RYAN DOWLER is a recent alumnus of the OBIE and Drama Desk Award-winning writer’s collective, Youngblood at Ensemble Studio Theatre. Two of his full-length plays—STIFF and THE GRATIFICATIONS —were produced Off-Broadway at EST during his time with Youngblood. He is the current recipient of an Alfred P. Sloan Commission and a finalist for the Heideman award. During the 34th Marathon of One-Act Plays, his play SOMETHING LIKE LONELINESS was called “the most inventive piece of writing on display” by the New York Times, which named the run a NY Times Critics Pick. The short film adaptation premiered at SXSW in 2019 and is a VIMEO Staff Pick. His play, MAMMALS, won the short play category at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, and toured the U.S. and the U.K.
Currently, he’s developing a feature, JESUSLAND, about a Christian amusement park in Texas, as well as a jukebox musical featuring songs from his funeral. Ryan’s other works have been performed at theaters across the country including Seattle Repertory Theatre, Hunger Artists Theater, The Flea, Hyde Park Theatre, DC Source, Cherry Lane Theater, Main Street Stage, and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. He has taught at Fordham University and SUNY Purchase.
Photographs by Molly Hagan