Signature Theatre’s 24/25 season has been announced and will include Fish, a developmental production from playwright Melis Aker ’18, directed by Tatiana Pandiani ’16. The performance comes as part of Signature’s LaunchPad Playwright Residency, of which Aker is the inaugural resident, and will be performed for an invite-only audience in September.
Described as a “daring coming-of-age story,” Fish follows Karya, a British-Turkish teenager who decides to catfish ISIS with her best friend following the disappearance of her brother. The play was commissioned by the Signature Theatre Company, as one of two commissions to be given to Aker through the LaunchPad Playwright Residency. The residency is geared towards New York City-based early career playwrights from historically underrepresented communities, and consists of two commissions, one workshop, and one full production.
More information about Aker’s play can be found here.
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.
A director, producer, and choreographer, Pandiani is the New Works Director at Miami New Drama where she currently oversees new play and musical commissions. Pandiani has developed and directed work at Signature Theatre and The Public, among others. She was a NYTW Directing Fellow and is a recipient of the National Directors Fellowship from the O'Neill Center & the Kennedy Center.
