Sam Walsh

Sam Walsh is a New York based playwright, performer, and multi-disciplinary artist. They write deceptively naturalistic plays about the poetry of contemporary American life.

Their work has been presented and/or developed at Studio Theatre, the Barrow Group, the Hearth, Brick Aux, Urban Stages, LPAC, Ateneo de Manila University, the Hippodrome State Theater, Stroller Scene, and Threshold Theater.

She has been a Finalist for the New Georges Jam, Ingram New Works Lab, Rootstock Reading Series, and Chain Theater Playwriting Lab; a Semi-Finalist for Play Penn, The Princess Grace Award, The National Playwrights Conference, WP Lab, Terrence McNally New Works Incubator, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, the Hearth’s Virtual Retreat, The Parity Development Award, Unicorn Theatre New Play...

Sam Walsh is a New York based playwright, performer, and multi-disciplinary artist. They write deceptively naturalistic plays about the poetry of contemporary American life.

Their work has been presented and/or developed at Studio Theatre, the Barrow Group, the Hearth, Brick Aux, Urban Stages, LPAC, Ateneo de Manila University, the Hippodrome State Theater, Stroller Scene, and Threshold Theater.

She has been a Finalist for the New Georges Jam, Ingram New Works Lab, Rootstock Reading Series, and Chain Theater Playwriting Lab; a Semi-Finalist for Play Penn, The Princess Grace Award, The National Playwrights Conference, WP Lab, Terrence McNally New Works Incubator, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, the Hearth’s Virtual Retreat, The Parity Development Award, Unicorn Theatre New Play Reading Series, Judith Royer Excellence in Playwriting Award, Bay Street Theater Festival, and the SLU Inkslinger Playwriting Award. She was shortlisted for the Theatre 503 International Playwriting Award.

Sam holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Florida and an MFA in Playwriting from Hunter College. They’re a proud member of the Dramatists Guild. samwalshmultiverse.com

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Scripts

This House Is for Laughing

by Sam Walsh

1
Cast Size
4
Genre
comedy,
drama

Kendra has built a life on control — careful routines, clear boundaries, no surprises. But when her relentlessly cheerful parents and increasingly unstable brother push their way into her carefully managed world, the cracks she’s worked so hard to seal begin to split open. This House Is for Laughing is a razor-sharp portrait of modern family life — and the cost of pretending everything is fine.

Kendra has built a life on control — careful routines, clear boundaries, no surprises. But when her relentlessly cheerful parents and increasingly unstable brother push their way into her carefully managed world, the cracks she’s worked so hard to seal begin to split open. This House Is for Laughing is a razor-sharp portrait of modern family life — and the cost of pretending everything is fine.

Should You Find Yourself Prepared

by Sam Walsh

2
Cast Size
4
Genre
comedy,
drama,
romantic comedy

At her family’s funeral home, Rachel has built a life around tending to the dead — and keeping the living at arm’s length. But when a grieving stranger comes into her office and her father starts to question the future of the business, Rachel must confront what it means to care for the dead when the living keep demanding her heart. Should You Find Yourself Prepared is a tender, darkly funny portrait of...

At her family’s funeral home, Rachel has built a life around tending to the dead — and keeping the living at arm’s length. But when a grieving stranger comes into her office and her father starts to question the future of the business, Rachel must confront what it means to care for the dead when the living keep demanding her heart. Should You Find Yourself Prepared is a tender, darkly funny portrait of inheritance, intimacy, and the cost of staying exactly where you are.

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The Things We Say

by Sam Walsh

1
Cast Size
4
Genre
comedy,
drama

Susan, a newly divorced mother introduces her grown daughters to the man she forgot to tell them about. As boxes are packed and old wounds resurface, Sarah and Carly are forced to confront the stories they’ve told themselves about love, loyalty, and who gets to move on. With biting humor and aching honesty, this intimate family drama asks: what are we brave enough to say out loud?

Susan, a newly divorced mother introduces her grown daughters to the man she forgot to tell them about. As boxes are packed and old wounds resurface, Sarah and Carly are forced to confront the stories they’ve told themselves about love, loyalty, and who gets to move on. With biting humor and aching honesty, this intimate family drama asks: what are we brave enough to say out loud?

the stranger

by Sam Walsh

4
Cast Size
4
Genre
drama

A quietly explosive family drama set in a small American town where past and present collide over one uneasy holiday visit. When Maxine arrives at the home of the uncle she barely knows, buried grief begins to surface. Tender, unsettling, and darkly funny, the stranger asks what we owe the people who share our blood — and what happens when love isn’t enough to bridge the distance between us.

A quietly explosive family drama set in a small American town where past and present collide over one uneasy holiday visit. When Maxine arrives at the home of the uncle she barely knows, buried grief begins to surface. Tender, unsettling, and darkly funny, the stranger asks what we owe the people who share our blood — and what happens when love isn’t enough to bridge the distance between us.

cowboy

by Sam Walsh

Cast Size
5
Genre
adventure,
comedy,
drama,
fable/folktale

In a run-down desert saloon, Sadie, a drifter with a six-shooter and a past reunites with her former lover, Jean. Now a powerhouse realtor, she is determined to sell the land that binds them — while her sheltered son, Adam is pulled into the crossfire. cowboy is a darkly funny, queer Western epic about inheritance — of property, of pain, and mythology.

In a run-down desert saloon, Sadie, a drifter with a six-shooter and a past reunites with her former lover, Jean. Now a powerhouse realtor, she is determined to sell the land that binds them — while her sheltered son, Adam is pulled into the crossfire. cowboy is a darkly funny, queer Western epic about inheritance — of property, of pain, and mythology.