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Melis Aker

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Melis Aker
Born
Ankara, Turkey
NationalityTurkish
Alma materTufts University, Columbia University
Occupation(s)Playwright, screenwriter, actor, musician

Melis Aker is a Turkish playwright, screenwriter, actor, and musician. Her work has been developed or presented by institutions including the Sundance Institute, Signature Theatre Company, The Old Vic, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and the Atlantic Theater Company.

Early life and education

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Aker received a bachelor's degree in Dramatic Literature and Philosophy from Tufts University in 2013.[1] She completed an MFA in Playwriting from Columbia University in 2018, studying under David Henry Hwang and Lynn Nottage.[2][3][4] She also trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and is pursuing 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] In 2019, her screenplay Arı [Bee] was selected for the Maison des Scénaristes marketplace at the Cannes Film Festival.[9]

Her play Field, Awakening was included on the 2019 Kilroys List.[10][11] Set on the night of the 2016 attempted coup in Turkey, it follows childhood friends reuniting on an Istanbul football field amid political unrest. The play was featured in HowlRound's panel on Middle Eastern playwrights including Sanaz Toossi and Mona Mansour.[12][13] Her short play Scraps and Things was commissioned by the Atlantic Theater Company for its Middle Eastern MixFest.[14] It was later featured on the Playing On Air podcast starring Carol Kane, where she co-starred and composed the music.[15] The episode was highlighted by The New York Times, with critic Maya Phillips writing: "when the play took a surprising turn... I turned off the vacuum and stalled in the hallway, afraid I'd miss a word."[16]

During the COVID-19 lockdown, Aker wrote the teleplay Fractio Panis for The Homebound Project, performed by Brian Cox and Nicole Ansari-Cox.[17][18] She contributed two monologues to The 24 Hour Plays and served as a panelist alongside Annie Baker and Jesse Eisenberg.[19][20]

In 2022, Aker was named one of the "Women to Watch" by the Broadway Women's Fund, an initiative recognising emerging female theatre-makers.[21][22] Her play with music Hound Dog premiered Off-Broadway at Greenwich House Theater, co-produced by Ars Nova and The Play Company.[23][24] The play received a mixed reception. Elisabeth Vincentelli of The New York Times was critical of the play, writing that it had unfulfilled potential and a lack of focus and bite.[25] The show was listed by Time Out New York among the best Off-Broadway productions of the season.[26] That year, she was announced as the inaugural LaunchPad resident playwright at Signature Theatre Company, where she was commissioned to write the play Fish.[27][28] The play was featured as part of Signature Theatre's 2023–24 season.[29]

In 2023, Aker received a Jonathan Larson Grant through the American Theatre Wing as co-book writer and co-lyricist of the bilingual musical Azul.[30][31] That year, she also joined the 503Five residency at Theatre503 in London, where she developed her play Murmurs under commission.[32][33][34]

In 2024, her short film Baba in Graceland was produced with support from the 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 musical stage adaptation of Hundred Feet Tall, based on the children's book by Benjamin Scheuer and Jemima Williams. The production was staged by The Old Vic and toured public libraries and children's hospitals across London.[38][39][40]

Acting and music

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

As a singer-songwriter, Aker has released multiple albums and EPs, including Dirt, The Other Side, and the seasonal Sessions series on Spotify.[46]

Academic work

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

Works

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Plays

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

Screenwriting and film

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  • 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)

References

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  1. ^ Tufts University Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies.
  2. ^ "Roundabout to Present 3 New Plays by Columbia's MFA Playwrights". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2025-06-10. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  3. ^ https://arts.columbia.edu/news/melis-aker-'18-premieres-new-play-field-nytw Columbia School of the Arts
  4. ^ "Dramatists Guild Foundation Welcomes A New Class of Fellows". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2025-06-10. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  5. ^ "Writing for Film 2 | Course Description Archive | The New School". Writing for Film 2 | Course Description Archive | The New School. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  6. ^ "NYTW Announces 2018–19 Season & Fellows". New York Theatre Workshop. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  7. ^ "Ars Nova Play Group". Ars Nova. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  8. ^ "Dramatists Guild Foundation names new fellows". Playbill. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  9. ^ "Cannes Film Festival Maison des Scénaristes submissions". Maison des Scénaristes. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  10. ^ "The Kilroys Release Newest List of Noteworthy Plays by Women". American Theatre. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  11. ^ "Field, Awakening". The Kilroys. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  12. ^ "Meet Writers Panel: Middle Eastern MixFest". HowlRound. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  13. ^ "Erasing the Middle East". HowlRound. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  14. ^ "Middle Eastern MixFest kicks off". Playbill. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  15. ^ "Playing on Air: Scraps and Things". Playing On Air. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  16. ^ Soloski, Alexis (2021-01-12). "Playing by Air: 5 Audio Theater Series to Try". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  17. ^ Feldman, Adam. "The Homebound Project concludes with star-studded anthology". Time Out New York. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  18. ^ "Homebound Project announcement". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  19. ^ "24 Hour Plays nationals cohort announced". Playbill. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  20. ^ "Viral monologues edition". Playbill. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  21. ^ https://www.broadwaywomensfund.com/2022-women-to-watch
  22. ^ "Team". Broadway Womens Fund.
  23. ^ "Hound Dog - Ars Nova". arsnovanyc.com. August 24, 2022.
  24. ^ https://www.playco.org/hound-dog
  25. ^ Vincentelli, Elisabeth (October 26, 2022). "'Hound Dog' Review: A Soul-Searching Journey Strays Off Course". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  26. ^ https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/best-off-broadway-shows-in-nyc
  27. ^ "Melis Aker Is Signature Theatre's Inaugural LaunchPad Resident". AMERICAN THEATRE. 22 September 2022.
  28. ^ "Melis Aker Named Signature Theatre's 1st LaunchPad Resident Playwright".
  29. ^ https://signaturetheatre.org/shows-and-events/Productions/2023-2024/Fish.aspx
  30. ^ https://www.americantheatre.org/2023/04/04/2023-larson-grant-winners-announced/
  31. ^ https://newyorktheater.me/2023/04/04/2023-jonathan-larson-grant-winners-include-azul-creators-and-a-stray-dog/
  32. ^ "Theatre503 | 503Five".
  33. ^ https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/new-writing-scheme-the-503five-announces-2023-intake
  34. ^ https://www.londonpubtheatres.com/theatre503-announces-new-503five-residents/
  35. ^ "sundance.org".
  36. ^ https://www.wtfestival.org/main-events/fridays-3-2024/
  37. ^ "TheaterMania.com".
  38. ^ https://www.oldvictheatre.com/whats-on/2024/hundred-feet-tall
  39. ^ Dillon, Luke (February 17, 2025). "The Old Vic's new musical play Hundred Feet Tall to tour London libraries for free this easter | West End Theatre". www.westendtheatre.com.
  40. ^ Newitt, Emmie. "The Old Vic announces new musical play, HUNDRED FEET TALL". Theatre News and Reviews.
  41. ^ "'Love in Afghanistan' at Arena Stage". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  42. ^ "Love in Afghanistan - Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards". circle.tcg.org.
  43. ^ "Türk Tiyatro Sanatçısının Washington Başarısı". VOA Türkçe. November 29, 2013.
  44. ^ https://www.arenastage.org/globalassets/shows/2013-14/love-in-afghanistan/loa-press-kit-final.pdf
  45. ^ "Kevin Jensen - Guest Cast | TVmaze". www.tvmaze.com.
  46. ^ https://open.spotify.com/artist/7f6OPGJROrR9KIGT0BTz5P
  47. ^ "Writing for Film 1 | Course Description Archive | The New School". Writing for Film 1 | Course Description Archive | The New School.
  48. ^ "Writing for Film 2 | Course Description Archive | The New School". Writing for Film 2 | Course Description Archive | The New School.
  49. ^ https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/melis-aker
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