The Sweet Smell of Success: Samuel Brett Williams

Mason Gross graduate and University instructor Samuel Brett Williams sees his play produced Off-Broadway

Rutgers Ties

Graduated from the Mason Gross Playwriting program under Lee Blessing and teaches "Playwriting," "Basic Composition" and "Expository Writing" at Rutgers.

Latest Work

Williams's play The Revival is currently being staged at Project Y Theatre in New York City. Directed by Michole Biancosino, The Revival centers on the making of a mega-Church machine from grassroots beginnings. A Harvard-educated son of a Southern Baptist preacher returns to his Arkansas hometown to rebuild his father's congregation. Under pressure to grow the congregation to compete with neighboring mega-Churches, the young Pastor seizes an opportunity to cleanse a mysterious stranger of his homosexuality becoming an overnight evangelical superstar — but at what cost?

Inside Beat: What inspired you to The Revival?

Samuel Brett Williams: The play [is] about my upbringing — I was raised in a strict southern Baptist environment in Hot Springs, Ark. A lot of the themes that I first began exploring with her in that leaky basement at Rutgers — well, I'm still wrestling with them. In a lot of ways, I'm still trying to find answers in my own life for the questions that I raise in my plays.

IB: Describe your experience having a play appear Off-Broadway.

SBW: I [had] a show produced at Cherry Lane Theatre in 2008. It was my first full-length production — we actually used a Rutgers actor and a Rutgers set designer for it. I have also had short pieces produced at Ars Nova and various other venues in New York. However, this is the first time I have had a play open for critics (at least in New York). I'd be lying if I didn't say that aspect was a little nerve wracking — critics have such an impact not just on the box office, but also the life of a play.

IB: Are you happy with the outcome of the play?

SBW: I have never been involved in a production that I have been prouder of. The director,

actors, theatre company — I am in awe of the work they have done, and now I am [excited] to experience this play with an audience.

About the Playwright:

Born in Hot Springs, Ark., Williams received his Bachelor of Arts in English and political science from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark., and his Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting from Mason Gross under Lee Blessing. His plays were produced at Cherry Lane Theatre, Ars Nova, Project Y Theatre Company, XIII Pocket and New Orleans Theatre Experiment. Brett received commissions from the National New Play Network and PlaywrightsTheatre of New Jersey, where he was the resident playwright in 2008, and is past winner of the Helen Merrill Emerging Playwright Award.

To follow Williams on his journey as a playwright, visit samuelbrettwilliams.blogspot.com.

For more information about The Revival, visit projectytheatre.org.