About
A non-profit scholarly and artistic association advancing theatre, performance and drama studies.
The Turkish Society for Theatre Research (TSTR) is a non-profit scholarly and artistic association founded to advance theatre, performance and drama studies at national and international levels. As stated in its statute, its purpose is “to promote theatre, performance and drama studies at national and international levels for the benefit of all people.”
The Society brings scholars, researchers, educators, actors, directors, playwrights, dramaturgs, translators and everyone who works for the theatre onto common ground. It aims to increase the visibility of research on theatre history, theory, dramaturgy and practice, to build a lasting network between researchers from different disciplines, and to bring academic knowledge back to the stage.
Since 2023 the Society has held an international conference every year, each hosted by a different university: TED University in Ankara (“Origins”, 2023), Bahçeşehir University Conservatory in İstanbul (“Existence, Tradition and Future”, 2024), Süleyman Demirel University in Isparta (“Evolution”, 2025) and Marmara University in İstanbul (“Borders & Boundaries”, 2026). With paper sessions, workshops, performances and keynote lectures, these conferences have become one of the most comprehensive gatherings of theatre research in Türkiye.
Alongside the conferences we run Theatre Talks, a series of conversations with people working in the theatre, and publish the work presented at our conferences in open-access books of abstracts and proceedings.
The TSTR is among the member associations of IFTR (International Federation for Theatre Research), ASTR (American Society for Theatre Research) and the Turkish Theatre Foundation.