tammy ryan

Courses Taught:
PLAYS IN PROGRESS Mentor

“The plays I am drawn to are character driven with a clear conflict. Dramatic stories told with humor or comedies told with an undercurrent of real drama. I like (and write) family stories, but ones that are connected and engaged with the social and political issues of the broader world. I’m also drawn to plays written specifically for the stage that include elements of theatricality and dialogue that reflects both the authenticity and poetry found in every day speech. As a female writer, I’m especially interested in stories by and about women, but I’m attracted to all stories by diverse voices, told from the heart.”

Interests: character driven, family comedies and drama, social issues, theatricality

TAMMY RYAN is a resident playwright of New Dramatists class of 2025. Her work has been performed across the United States and internationally at such theaters as The Alliance Theater, City Theater, Florida Stage, Marin Theater, People’s Light and Theater Company, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Portland Stage Company, Premiere Stages, the 29th Street Rep and Writers Theater of New Jersey among others. Internationally her work has been seen in Australia, Canada, Istanbul, Tokyo and, this year, will be performed in Mumbai.

Awards and honors include the Francesca Primus Prize for her play Lost Boy Found in Whole Foods, and the American Alliance of Theater in Education’s Distinguished New Play Award for The Music Lesson. Other plays include Molly’s Hammer (Repertory Theater of St. Louis), Soldier’s Heart (Premiere Stages), Tar Beach (Luna Stage) and Baby’s Blues (Pittsburgh Playhouse). Her plays have been named a finalist for numerous awards including the Heideman Award, Interact Theatre’s 20/20 Commission Award, The Terrence McNally Playwriting Award, the Jane Chambers Playwriting Award, the David Mark Cohen Award, as well as an honorable mention on “the List” by the Kilroy’s.

Tammy has also received fellowships, residencies and grants from the Heinz Endowment, Pittsburgh Foundation, Sprout Fund, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Sewanee Writers Conference, New Harmony Project and The Bonderman, and her work has been featured at the National New Play Network’s national showcase. Her plays have been nominated for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the Steinberg Award and a St. Louis Theater Critics Circle Award and are published by Dramatists Play Service, Broadway Play Publishing, Dramatic Publishing Company and Playscripts.

An artistic associate of NewYorkRep and a Dramatists Guild member for many years, Tammy was the first regional rep for Pittsburgh and has long been a teacher and advocate for new work and new playwrights. She’s also taught playwriting for over twenty years at various universities including Carnegie Mellon University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Point Park University and Duquense University. She is a frequent responder and participant in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festivals and has taught master classes across the country.