Playwriting Alum Melis Aker ’18 Announced Semifinalist for Page 73 Fellowship

The Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship recently announced ten Semifinalists for 2022. One of the semifinalists is Playwriting alum Melis Aker ’18.  Aker was selected from more than 300 applicants. 

In its 19th year, the Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship is a prestigious award that supports a playwright who has not yet had a professional premiere in New York City. Each Fellow will receive an honorarium of $10,000 with an additional $10,000 in development support. The funds help the Fellows with their proposed project and can be used for expenses such as research, workshop, reading presentations, or fees for collaborative artists. Each Fellow will work with Page 73 on at least one public presentation of their new play. They will also identify their artistic collaborators like directors, designers, and actors. 

The finalists and the Fellowship recipient will be announced in January of 2022.

Melis Aker is a writer-actor-musician originally from Turkey. Her scripts have been commissioned by/developed at the Atlantic (Middle Eastern Mixfest), Ars Nova (Play Group member), NYTW (2050 fellow), O’Neill, NAMT, Cannes Film Festival, IFP, New Group, Dramatists Guild (DGF fellow), Roundabout, Lark (MEA lab) & more in the U.S., and the Finborough and Park theatres in London. She recently worked on developing a screenplay with Revelations Entertainment headed by Morgan Freeman, wrote Fractio Panis starring Brian Cox for Homebound Project/No Kid Hungry directed by Tatiana Pandiani, and released her New York Times-reviewed play Scraps and Things on Playing On Air, starring Carol Kane, directed by Neil Pepe. Acting credits include: The Equalizer (CBS), The Blacklist: Redemption (NBC), Seneca (HBO Max), Love in Afghanistan (Arena Stage & Roundabout), Proof (Edinburgh Fringe). Melis is a recipient of the Sundance Interdisciplinary Program grant.