SAMANTHA TOY OZEAS
“I use fantasy to ask questions about civic engagement and believe that storytelling's most important power is to lead audiences into reimagine futures. I create character-centric work that shows both the dream and the nightmare. I make excuses to work with the people I love and admire. I am drawn to site-specific work that interacts with its environment, world-building, and leaving questions unanswered. I make work I can cry to.”
ABOUT SAMANTHA
Samantha Toy Ozeas (she/they) is a Brooklyn-based director, playwright and recent graduate from the John Wells Directing Program at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. Directing credits include Chinatown, My Chinatown (Ma-Yi Theater Company), One Day Down (SheNYC), Park Song (Frank-Ratchye Studio for Creative Inquiry Grant), The Chinese Lady (Southern Plains Productions), Lindwurm (The Tank), Athena (Carnegie Mellon University), Nannyville (Grassroots Artist Collective), In Case of Bruising (Breaking & Entering Theatre Collective), r/TheRedPill (Back in Blacks), God Has Retired (Carnegie Mellon University), and Major Minor (The Complex). Their film directing credits include SCHEJ (Miami Webfest, Toronto Webfest), STICKY, Think, Cotton Candy Skies, and Can We Pretend (Hollyshorts Film Festival, New York International Film Festival, San Fransisco International Film Festival, Dumbo Film Festival Semi-Finalist).
They have served as assistant / associate director to Chay Yew, Sivan Battat, Paul Mullins, Lyam Gabel, and Adam Brett at institutions including Audible Theater, Playwrights Horizons, and Santa Cruz Shakespeare.
Samantha is the Screenplay Coordinator and a narrative shorts programmer for the Asian American International Film Festival by AsianCinevision. They are a member of the 2024-2025 Roundabout Director’s Cohort. 24 Hour Plays: Nationals Alum.
CURRENTLY:
In the Amazon Warehouse Parking Lot at Playwrights Horizons (October 2024)
Written by Sarah Mantell
Directed by Sivan Battat
Assistant Director - Samantha Toy Ozeas
