Christopher Lysik

Christopher Lysik

Christopher Lysik (he/him) is a New England boy who writes plays, music, and plays w/ music.

He has developed work with Williamstown Theatre Festival, Powerhouse Theater, Fresh Ground Pepper, KCACTF, The Clemente, Rhode Island Youth Theatre, and Rutgers University. He is a 2024 recipient of the Marcus Bach Fellowship at The University of Iowa, and was a finalist for the 2020 Greenhouse Residency...
Christopher Lysik (he/him) is a New England boy who writes plays, music, and plays w/ music.

He has developed work with Williamstown Theatre Festival, Powerhouse Theater, Fresh Ground Pepper, KCACTF, The Clemente, Rhode Island Youth Theatre, and Rutgers University. He is a 2024 recipient of the Marcus Bach Fellowship at The University of Iowa, and was a finalist for the 2020 Greenhouse Residency at SPACE on Ryder Farm. Prior to writing, he appeared as an actor at Shakespeare's Globe (London), Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Trinity Repertory Theater, among others. Christopher's gender-equitable, musical adaptation of Treasure Island, commissioned by Rhode Island Youth Theatre, premiered in August 2023.

Christopher has assisted on projects with playwrights and composers including Mashuq Mushtaq Deen, Zoe Sarnak, and Geoffrey Nauffts. He has also held positions at Manhattan Theatre Club and New Dramatists.

He is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild, and an even prouder cancer survivor. MFA: Iowa Playwrights Workshop (in progress). BFA: Rutgers- Mason Gross School of the Arts (Acting).

Plays

  • Pierogi Play
    It’s 1944, and the Germans are marching past the house, ready to take Buzançais, and…

    It’s 2011, and the doctor has called with the results of the MRI, even though it’s well past bedtime, and…

    It’s Today. And You are here, and I am here, and I need to tell you a story.
  • Berrigan, or an Island tale
    Everything was going swell for Anna, until her father decided to go off and die, and her mother went basically catatonic. Also, some new kid just arrived on the island, and he’s kinda cool but also kinda annoying, and it really seems like he should be away at college right now…

    Meanwhile, on a different island, a girl has somehow broken the Perimeter, even though nobody’s done that in like a...
    Everything was going swell for Anna, until her father decided to go off and die, and her mother went basically catatonic. Also, some new kid just arrived on the island, and he’s kinda cool but also kinda annoying, and it really seems like he should be away at college right now…

    Meanwhile, on a different island, a girl has somehow broken the Perimeter, even though nobody’s done that in like a thousand years. The Keeper has decided to let her stay, too, which is strange, considering the lack of food already. Really, though, the newcomer is just another task for the Keeper's Assistant, who has enough on his plate, what with the cooking and keeping the Keeper's house and everything.

    Oh, and in both places, the Storms are getting worse…
  • Treasure Island: A New Musical
    Jayne Hawkins was content with her quiet life— until the mysterious new guest at her mother’s inn reveals a map to Captain Flint’s fabled buried gold, and she is whisked across the sea on a daring adventure! But, treachery may be closer than it seems as she and her cohort of sailors discover their ship has been infiltrated by a group of bloodthirsty pirates, led by the villainous Long Jon Silver…
    ...
    Jayne Hawkins was content with her quiet life— until the mysterious new guest at her mother’s inn reveals a map to Captain Flint’s fabled buried gold, and she is whisked across the sea on a daring adventure! But, treachery may be closer than it seems as she and her cohort of sailors discover their ship has been infiltrated by a group of bloodthirsty pirates, led by the villainous Long Jon Silver…

    Full of suspense, sword fights, and plenty of shanties, Robert Louis Stevenson’s legendary adventure story has been reborn and reimagined in this new gender-equitable adaptation.
  • Thicker Than Water
    As the sun makes its journey across the sky, Big and Little sit together by the ocean debating life, religion, and the nature of brotherhood. As time passes, however, something deeper is revealed. Based on a previous short play entitled "The Dunes."