Samantha Haviland
Actor, Writer, Nerd
Samantha Haviland
About Me
Just a small town girl . . .
From a teensy weensy tourist town in Northern California to the biggest tourist town in the US, I'm an NYC-based actor and playwright who spends most of my brain power nerding out over my favorite things: novels, Marvel, fairytales, Shakespeare, and mythology of all sorts. I've also been known to provide a three-page list of titles when asked for book recommendations.
Current writing projects (with my brilliant co-playwright Laura Michele Erle) include Three Sisters, Four Women, an all-female reimagining of Chekhov's Three Sisters recently had its world premiere production at The Flea Theater in NYC, a retelling of the Persephone & Hades myth, and a meta look at Ophelia and Juliet, with many, many more brewing.
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What's up
Stay up to date on my latest projects!
three sisters, four women
October 19 - November 4, 2023
The world premiere production of my first full-length play (co-written with Laura Michele Erle) just finished its run at The Flea Theater in NYC. Produced by SoHo Shakespeare Company, Three Sisters, Four Women is an intimate reimagining of Chekhov’s classic that explores the inner lives and secret loves of its four heroines, and what exactly it means to be a woman in a man’s world. In addition to my role as playwright, I also portrayed the role of Masha, the moody middle sister. It was a dream come true to see this show come to life and to have it be so well received by audiences. Keep your eyes open for future productions soon to come. :)
blood countess
January 5 - February 5, 2023
I'm happy to announce my off-Broadway debut as part of spit&vigor's production of Kelleen Conway Blanchard's bloody funny play at The Players Theatre in downtown NYC. "The riotous semi-true story of Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who bathed in the blood of her victims throughout her reign of terror in the early 1600s (allegedly)." [BWW] I played Fitzco, the off-kilter jester who capitalizes on the Countess's desperate desire to maintain her youth. It was wild ride of a show, full of blood, gore, plenty of dark magic, and spit&vigor's signature guts and gile.
the brutes
April 13 -14, 2022
Jumping into a new project is always an adventure but this whirlwind of a process was something else! I was lucky enough to be a part of spit&vigor's restaging of their renowned production of Casey Wimpe's The Brutes in just three. weeks. The play is an intimate look at the Booth family as they stage a production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar -- and while the conflict between the north and the south grows ever more violent. To add to the history of the piece, we performed at The Players, Edwin Booth's former home; you could feel the legacy in the walls. Part drama, part comedy, inspired by the classics, and all poetry, it was a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience.
three sisters, four women
December 12 - 13, 2021
Winter 2019, my friend, Laura Erle, and I had the idea of rewriting Three Sisters without the men; keeping the story focused on its female characters was a lot harder than we thought. But, almost three years later, we were able to see our vision come to fruition. Under the incredible direction of Jason O'Connell, and with the spectacular Lisa Helmi Johanson and Laura Yumi Snell as our costars, our four-woman play had its premiere reading at Pearl Studios in NYC. Chekhov’s classic told for women, by women -- with some unexpected twists. Creating our own work has always been a goal of ours but I don't either of us were prepared for how rewarding -- and how completely overwhelming -- it would be. We're beyond excited to keep writing together and to see where this very special show goes.
Doubt That the Stars Are Fire
May 4, 2021
Oh what a joy to revisit this beautiful play. After a year of virtual workshop sessions, our fully-vaccinated cast and crew gathered at FirstLive studios in Brooklyn to present a fully-rehearsed, FILMED staged reading of this epic Greek love story by Preston Fox. Livestreamed to virtual audiences for two separate performances, the hope is to bring this beautiful LGBTQ love story to a much wider audience sometime soon. Follow the journey of DTTSAF here.
As you like it
November 20, 2020
Classics on the Rocks does it again with another gorgeous fully virtual production, this time exploring the Bard's Forest of Arden. Under William Downes' direction, we transformed our vast array of NYC apartments into the duke's formidable court, and then into the free-spirited nature of the Forest. As Celia, I had a blast exploring the love between cousins followed by the frustration that comes when that bond is interrupted by a certain handsome young man -- there was a lot of time spent twirling my hair and waiting for Rosalind to pay attention to me again. I'm very grateful that Zoom allows to connect even while apart. Here's to finding creative ways to share theatre in crazy times!
Doubt That the Stars are fire
April 6 - 7, 2019
I had the absolute pleasure in participating in the first staged reading of Preston Fox's new play about love in all its forms, be it romantic, platonic, or familial, and how far one will go to protect and preserve the love they've found. Inspired by mythology and told in a modern voice, this story is one of the most beautiful, poignant tales I've had the chance to be a part of. As Niobe, best friend to the prince, member of the Court, I got to explore the conflict between the personal and the public, as the bad-ass character Preston wrote her to be. Keep your eyes open and ears peeled because this show is far from over.
Much ado about nothing
July 10, 2020
I'm thrilled to be able to join the NYC-based theatre group Classics on the Rocks family for this hilarious production. Initially scheduled for Alchemical Studios, we, along with the rest of the world, had to adjust to circumstances and ended up putting on a fully-rehearsed, entirely virtual production of Shakespeare's infamous farce over Zoom. As the dual roles of Ursula and the Messenger, I was never bored. And working with a group of such lovely people made the experience all the sweeter. Fingers crossed we get the chance to put up this show again in person when it is safe for all involved.
What if?
March 29 - 30, 2019
What If? was a collection of small vignettes, each written by different playwrights, presented together in an evening of laughter and heartache. I was part of a scene titled "It's Not Normal" by Jasmin Elizabeth that dealt with the oftentimes complicated friendships women share and how that relationship can shift drastically over the course of a night. I happily broke out my British dialect for the role (approved by our British director)
and had a wonderful time building a
true-to-life story with a
lovely group of people.
The King: The Final Hours
October 12 - 28, 2018
What was going through Elvis' mind at the end of his life. In this unauthorized interpretation, the King's life flashes before his eyes as he struggles to see where he went wrong. I had the time of my life filling Priscilla Presley's shoes, from when she met Elvis at 14 to right after their divorce and tussling over how to raise Lisa Marie. What a thrill to play a real-life inspiration on her journey to find her strength while living a life with the King himself. Watch out for more where this came from.
Macbeth
January 25 - February 4, 2018
I had the joy of participating in what we as a cast referred to as the Witches' Macbeth, performed in an immersive setting at the gorgeously vintage Jefferson Market Library in the West Village. I was delighted to perform both as Ross and one of the witches shaping the story -- we never left the stage. We had amazingly positive feedback from our audiences and I had a scary good time lurking behind bookcases throughout.
Lady parts
August 24 - 27, 2017
My NYC debut! Performed at the Roebuck Theater in Midown Manhattan, Brett Hursey's hilarious romp examining the inner workings of the female brain through a series of vignettes. My scene,"Pumps", explored one woman's heartbreak over deciding between looking sexy as hell in her painful pumps -- or saving her feet severe agony by choosing to wear her sensible flats instead.
Hamlet
March 2 - 12, 2017
We closed to overwhelmingly positive feedback. Being given the chance to perform on the brand new Hofstra Globe Stage was an amazing experience. Chris Dippel's direction was a dream experience and the cast made every rehearsal an utter joy. The fact that I was able to tackle the infamous "mad" scene in one of my dream roles of Ophelia was simply the icing on the cake. Truly an amazing end to my time in department productions at my alma mater.
A Therapy Session with myself
October 5, 2017
This one-day only staged reading was my first exposure to the beautiful home of the Dramatist's Guild. Anthony J. Piccione's new play explores a troubled teen's attempt to heal by imagining an alter ego who talks him through rough times. I played Kelly, the protagonist's girlfriend and rock. It was amazing to be part of developing a new work and I met a bunch of beautiful artists along the way.
medea
May 4 - 9, 2017
I had the absolute honor of performing the title role in Bryan Doerries' translation of Euripides' classic tragedy for my senior project and final show at Hofstra. We chose to look at the play from a modern perspective, re-imagining Medea's motivations as being caused by mental illness. A great deal of research went into uncovering the inner workings of a bipolar mind, using Doerries' Theater of War program as our main inspiration in performing this updated text.
"Samantha haviland's Ophelia was so heartbreakingly beautiful that she had you feeling for her loss more than hamlet's."
- The Hofstra Chronicle
"Ophelia is unassuming and almost demure early on in the play...but in the last acts of the play, she breaks down into an intermittently violent and hushed madness, displaying a truly haunting erraticism."
- Hofstra Critics
The Cherry Orchard
November 4 -13, 2016
Peter Sander directed this production of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard in the Schaeffer Black Box Theater at Hofstra University. I had a brilliant time exploring the eccentric mind of governess Charlotta, magic tricks, ventriloquism, cucumber, gun, and all. Oh, and the period costumes were to die for; Charlotta had a pair of pants masquerading as a skirt!
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