Samantha Marchant

Samantha Marchant serves as an Adjunct Lecturer in the Theatre & Music Studies program at SUNY College at Brockport, where she teaches Intro to Theatre (THE111) and Intro to Acting (THE221). Based in Western New York, she maintains an active dual career as both an educator and professional playwright-director.

Marchant earned her MFA in Playwriting from Spalding University's Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing in 2015, following her BS in Creative Writing from SUNY Brockport in 2012. Her academic background directly informs her teaching practice and creative work.

Her research interests span contemporary playwriting techniques, experimental theatre forms, immersive performance practices, and the intersection of comedy with serious thematic material. Marchant's work often explores family dynamics, identity formation, and unconventional narrative structures through both comedic and dramatic lenses. She demonstrates particular interest in audience engagement strategies and non-traditional performance spaces.

An analysis of her recent publications reveals consistent exploration of mythological reinterpretation, psychological complexity within everyday settings, and innovative structural approaches to storytelling. Her work frequently employs dark comedy elements to examine serious themes while maintaining theatrical accessibility. Many pieces feature strong female characters navigating complex interpersonal dynamics.

• Horton Foote Scholar at the Sewanee Writers' Conference
• DGF National Fellowship Finalist
• Semi-Finalist for the O'Neill National Playwrights Conference (Stintz Milestrip Center)
• Publications in Smith & Kraus The Best 10-Minute Plays, The Louisville Review, and Sick Lit Magazine

As a proud member of the Dramatist Guild and BAWG Playwrights, Marchant actively participates in the professional theatre community while mentoring students at SUNY Brockport. Her creative work has been produced or developed with numerous theatre companies including Nickel Flour, Woven Theatre, Workshop Theater, and Alleyway Theatre across the United States and Canada. Her full-length script Turtle Play is now available from Next Stage Press.