Writing Portfolio
Evren works as a playwright, translator, and adaptor of classics.
Please reach out through the CONTACT section to get access to scripts.
ORIENTAL, or 1,001 Ways to Tie Yourself in Knots
by Evren Odcikin
Originally conceived and written with Leila Buck
Cengiz has been commissioned to make an adaptation of A Thousand and One Nights from a Very Important Theater Company, and asked to bring his immigrant, Muslim, queer perspective to it. Unfortunately, he is not sure what all that means. As his characters revolt and refuse to tell the stories that he requires of them, can Cengiz face his demons, change the minds and hearts of his audience, and save all the women of the kingdom in the process? ORIENTAL is an absurdist look at the hilarious knots SWANA creatives must tie themselves in to tell their stories and make a career in the American theatre.
6 characters (5 femme, 1 masc)
Development History:
Semi-Finalist, Ojai Playwrights Conference (2026)
Workshop production at Golden Thread Productions, directed by Elizabeth Carter, dramaturged by Torange Yeghiazarian (2025)
Supported by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation's NEW Program (2025)
Originally commissioned by Cal Shakes (2017), including multiple community-engaged workshops
ON THE PERIPHERY
by Sedef Ecer, translated by Evren Odcikin
Farmers Dilcha and Bilo leave their home in the countryside to make a life in the big city. Young lovers Azad and Tamar appeal to superstar Sultane’s reality TV show to realize their dream of a life in France. Roma woman Kybelee finds home in a shack she has made with her own hands. Set in Istanbul and Paris, Ecer’s new play takes a lyrical, funny, and deeply human look at hope and home against all odds.
6 characters (4 femme, 2 masc)
Production and development history:
New Threads Staged Reading, Golden Thread Productions (2017)
Matchbox Staged Reading, Crowded Fire (2019)
Premiere, directed by Erin Gilley, Golden Thread and Crowded Fire (2020)
ISTANBUL 1995
a play with music by Evren Odcikin
A woman called Bosphorus sings mournful songs of a shimmering past while a chain of seemingly unrelated interactions between strangers unfolds. Set in, you guessed it, in Istanbul in 1995, the funny and moving play weaves a tapestry of complex humanity and culture in one of the oldest cities in the world.
8 characters (5 femme, including a singer, 3 masc)
Development History:
Residency: Mercury Store, with composer Avi Amon (2026)
PLAYS
THE DREAM SELLER
an interactive play by Zehra İpşiroğlu, translated by Evren Odcikin
A fortune-teller has made it. She is married with two kids, she is rich, and she has a nationally beloved show. While she promises her audience love and wealth (for a price), her supposedly perfect life slowly unravels over the course of one fateful performance. Based on a true story, this darkly humorous, interactive work holds up a mirror up to the ingrained narratives of womanhood in a deeply sexist world.
1 character (femme)
Development History:
Commissioned by NYU Abu Dhabi (2022)
AS YOU LIKE IT
by William Shakespeare, in a very queer adaptation by Evren Odcikin
created in collaboration with dramaturg Dr. Philippa Kelly
A dazzling, music-filled, fashion-forward romp through the Forest of Arden. Joyous and romantic, this reimagining leans into the comedy’s delicious fluidity of gender and identity. Join the celebration of love, out loud, in all its forms.
10 actors (gender-flexible)
Development History:
Premiere, directed by Evren Odcikin, Marin Shakes (2026)
THE BRAGGART SOLDIER, or Major Blowhard
by Plautus, adapted by Evren Odcikin
based on a translation by Deena Berg
This fast and furious mash-up of Plautus proves that Roman comedies never get old, they just get funnier!
7 actors (3 femme, 2 masc, 3 gender flexible)
Production History:
Premiere, directed by Evren Odcikin, Custom Made Theatre Company (2015)
