Sam Byron Named Harold Clurman Playwrights Division's Playwright-in-Residence for 2015

The Harold Clurman Playwrights Division, a program of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, has announced that writer Sam Byron was selected to be Playwright-in-Residence for 2015. Previous residents include Dennis Staroselsky, Halley Feiffer, Mia Chung, Anton Dudley, Christina Gorman, Zayd Dohrn, and Peter Nickowitz. Over two hundred writers submitted applications and full-length plays for consideration in the annual merit-based search.

Sam Byron's plays include Standard Aptitude (The New School for Drama), Gordy Crashes (finalist, 2014 Stanley Drama Award), Animals (Wide Eyed Productions, winner of the Fringe NYC award for Overall Excellence in Directing, Kristin Skye Hoffmann), Brooklyn Vacancies (finalist, New Works Program at T. Schreiber Studio, New York City), Static (finalist, HotCity Theater's Greenhouse Festival, St. Louis), and Debt (Horse Trade Theater, New York City, and Dillingham Center for Performing Arts, Ithaca, NY). Sam holds an MFA from The New School for Drama where he was a recipient of the 2012 Steinberg New Playwrights Fellowship. He is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America and was the Playwright-in-Residence for Wide Eyed Productions' 2013-2014 season.

The Playwrights Division was created to support emerging playwrights. Each residency is unique and writers work with the Artistic Director Tom Oppenheim to build a year of activities that will be beneficial to them and their process. For one year the resident writer has the opportunity to make use of the studio's resources to advance their craft, spend time on works-in-progress or develop new work. The "playwright's choice" model has resulted in a number of projects including new works receiving a showcase production from the studio's Harold Clurman Lab Theater or being paired with a creative team to collectively conceive and design a new play. Resident playwrights receive a modest stipend and have access to studio space, members of the Harold Clurman Laboratory Theatre Company and student actors for readings and workshops.

Said Artistic Director Tom Oppenheim, "The Playwrights Division aims to find the best emerging playwrights and to support them and their creative process holisticly and intensively. Artists know what they need in order to grow. Instead of prescribing activity to participating writers, we work with playwrights through series of conversations and developmental events to find out how we can best serve their craft and development. I look forward to working with Sam Byron in the coming year and to encountering the work of the other top writers throughout the year."

The Harold Clurman Playwrights Division will support four additional writers who were finalists in the residency search. Barbara Blumenthal Ehrlich will participate in a week-long intensive exploration of a play. Three additional writers have been invited to participate in the third annual First Breath New Play Reading Series in spring 2015. Work from Mike Duffy, Adam Kraar and Dan McCabe will be featured in the reading series.