Emel Aydoğdu, born 1990 in Gaziantep, studied scenic research, religious studies, art history and contemporary art. In 2011 she was honoured in the Bundeskanzleramt with the Stiftung Mercator’s special prize for her documentary MEINE OMA, MEINE WURZEL, MEINE HEIMAT. From 2017-2019, she worked as an assistant director at the Theater Oberhausen. Her previous works have been produced at the Schauspielhaus Bochum, Junges Schauspielhaus Düsseldorf, Theater Osnabrück, Theater Oberhausen, Junges Staatstheater Braunschweig, Theater Konstanz and Theater Bonn. Thus far she has received various awards, festival invitations and fellowships for her work (including Monospektakel X, Spielarten NRW, Favoriten, Nachwuchsstipendium des Ministeriums für Kultur und Wissenschaft NRW). DIE OPTIMISTINNEN by Gün Tank is her first production at the Maxim Gorki Theatre.
