on dozens of different forms, is very powerful in terms of a contemporary mode of expression where cinema and theatre intertwine. Watching a person caught between East and West, old and new, traditional and modern on stage is very inspiring for me. Through the character of Hayri İrdal, questions of time, order, and the human’s existence within the system are raised. That intellectual depth really draws me in.
In general, what moves me most is when a text doesn’t just tell a story – when it confronts a person with themselves, with time, and with existence.
10. You play tennis and guitar. Which films about outstanding tennis players and musicians would you recommend our readers to watch?
Tennis and music, for me, aren’t just hobbies – they’re connected to discipline, rhythm, and the feeling of being on stage.
Among tennis films, I find King Richard particularly moving. The story of Serena and Venus Williams isn’t just about sport – it’s a powerful narrative about hard work, discipline, and family. Battle of the Sexes is also great at showing the social and psychological side of sport through Billie Jean King.
On the music side, Bohemian Rhapsody is a striking film. The energy of the stage, the identity of the artist, and the process of a person finding their own voice are told very powerfully. And Whiplash shows the relationship between passion, discipline, and pressure through music in a raw but very real way.
I especially love stories about people pushing their own limits whether on stage, on the court, or in music. What really inspires me is the invisible effort and the struggle that goes on behind the scenes.
