Zeynep Özyağcılar was born in Istanbul on September 9, 1985. In 1991, after successfully passing the entrance exams, she joined Istanbul State Opera and Ballet. In her 12-year career there, she had the opportunity of working with famous names such as Haldun Dormen, Selçuk Borak, Sönmez Taygun and Ayhanım Sun.
Istanbul
State Opera and Ballet Performances:
• Wizard
of Oz
• Nutcracker
• Cinderella
• The Birdman and the Prince
• Story Teller
• The King and I
• Midas' Ears
• Do You Like Mozart? (bu isimlere bak, var ise orjinallerini yaz)
In 2001,
she began to attend St. Michel French High School. While working on her ballet
career, she attended workshops of Manuel Reina for Flamenco and Candaş Başkan
for Modern Dance. During her high school years, she has written, choreographed
and starred in several stage plays; participated in theatre festivals in
Barcelona, Sicily and Cairo and received positive reviews for her performances.
Plays
she acted in:
• Le Chat De La Rue (Street Cats)
• Nous Sommes Innocents (We Are Innocent)
• Harem
In 2002 she started working with Murat Ali Mandacı on Latin dances and joined İsmet Müftüoğlu's Latin Dance classes. She holds certified dancer status by the Turkish Gymnastics Federation.
After she graduated from high school in 2004, she was assigned as drama
instructor in the same school. She staged, directed and choreographed the stage
play "Les Temps de Gitans (Time of the Gypsies).
In 2004,
she began to continue her education at the Istanbul University State
Conservatory where she studied intonation, dance, international dances (by
Kahraman Nasirov), solmisation, fencing, History of Art, Mythology, Aesthetics,
dramaturgy, History of Theatre, stage decoration and costumes. In 2008, she
graduated from the Conservatory with flying colours after her performances in
Feslegen Çıkmazı (Irene) directed by Mehmet Birkiye and Moscow Nights (Olga
Knipper) directed by Suat Özturna.
In 2005,
she attended workshops at Guildhall Music and Drama School in London. While
taking classes on Shakespeare and contemporary theatre, she also had the chance
of enjoying the lectures on dance, movement and acting by distinctive teachers
such as Wendy Allnut, Wyn Jones, Patsy Rodenberg and Ken Rea. She also attended
special lectures on masks and stage combat. As her graduation act, she performed
in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (Helene) and Martin Crimp's Attempts
on Her Life.
Short
films:
• Üç (Three) Finalist in Antalya Film Festival directed by Fatih Demir
• Mürekkep Lekesi (Ink Blot)
• Adam (Man)
• Hayalet (Ghost) by Açerya Aktürk
• Tango
• Terzi (Tailor)
• Heykel (Statue) by Cansın Sagesen
• Ezber (Memorization) by Tolga Öztorun
In 2005,
she began her career as an actress and dancer at the Istanbul Metropolitan
Municipality Theatre.
Stage Plays she performed in:
• Leyla and Mecnun (Leyla) directed by Ali Taygun
• The Cherry Orchard (Vanya) directed by Ali Taygun
2007-2008 Tiyatro Liman
• Jean and Beatrice (Beatrice) directed by Ece Okay
She
performed "Pheni" and “Medea” in Kaya İlhan's play Sonsuzluğa İskele (The Pier
to Infinity) in the 16th Istanbul Theatre Festival.
Currently she is starring in
• The Pied Piper of Hamelin, directed by Cem Karakaya
• Bekleme Odası (Waiting Room) written by Yiğit Sertdemir and directed by Tolga
Yeter