This year’s Baykal Saran Actress of the Year award went to Bilkent University Department of Performing Arts instructor and Turkish State Theater actress Zeynep Ekin Öner Öztürk for her role in “Joko’nun Doğum Günü.”
The play is a Turkish translation of “Joko’s Birthday” by French playwright Roland Topor, which was staged at the Ankara State Theater under the direction of İlham Yazar.
The award, which was given for the 11th time this year, is named after State Theater artist and director Baykal Saran, who passed away in 2006.
Following her graduation from the Hacettepe University Theater Department of the State Conservatory in 2000, Ms. Öner Öztürk completed her master’s degree in 2002 at the Hacettepe University Institute of Social Sciences. She began working at the Ankara State Theater in 2011.