The number of private theaters increased considerably after 1950. The Kucuk Sahne (The Little Stage) which was established by Muhsin Ertugrul, who had left the State Theater in 1951, trained many actors and actresses who made important contributions to the further development of the Turkish theater. The Dormen Theater, which was established in 1955, was among the successful groups of the 1960s.
The number of private theaters and amateur groups increased rapidly in the 1960s. The Oraloglu Theate, which was established in 1960, and the Gulriz Sururi-Engin Cezzar Group , which was established in 1962, managed to maintain a certain artistic level. The Ankara Sanat Tiyatrosu (the Ankara Art Theater), which was founded in 1963, became noted for the artistic quality of its performances. Many of the private theaters that were founded between 1960 and 1970 established affiliated children's theaters. Many private children's theaters were also established in this period.
Although many of the private theaters which were established after 1970 managed to live only for a short period of time, the mid-1980s and early 1990s were good times for private theaters. The Hadi Caman Yeditepe Oyunculari, the Enis Fosforoglu Theater, the Hodri Meydan Culture Center and the Ferhan Sensoy Ortaoyuncular are among the leading private theater groups in recent years. The Ankara Art Theater in Ankara, the Dormen Theater, Kent Oyunculari, Dostlar Theater, the Nisa Serezli-Tolga Askiner Theater, the Ali Poyrazoglu Theater, the Gazanfer Ozcan- Gonul Ulku Theater, the Nejat Uygur Theater and the Levent Kirca Theater in Istanbul are among the groups which have been performing since the 1960s and 1970s.