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Draft:Melis Aker

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Melis Aker
Alma materTufts University, Columbia University, King's College London
Occupation(s)Writer, actor, musician
Websitehttps://www.melisaker.com

Melis Aker is a Turkish writer, actor, and musician who works primarily as a playwright and screenwriter. Her work has been supported by institutions including the Sundance Institute, Signature Theatre Company, The Old Vic, the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and the Atlantic Theater Company. Her writing often explores memory, displacement, and the intersection of personal and political history.

Early life and education

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Aker earned a bachelor's degree in Dramatic Literature and Philosophy from Tufts University in 2013.[1] She later received an MFA in Playwriting from Columbia University in 2018, where she studied under David Henry Hwang and Lynn Nottage.[2][3][4] She received acting training from Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and is completing a PhD in Creative Writing at King's College London.[5]

Career

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Aker was selected for the New York Theatre Workshop's 2050 Fellowship,[6] Ars Nova’s Play Group,[7] and the Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellowship.[8][9] Her screenplay Arı [Bee] was included in the 2019 Maison des Scénaristes marketplace at the Cannes Film Festival.[10]

Her play Field, Awakening, featured on the 2019 Kilroys List,[11][12][13] is set on the night of the 2016 Turkish coup attempt. The story follows a group of childhood friends reuniting on an Istanbul football field as tensions mount both politically and personally, exploring themes of friendship and identity in a fractured nation. The play brought Aker wider recognition as an emerging playwright from the Middle Eastern diaspora, and was noted in HowlRound in conversation with the work of playwrights such as Sanaz Toossi and Mona Mansour.[14]

Aker's short play Scraps and Things was commissioned by the Atlantic Theater Company for its Middle Eastern MixFest,[15][16] and later featured on the podcast Playing On Air, where she also co-starred and composed the music. The production was directed by Neil Pepe and starred Carol Kane. The episode was highlighted by The New York Times in a feature on audio theatre during the pandemic.[17][18] During lockdown, she also wrote the teleplay Fractio Panis for The Homebound Project, which was performed by Brian Cox and Nicole Ansari-Cox as part of the project’s fifth and final edition in 2020.[19] She was also commissioned to write two monologues for The 24 Hour Plays, and served as a panelist for the organisation alongside Annie Baker and Jesse Eisenberg.[20][21]

In 2022, Aker was named one of the “Women to Watch” by the Broadway Women’s Fund, an initiative recognising rising female theatre makers; board members include Rachel Chavkin and Chita Rivera.[22][23] Her play with music Hound Dog premiered Off-Broadway at Greenwich House Theater, formerly known as Barrow Street Theatre, co-produced by Ars Nova and The Play Company.[24][25] The production was named one of the best Off-Broadway shows to see in fall 2022 by Time Out New York.[26] That same year, she was announced as the inaugural LaunchPad resident playwright at Signature Theatre Company, where she was commissioned to write her play Fish.[27][28] The play is a coming-of-age story about Karya, a British-Turkish teen in 2016 London who grapples with the unresolved disappearance of her brother. As her mother pushes them into swimming lessons to cope, Karya finds solace in catfishing ISIS with her best friend. It was presented as part of Signature Theatre’s 2023–24 season.[29]

She received a Jonathan Larson grant in 2023 as co-book writer and co-lyricist of the bilingual musical Azul.[30][31] Later that year, Aker was selected as one of five resident writers for the 503Five scheme run by Theatre503, where she wrote her play Murmurs under commission.[32][33][34]

In 2024, her short film Baba in Graceland was produced with support from her Sundance Institute interdisciplinary grant.[35] That same year, her play Indigo Dreams was presented as part of the Fridays@3 Reading Series at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.[36][37]

In 2025, Aker served as the book writer for the stage musical adaptation of Hundred Feet Tall, based on the children’s book by Benjamin Scheuer and Jemima Williams.[38] The production was staged by The Old Vic, touring London libraries and children's hospitals.[39]

Acting and music

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Aker appeared in the world premiere of Love in Afghanistan by Charles Randolph-Wright at Arena Stage, performing alongside Khris Davis.[40][41][42][43] She has also appeared in television series including The Equalizer[44] and The Blacklist: Redemption.[45]

As a singer-songwriter, she has released several albums and EPs, including Dirt, The Other Side, and the seasonal Sessions series. Her music is available on Spotify.[46]

Academic work

[edit]

Aker has taught playwriting and screenwriting at The New School[47][48] and prose fiction at King's College London.[49]

Works

[edit]

Plays

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  • Field, Awakening
  • Fish
  • Indigo Dreams
  • Hound Dog
  • Murmurs

Screenwriting and film

[edit]
  • Arı [Bee]
  • Baba in Graceland
  • Fractio Panis (teleplay)

Musicals

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  • Azul (co-book writer, co-lyricist)
  • Hundred Feet Tall (book writer)

Music releases

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  • Dirt [EP] (2015)
  • The Little Prince (2015)
  • The Other Side [LP] (2016)
  • Fall Sessions [EP] (2021)
  • Winter Sessions [EP] (2022)
  • Spring Sessions [EP] (2022)
  • Summer Sessions [EP] (2022)
[edit]
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  1. ^ "Tufts Commencement 2013". Tufts University Digital Library. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  2. ^ "Playwriting Alum Melis Aker Announced as Semifinalist for Page 73 Fellowship". Columbia University School of the Arts. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  3. ^ "Roundabout to Present 3 New Plays by Columbia's MFA Playwrights". Playbill. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  4. ^ "LMDA Columbia MFA Page 73 Nomination Announcement". LMDA. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  5. ^ "Melis Aker – King's College London". King's College London. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  6. ^ "2050 Artistic Fellows". New York Theatre Workshop. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  7. ^ "Play Group". Ars Nova. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  8. ^ "Melis Aker – Dramatists Guild Foundation". Dramatists Guild Foundation. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  9. ^ "Dramatists Guild Foundation Welcomes a New Class of Fellows". Playbill. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  10. ^ "Maison des Scénaristes – Cannes 2019". Maison des Scénaristes. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  11. ^ "Field, Awakening – The Kilroys". The Kilroys. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  12. ^ "The Kilroys Release Fifth Annual The List". Playbill. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  13. ^ "5 Plays by Emerging Playwrights to Catch in NYC This Summer". Playbill. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  14. ^ "Erasing the Middle East". HowlRound. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  15. ^ "Meet the Writers Panel: Middle Eastern MixFest". HowlRound. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  16. ^ "Atlantic Theater Company's Middle Eastern MixFest Kicks Off With Salim Salim". Playbill. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  17. ^ Soloski, Alexis (12 January 2021). "Playing by Air: Audio Theater for a Socially Distanced Era". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  18. ^ "Scraps and Things – Playing On Air". Playing On Air. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  19. ^ "The Homebound Project Concludes With One Last Star-Studded Anthology of Shorts". Time Out. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  20. ^ "Meet the Cohort for the 2024 Edition of The 24 Hour Plays Nationals". Playbill. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  21. ^ "Watch Ethan Hawke, Michael Urie, Rebecca Naomi Jones, More in Another Edition of The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues". Playbill. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  22. ^ "Women to Watch 2022". Broadway Women’s Fund. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  23. ^ "Broadway Women's Fund Releases 3rd Annual Women to Watch List". Playbill. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  24. ^ "Ars Nova and The Play Company Team Up for World Premiere of Hound Dog". Playbill. 15 September 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  25. ^ "Hound Dog – Ars Nova". Ars Nova. 24 August 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  26. ^ "The 30 Best Off-Broadway Shows to See in Fall 2022". Time Out. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  27. ^ "Melis Aker Is Signature Theatre's Inaugural LaunchPad Resident". American Theatre. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  28. ^ "Melis Aker Named Signature Theatre's 1st LaunchPad Resident Playwright". Playbill. 13 September 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  29. ^ "Signature Theatre Sets 2024–25 Season". New York Theatre Guide. 3 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  30. ^ "2023 Jonathan Larson Grants Announced". American Theatre Wing. 6 February 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  31. ^ "Jacinta Clusellas, Tatiana Pandiani, and Melis Aker". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  32. ^ "Theatre503 announces latest cohort for early-career playwrights scheme". The Stage. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  33. ^ "503Five – Theatre503". Theatre503. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  34. ^ "Theatre503 Announces Its New 503Five Resident Writers". Theatre Weekly. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  35. ^ "Sundance Interdisciplinary Program Sets Grantees". Deadline. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  36. ^ "2024 Fridays@3 Reading Series – Williamstown Theatre Festival". Williamstown Theatre Festival. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  37. ^ "Ethan Slater, Julie Benko, More to Star in Marcel on the Train at Williamstown Theatre Festival". Playbill. 5 June 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  38. ^ "Hundred Feet Tall". Waterstones. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  39. ^ "Hundred Feet Tall – The Old Vic". The Old Vic. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  40. ^ "Love in Afghanistan Cast Announced". Playbill. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  41. ^ "'Love in Afghanistan' at Arena Stage (video)". The Washington Post. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  42. ^ "Love in Afghanistan – 2013 Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards". Theatre Communications Group. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  43. ^ "Türk tiyatro sanatçısının Washington başarısı". Voice of America Turkish (in Turkish). 5 December 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  44. ^ "The Kingdom – The Equalizer Wiki". Fandom. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  45. ^ "The Blacklist: Redemption – Episode 1x02 "Kevin Jensen" Cast". TVmaze. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  46. ^ "Melis Aker on Spotify". Spotify. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  47. ^ "TDRM 5353 – Playwriting I". The New School. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  48. ^ "TDRM 5354 – Screenwriting I". The New School. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  49. ^ "Melis Aker – King's College London Profile". King's College London. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
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