MY STORy!
Hey! I'm Rhys (He/Him), a New York City-based writer, actor, and producer. I grew up in the small town of Wallingford, Connecticut, a few miles outside New Haven. I spent my formative years either reading anything I could get my hands on or playing pretend for audiences of hundreds. By the time I started high school, my passion for acting would become a love for dramatic writing. In High school, I finished my first hour-long pilot (which I still have, and no, you can not read it). From that day, I knew I couldn’t separate my desire to be a writer from my passion for acting, and decided to pursue both professionally. I would then attend Ithaca College and receive a B.F.A. in Writing for Film, Television & Emerging Media with a minor in Theatre.
While at Ithaca College, I was fortunate enough to help write, produce, and act in short films with the help of my friends. My Produced short films: Forget Me Not and Do Us Part.
Over time, my work accumulated pieces that spotlight the apocalyptic events of young adulthood, the power of found family, and the intersectionality between queerness and race. When I'm not writing or performing, you can find me at a nice seafood boil, indoor bouldering, or practicing Karate (I'm a black belt!)
My play Lifetime Achievements and All the Shortcomings Thereafter won the L.B. Williams B.I.P.O.C. Playwriting Competition and was nominated for Best Short Play at the New York Theatre Festival. I recently appeared in Hope Deferred, a web series I wrote and produced as Zak Kennedy.
Recent and UpComing
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Back at 54 Below!
September 2024
Following the hit performance of Together or Apart: The Songs of Menken and Schwartz, producer Rhys Samuel Washington will present a cast of talented performers celebrating another set of iconic writers.
Pen & Piano will fête Sara Bareilles and Elton John, who have graced the Broadway stage and the Billboard Hot 100 with their emotional and dynamic songs. Sir Elton John and Sara Bareilles use the power of their pens and pianos to delight, creating crowd pleasers like “Brave,” “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” “Love Song,” and “Tiny Dancer.” Enjoy this fabulous night with us as 54 Below celebrates their brilliance, in a concert featuring songs from Little Voice, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Disney’s The Lion King, Waitress, and more! Music direction by Michael Lous Curcio.
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Happy New Year, Happy Birthday! Staged Reading
May 2024
On the eve of his twenty-third birthday and the New Year, the ever-anxious and high-strung Magnus is thrust into a surprise party he never wanted inside his shoebox apartment. What could go wrong? Written by Rhys Samuel Washington Directed by Kellie M. Beck
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7 over 7
March 2024
Rhys will perform in the 7 Over 7 Short Play Festival at New Circle Theater Company. He will appear in The Prince of Denmark as Theo. Written by stand-up comic and actor Tim Hayes and directed by Noelle S. Leblanc.
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Independent Series Award Nominee!
February 2024
ope Deferred is nominated for Best Ensemble - Comedy and the ISA14 Spotlight Award at the 14th Annual Independent Series awards. Rhys is nominated as an actor and as a producer for both awards.
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Theatre Write Now
January -April 2024
Theatre Write Now is a generative theatre-making cohort for early career playwrights in New York City. Working with an array of facilitators, the plays the writers generate will receive publicly available staged readings at the end of each cycle.
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54 Below Debut
January 2024
The Songs of Menken and Schwartz: Together or Apart is a night of nostalgia and laughs as we celebrate the musical icons Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. Whether working together or apart, their music has entertained audiences for over five decades, and it’s only right to honor them in style. Featuring “Popular” songs from Wicked, Little Shop of Horrors, Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame, and more iconic hits from these titans’ extensive catalogs, we’ll “Go The Distance” to ensure this is a night you won’t want to miss. Musical direction by Alex Gutierrez. Produced by Rhys Samuel Wahington
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Hope Deferred
December 2023
Rhys appeared in the Web Series Hope Deferred in the starring role of Zak Kennedy. Rhys wrote Episode 1: Natural Light and Episode 3: Sunsets. Rhys also served as an executive producer with A'lexiz Dennis.
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The Dust of The World
November 2023
Rhys' play The Dust of the World had a staged reading as an entry in HB Studios New Play Lab. Directed by Demetrius Blocker and starring Chris Jaymes, Laura New, Ryan Sheehan, Wynn Mclenahan, and Oluwafemi Olosunde.
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Louise the Destroyer
October 2023
Rhys is excited to continue playing Seth Sans in Louse The Destroyer after bringing him to life in the two-week workshop at New Circle Theatre Company. Directed by Eric Nightengale and written by Cate Allen.