(HACKENSACK, NJ) -- Studio Garage presents Chekhov's People at Hackensack Performing Arts Center on June 8-9, 2026 at 8:00pm each night. Performed in Turkish. The play explores the human condition through a blend of Anton Chekhov's The Good Doctor and his short plays The Bear and A Marriage Proposal.
The play captures the struggle to change in a world of social pressure and contradiction. Inspired by traditional Turkish Orta Oyunu (a form of traditional Turkish folk theatre) and Meddah (storytelling), this production presents Chekhov’s classic vulnerabilities with a unique blend of compassion and subtle humor.
Directed by Nadir Sarıbacak, the cast includes Ayhan Hulagu, Aykhan Bunyadzada, Büşra Sürer, Fatih Uruç, Fethi Gülen, Hilal Kırkpınar, Mina Dumankaya, Saba Aydıner, Selma Hacıbeyoğlu, Suat Öztürk, Tuğba Arslan, Vildan Urfan, and Yavuz Aya.
Tickets are $35 and available for purchase online. Hackensack Performing Arts Center is located at 102 State Street in Hackensack, New Jersey.
Run time is 130 minutes (two acts with a 15-minute intermission). Doors open at 7:45pm. Due to the nature of the staging, there is a strict no-entry and no-exit policy once the play begins at 8:00 PM. Late arrivals will not be admitted.
The production team includes Director: Nadir Sarıbacak; Assistant Director: Vildan Urfan; Stage & Costume Design: Elif Sönmez; Poster Design: Selma Hacıbeyoğlu; Photography: Halit Ömer Camcı; and Lighting Design: Atahan Kacaroglu.
Studio Garage is a New Jersey–based nonprofit corporation founded in 2024 by Nadir Sarıbacak and Ayhan Hulagu, recognized as a 501(c)(3) organization. The company produces original film and theater projects rooted in a distinctive narrative language that brings together performance, storytelling, and visual imagination, and also offers acting classes shaped by its own artistic approach.
The company’s journey began with the film Gazelle, written and performed by Sarıbacak and Hulagu and directed by Sarıbacak. The film premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival, where it received the Audience Award, and went on to screen at numerous international festivals, including the Chicago International Film Festival, New York DWF, and the Sedona International Film Festival. These early screenings established Studio Garage’s commitment to character-driven storytelling and cross-disciplinary artistic exploration.
Expanding its artistic scope into theater, Studio Garage adapted The Ugly Duckling, based on the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen, into its own narrative-driven theatrical language, blending performance, puppetry, and direct engagement with the audience. The company further developed its repertoire with Notes from Underground, adapted from the text by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and The People of Chekhov, inspired by the short stories and plays of Anton Chekhov. Across its work, Studio Garage focuses on adaptation as a living process—reimagining literary and cultural sources through contemporary performance while preserving their emotional and philosophical depth.
