An Interview with Katerina Foti or From the Owner’s Voice: The Kitchen Dance_A House Trance Vocabulary - English Version
An Interview with Katerina Foti
or
From the Owner’s Voice: The Kitchen
Dance_A House Trance Vocabulary
"Our interview with Katerina Foti, who came from Greece to Turkey for the 6th edition of the Istanbul Fringe Festival, about her performance.”
"The
tasks we define as housework or domestic labor done by women are not invisible;
on the contrary, they are highly visible. For me, what is truly invisible is
emotional labor, and in the end, it becomes the ultimate female duty that fuels
all other forms of oppression."
Pınar Arabacı: As far as I know, “The Kitchen Dance”
is a personal project. How did the process start, and how did it evolve? Can
you tell us a bit about it?
Katerina Foti: I've been working on “The Kitchen
Dance” project for almost two years. Yes, it is indeed my personal project.
Before reaching the version you saw at Fringe Istanbul, I went through quite a
long research process. I can say it started like this: In 2022, I participated
as a guest choreographer in an art program organized by Eleusis-2023 European
Capital of Culture, in collaboration with the Aerites Dance Company. This
program, titled URTOPIAS, invited me to carry out my artistic research in Eleusis.
Eleusis is a town very close to Athens, with a rich historical heritage, and at
the same time, a typical multicultural Greek provincial town. By the end of
this program, the idea of creating a work inspired by Eleusis was born, and I
began to search for and establish my personal connection with the city.
Eventually, I found this connection with the women in Eleusis' cultural
associations.
During my time there, the women I interviewed implied that
joining these associations was a way for them to step away from the kitchen.
For them, these associations were the only safe and criticism-free space where
they could socialize. I believe I have a strong feminist perspective. This
perspective always gave me the idea that women didn’t have any free time
because they were obligated to take on household chores. However, after this
long research process, I realized that the kitchen is not just a place where a
woman fulfills the patriarchal role imposed on her by society. Women can also
be themselves in that space, because they are not being watched there. This
realization, inspired by the women of Eleusis and the women in my own family,
led me to create my performance “The Kitchen Dance_A House Trance Vocabulary.”
This performance was staged on site in Eleusis, the European
Capital of Culture, and its stage version was presented last November at the
Thission Theater in Athens. And now, I’m here in Istanbul.
Pınar Arabacı: In that case, can we say there was a preparation process lasted almost two years?
Katerina Foti:
Yes, we can say that. The project took shape over almost two years. The
last month was particularly intense with staging rehearsals. The initial
process involved working on the gestures and daily movements that women perform
in the kitchen. However, I didn’t just focus on housework and how it’s done. I
also worked on movements that represent a tired body, one that bears the social
pressure stemming from different sources of oppression against women, and a
body that struggles to carry out its daily routine under this weight.
Pınar Arabacı: What was the most challenging thing
for you while preparing for this performance?
Katerina Foti: The most challenging part was telling
a story on stage—the woman on stage has a name, her name is Kaiti, which is a
very common Greek name. Kaiti also has a past, a present, and a future. This is
not something that can be shown purely physically; I worked on conveying these
emotions as much as possible during the performance.
Pınar Arabacı: Can you also talk about the physical
and emotional challenges you faced while working with all these objects in a
small kitchen set?
Katerina Foti:
When objects, kitchen utensils, are involved in the physical process,
the main challenge is to work with them correctly and carefully, and to find a
reason to use them. The objects must have a specific purpose as part of the
dramaturgy of the piece. So for me, it wasn’t just about using these items in a
practical way, but also using them to express a specific emotion of the woman
on stage.
Pınar Arabacı: Why did you choose to play this theme and this
character?
Katerina Foti: I think the character chose me. During
my movement research, I realized that this woman was a part of me, because
within her, I found elements passed down to me from my female ancestors, from
my roots, and from within myself.
Pınar Arabacı: Domestic labor is often invisible,
overlooked, and belittled. What did you discover while exploring ways to
express this on stage?
Katerina Foti: This research made me think like this:
The tasks we define as housework or domestic labor done by women are not
invisible; on the contrary, they are highly visible. For me, what is truly
invisible is emotional labor, and in the end, it becomes the ultimate female
duty that feeds into all other forms of oppression. Women are assigned every
kind of caregiving task. The storyline I use on stage follows this as well; I’m
searching for a way to express emotional labor through the familiar housework
and duties we all recognize.
Pınar Arabacı: Another thing that caught my attention
in the play is that Kaiti, or rather Katerina, is pregnant. This is not a
pregnancy created for the play, but a real one. Did you become pregnant before
or during the project?
Katerina Foti: I became pregnant last April, right
after the first performances in Eleusis and Athens, and after submitting the
performance to several festivals. My goal was to tour the performance both
domestically and internationally. Since the character in my piece is a part of
me, I thought she could adapt to any situation I found myself in.
Pınar Arabacı: How has your pregnancy affected the
rehearsal process and your overall approach to the performance?
Katerina Foti: I think it had a positive effect. This
element of pregnancy added another layer to the dramaturgy, and I didn’t stop
the process because of it. In fact, my pregnancy nourished both the process and
the story. I continued with rehearsals and kept exploring Kaiti in this new and
very emotional state. In some ways, I might have understood Kaiti even better
thanks to the pregnancy. The only thing we had to adjust was a few physically
demanding scenes, but we managed that as well.
Pınar Arabacı: You said your pregnancy nourished both
the process and the story. Could you explain that a bit more?
Katerina Foti: Pregnancy is a unique experience for
every woman. As a woman who works with her body, I’m dealing with changes I
couldn’t even imagine, but I’m content because carrying new life within me is
an incredibly powerful experience. I am becoming a mother. I will be a mother.
All of this, of course, affects my performance. Now, actually living through
the experience of being pregnant and the expectation of becoming a real mother
adds a new layer of depth to the woman on stage, Kaiti, and how she exists
throughout this story.
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