AMANDA SAMUELSON
PLAYWRIGHT/PERFORMER

Amanda Samuelson is an accomplished and award-winning writer, producer, dramaturg, educator, and actor currently based in Amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton) on Treaty 6 Territory. She was born and raised in Grande Prairie, Alberta, where her passion for theatre began. She is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts BFA program, with a major in Theatre and a minor in Creative Writing. During her time at NYU, she spent the majority of her studies at the Playwrights Horizons Theatre School. 

Amanda’s ten-minute and one-act plays have been read and staged at festivals and competitions in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Her full-length play, Pressure, premiered at the 2022 Edmonton Fringe Festival, presented by Nextfest and self- produced. Her new full-length play, A Visit, is currently in development and has received funding support from Edmonton Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts.

Amanda worked as Associate Producer with Theatre Prospero and held various roles with Thousand Faces Festival for three years. She created the Thousand Faces Festival's New Mythic Works Series, supporting new work by Edmonton playwrights in 2022 and 2024. Currently, she works as the Assistant Managing Director and Aflame Playwright in Residence Co-Coordinator for SkirtsAfire, a theatre and multidisciplinary arts festival that programs the work of women and non-binary artists. She also teaches playwriting to teens at the Citadel's Foote Theatre School and Free Arts Society, taking great pride in inspiring the next generation of writers.