Zishan Ugurlu

Zishan Ugurlu serves as an Associate Professor at The New School University and holds a director-in-residence position at La MaMa Theater, where she has performed in numerous productions. She founded and leads "Actors without Borders-ITONY," an organization dedicated to international theater collaboration and cultural exchange.

Her academic background includes an MFA from Columbia University and a Ph.D. Her research and creative practice centers on socially engaged theater, with specific expertise in contemporary performance, prison theater initiatives, and cross-cultural directing methodologies that challenge conventional artistic boundaries.

Ugurlu has received significant recognition including the 2020 International Gramsci Prize for Theater in Prison and The United Solo Festival's Best Direction Award for "Dream American." These honors highlight her commitment to theater as a tool for social transformation and political discourse.

Through "Actors without Borders-ITONY," she mentors emerging artists in creating politically charged work, though formal academic advising details remain unspecified. Her recent productions—such as "Fragments, Lists & Lacunae" featuring Judith Butler and adaptations of Dario Fo & Franca Rame's works—demonstrate her focus on feminist and activist performance traditions within progressive theater spaces.