Ayhan Hulagu

Ayhan Hulagu is an award-winning New York-based Turkish American actor, writer, and puppeteer.  After obtaining his college degree, he joined the Sahika Tekand Studio Players in Istanbul. Hulagu brought his artistic experience to the U.S. and was granted an ‘extraordinary ability artist’ status. In 2017, he founded the US Karagoz Theatre Company, followed by Studio Garage. His shows have been seen in nearly 40 states across the U.S., and he has organized masterclass workshops and exhibitions to gain new fans and audiences for Turkish theatre at international festivals and universities.

Hulagu has been a guest artist at multiple universities, including Princeton, Cornell, UC Berkeley, MIT, Stanford, and Harvard. He directed a postdoctoral study on American folktales in Anatolian theatre at the University of California, Irvine, Department of Drama. A master’s thesis was also written at the Shanghai Theatre Academy on his projects.

He brought Don Quixote, Hamlet, Stories of Dede Korkut, and 1001 Nights Tales to traditional Turkish theatre for the first time and was nominated for the Best Adapted Plays of the Year in America in 2021. His works have been featured at major international festivals such as the 44th Vancouver Film Festival, the 61st Chicago Film Festival, the 34th Neapolis International Theatre Festival, the National Puppet Festival, and both the Hollywood & New York Fringe Festivals.   He frequently receives similar invitations from organizations in the U.S., Africa, and Europe.

He is the founder of the PAU Theatre Festival, which has been held annually since 2005, and the Hayal Perdesi Players. He also served as a board member of Puppeteers of America in 2022. He made history as the first artist to introduce traditional Anatolian theatre — with its nearly 700 years of history — to Broadway.

Hulagu is the author of Shakespeare’s Cats, Shadow of Hamlet, The Flying Fish, and Those Within the Stage.

He currently resides in the United States and continues to participate in both cinema and theatre projects.

Official website: www.ayhanhulagu.com