Melis Aker News

The Orchard Project is announcing the artists participating in its thirteenth summer theatre residency program. More than 30 artists and ensembles were selected for residencies this summer from nearly 1000 theatre artists and companies who applied.

Now in its eleventh consecutive year, the multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre presents Vibrant 2019 A Festival of Finborough Playwrights, its annual explosion of new writing, running between 16 June-4 July 2019.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO) and Columbia University School of the Arts (Carol Becker, Dean of Faculty) just announced the winners of Columbia@Roundabout's 2018 New Play Reading Series. As part of the collaborative partnership between Roundabout Theatre Company and Columbia University, the reading series awards three playwrights from the current MFA program and recent alumni with a cash prize as well as a reading in Roundabout's Rehearsal Hall, followed by a post-reading reception. Five finalists have also received cash prizes in recognition of their exceptional work. No other collaborative partnership in the New York area brings together an esteemed Ivy League MFA program with a Tony Award-winning, not-for-profit theatre. The reading series is made possible by a grant from The Tow Foundation.

Atlantic Theater Company announces casting for Middle Eastern MixFest, a series of free readings co-curated by playwrights Mona Mansour and Heather Raffo that will run Wednesday, August 8th through Thursday, August 16th at Atlantic Stage 2 (330 West 16th Street).

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) will present Middle Eastern MixFest, a series of free readings co-curated by playwrights Mona Mansour and Heather Raffothat will run Wednesday, August 8th through Thursday, August 16th at Atlantic Stage 2 (330 West 16th Street).

Corkscrew Theater Festival presents Field, Awakening, written by Melis Aker and directed by Tatiana Pandiani. Running July 14-22, Field, Awakening is a political drama set in Turkey in 2016, where a group of high school friends reunites at a soccer field on the evening of an attempted military coup. As the night progresses, the friends unexpectedly find themselves at the center of international strife, and they begin to realize that the Turkey they called home may be rapidly disappearing. Performed by Kieron Anthony, Ayse Babahan, Jamar Brathwaite, Sinan Eczacibasi*, Fahim Hamid*, and Nazli Sarpkaya, Field, Awakening is the second production in the second annual season of Corkscrew Theater Festival, a new summer theater festival that provides early-career artists with a high level of production support.

"Packed with young talent…in the risk-taking venture that is summer festival-going, encountering talent you want to see more of is a worthy payoff." - Laura Collins-Hughes,The New York Times

Golden Thread Productions, the first American theatre company devoted to the Middle East, returns to Brava with New Threads 2018, its popular and free staged reading series. This year's line-up includes plays by Turkish-American playwright Melis Aker (Manar in ReOrient 2017), recent NYU Abu Dhabi graduate Adam Ashraf Elsayigh, Bay Area-based Iraqi-Assyrian-American writer Edessa Tailo, and celebrated Romanian-French writer Matei Vi?niec. Bringing these gems to life will be four directors of Middle Eastern descent: internationally-acclaimed Egyptian actor and director Kal Naga; sought-after Iranian-American new plays director Pirronne Yousefzadeh; director and multimedia artist Nima Dehghani, who was named the "The Best Young Director of the Year' by the Iranian Theatre Directors Center in 2012; and Golden Thread's own Evren Odcikin.

Pan Asian Repertory Theatre (Tisa Chang, Founding Artistic Producing Director), continuing its 41st milestone season on themes of social justice and historic amnesia, has announced star of screen and stage, writer and historian Eric Bogosian, will lead a talkback panel.

Production photos have been released for the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre (Tisa Chang, Founding Artistic Producing Director) world premiere presentation of the new play Daybreak by Joyce van Dyke (A Girl's War). Directed by Lucie Tiberghein (The Pavilion), the six-member cast features Melis Aker (Manar), Nicole Ansari (Rock 'n' Roll), Robert Najarian (Sleep No More), Angela Pierce (Oslo), Michael Irvin Pollard (The Apple), and Tamara Sevunts (The Good Girl). Now in performance for a limited engagement through Sunday, May 13, 2018 at The Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street). Opening Night is Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.

Pan Asian Repertory Theatre (Tisa Chang, Founding Artistic Producing Director), continuing its 41st milestone season on themes of social justice and historic amnesia, presents the world premiere of the new play Daybreak by Joyce van Dyke (A Girl's War).  Performances BEGIN TOMORROW, April 21, 2018 for a limited engagement through Sunday, May 13, 2018 at The Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street).  Opening Night is Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.

Following a well-attended and critically-acclaimed inaugural year, Corkscrew Theater Festival returns for a second annual season, running July 9 - August 5 at the Paradise Factory (64 East 4th Street, Manhattan). This summer theater festival provides early-career artists with a high level of production support and features five world premieres and four readings performed in repertory over four weeks. Special attention has been given to theater makers who are developing work through robust and innovative collaborative models.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) announces five productions as part of its complete 2018/19 Season, and the first production of their 2019/20 Season. The season begins in Fall 2018 with WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME by two-time Obie Award winner Heidi Schreck (Grand Concourse, "I Love Dick") and directed by Obie Award winner Oliver Butler (The Amateurs, The Light Years); followed by the New York Premiere ofSLAVE PLAY by Jeremy O. Harris (Daddy).

Meet the Cast and Creative Team of Pan Asian Repertory Theatre presentation of the world premiere of the new play Daybreak by Joyce van Dyke (A Girl's War). Directed by Lucie Tiberghein (The Pavilion), the six-member cast will feature Melis Aker (Manar), Nicole Ansari (Rock 'n' Roll), Robert Najarian (Sleep No More), Angela Pierce (Oslo), Michael Irvin Pollard (The Apple), and Tamara Sevunts (The Good Girl). Performances begin Saturday, April 21, 2018 for a limited engagement through Sunday, May 13, 2018 at The Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street). Opening Night is Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.

Columbia University School of the Arts presents ten new plays written by the Columbia MFA Playwriting Students of 2018. The esteemed faculty who have nurtured these students, including Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and Charles L. Mee, invite you to experience these innovative new playwrights.

Pan Asian Repertory Theatre (Tisa Chang, Founding Artistic Producing Director), continuing its 41st milestone season on themes of social justice and historic amnesia, presents the world premiere of the new play Daybreak by Joyce van Dyke (A Girl's War).

Golden Thread Productions, the first American theatre company devoted to the Middle East, is proud to present its biennial signature program: ReOrient 2017 Festival of Short Playsfeaturing plays and artists from Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Japan, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the U.S. all on one stage.

Noor Theatre is gearing up for its 2017-2018 season. As the barrage of issues affecting Middle Eastern communities across the globe grows, this unique company continues to create a dialogue between their artists and audiences and shed light on these varied and complex perspectives.

Artistic Director Robert Lyons presents the 24th annual Obie Award-winning Ice Factory Festival. Ice Factory 2017 takes place at New Ohio Theatre, located at 154 Christopher Street between Greenwich and Washington Streets in New York City. Ice Factory 2017 will present seven new works over seven weeks, running now through August 12. Scroll down for a sneak peek at some of the productions!

Artistic Director Robert Lyons presents the 24th annual Obie Award-winning Ice Factory Festival. Ice Factory 2017 takes place at New Ohio Theatre, located at 154 Christopher Street between Greenwich and Washington Streets in New York City. Ice Factory 2017 will present seven new works over seven weeks, running today, June 28, through August 12.