Melis Aker ’18 has been named Signature Theatre’s inaugural LaunchPad Resident Playwright. Her appointment comes after an open selection process to which over 230 playwrights submitted more than 500 plays.
Signature Theatre calls itself an artistic home for storytellers; it features a unique playwright-in-residence model that enables resident artists to generate individual bodies of work in stable, supportive environments. Its newest residency program, LaunchPad, is meant to act as an incubator for early career playwrights from historically underrepresented communities. Aker, who is Turkish, artfully weaves her culture into her work. Signature Theatre’s Artistic Director, Paige Evans, says, “Melis asks crucial questions about what needs to be translated culturally for an audience and what doesn’t. That intersection of cultures, which runs through her body of work, was so compelling to us.”
LaunchPad is a three-year program during which the selected playwright will be granted two $15,000 commissions, a workshop production, and a full production at Ford Studio, a 99-seat venue. The LaunchPad resident also receives healthcare benefits, an annual stipend to attend theatre shows, a week-long writing retreat outside of New York City, and constant mentorship.
Aker expressed her gratitude for the opportunity, remarking how special it is in the theatre industry to be granted the gift of time and space to create meaningful work: “There are two resources in particular that I believe young writers like myself yearn for: time to create work tethered to an informed process, and financial compensation for that time spent figuring out what your process even is, so that you can have a tangible outcome, and intentional impact. I am deeply grateful to Signature Theatre for providing me with both, and for their robust, longstanding investment in my career as a writer.”
Melis Aker, originally from Turkey, is a writer, actor, and musician who splits her time between New York and London. In the United States, Aker has been commissioned by Ars Nova, Atlantic Theater Company, New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW), The New Group, Dramatists Guild, Roundabout Space Jam, La MaMa, The Flea Theater, Corkscrew Theatre Festival, and BRIClab, among others. Her work has also been developed at London’s Finborough and Park Theatres. Her plays, many of which focus on immigrant experiences or identities, particularly those of Turkish or Middle Eastern individuals, include: Hound Dog, When Mama was a Hittite, Manar, Gilded Isle, and Field, Awakening. Beyond her playwriting work, Aker is pursuing her PhD in Creative Writing/Fiction at King’s College, London, while also working as a part-time faculty member at The New School’s School of Drama. Earlier this year, she was named a Woman to Watch on Broadway by the Broadway Women’s Fund.
