In the June issue of Episode Magazine, Burcu Asena Şahin Gençoğlu spoke with Derya Pınar Ak, one of the lead actors of Prime Video’s new production Summer House, which takes us back to the 90s.
Compared to other projects you have been involved in throughout your career, Summer House has a much different tone with its period atmosphere and intertwined time plot. How did this 90s melancholy and being a young girl of that period bring something new to your actor identity?
Summer House was a very special experience for me. I have done works set in different periods before, including a work set in the 1400s. But being in a project that contains such an intense feeling of nostalgia was very different. As someone who didn’t live through the 90s, trying to understand the spirit of that period, listening to its music, and focusing on people’s relationships and outlook on life nourished me greatly as an actor. We got to see what they felt and experienced through the eyes of each character.
On the other hand, seeing how time changes people was very exciting from an acting standpoint. I can say that thinking about the emotions and fractures of the same character at different ages brought a new perspective to me.
One of the most prominent features of your character is her passion for music and singing. How did you prepare to play a girl who expresses her inner world by singing in that nostalgic atmosphere of the 90s?
I think music was actually Zeynep’s way of expressing herself. Some people communicate by talking, some by remaining silent. Zeynep, on the other hand, tells her story through songs because she is not aware of the existence of someone who would listen to her until Sinan or Selin arrives. Therefore, I think Zeynep chose to express her troubles through songs. That’s why during the preparation process, we focused not only on singing the songs but also on the emotions underlying them, together with my director.
Working by analyzing the lyrics and composition of the songs with special care, we thought, “This lyric really describes Zeynep.” Just like in the film as a whole, I tried to understand her dreams, her resentment, and her desire to be free within the content of the songs. I think music was an escape area for her, and performing while feeling this was very important to me. Of course, I can say everything changed for Zeynep after Selin and Sinan arrived. I think having someone she could express her troubles to was very important for her.
In the Summer House, your daughter comes to you from the future. Well, what if it were the other way around; if your character, a youth of the 90s whose dreams were suppressed and who retreated into her shell, found that mysterious stone and teleported to the present day, meaning her own future, what would she do first? Would she run straight to the conservatory stages she dreamed of, or would she see that rigid “helicopter mom” state she turned into in the future and be angry at herself?
She would definitely experience a huge shock at first because today everything is very fast, very visible, very much in the spotlight. But after overcoming that shock, I guess her first order of business would be to chase the things she dreamed of. Perhaps she would find the courage here that she had been looking for within herself for years.
On the other hand, seeing the person she turned into in the future might upset her a little bit, maybe she would be angry at herself at first, but I think in the end she would choose to show compassion to herself. Because life sometimes takes us not to where we dreamed of, but to where conditions require. Unfortunately, most of the time everything does not turn out as we imagined.
If you had that mysterious stone that opens a door to the past as in the Summer House, would you want to go to your own mother’s/father’s youth, a period when they were not parents yet and were building dreams? At what age and doing what would you like to watch them?
A magnificent question, I absolutely would. We always know our parents as our mother/father, but they also have a life, dreams, fears, and youth stories. I already ask my mom and dad most of the time how their youth went and I love, love listening to their stories. My father has incredible stories. That’s why I would love to see their 20s. What they thought about life, what kind of dreams they built, what they did unaware of each other, how they lived..?
I think watching those days would be very interesting and enjoyable. It could enable me to better understand the people they are today. Even just watching them from afar would evoke so many feelings. Also, the fact that they always support me or stand by me no matter what these days, being like a friend to me, definitely makes me think that I would want to see those days.
