Michael Susko

Michael Susko is a NYC based playwright, screenwriter, and director whose work explores the complexities of human relationships under pressure. His folk horror screenplay MERIDIAN won Best Unproduced Screenplay at the NYC Horror Film Festival and is currently in development. His play, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, inspired by Marie Belloc Lowndes' The Lodger, examines how economic desperation can push ordinary people to make extraordinary moral choices. His play F*CK, MARRY, KILL was a top ten finalist for the ScreenCraft Stage Play Competition before its production at the New York Theater Festival. His adaptations include HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, created with the blessing of the William Castle estate — currently licensed to theaters nationally and seeking an Off-Broadway producer — and Agatha Christie's MURDER AT THE VICARAGE, completed for world premiere production. JAZZ AND GERIATRICS, featuring Rachel Zegler in a reading at ATC Studios; ART ISN'T EASY, a collection of short plays about artists; an adaptation of NOSFERATU; and cirque-style adaptations of Treasure Island and The Jungle Book for Toronto-based Creativiva round out his body of work in development. Michael holds an MFA in Creative Writing/Playwriting from Goddard College and a BFA in Theatre/Directing from The Boston Conservatory. He has directed over fifty productions nationally — from Off-Broadway to major regional theaters including Casa Mañana, Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, and New Bedford Festival Theatre — earning multiple awards including the Moss Hart Memorial Award. As Artistic Director of The New Short Play Festival and a playwriting instructor at ATC Studios, Susko is committed to developing new voices. A member of the Dramatists Guild, SDC, SAG/AFTRA and AEA.