“Sam Norman is remarkable… Genius writing” — StagetoPage
“Wry humor… and clear intelligence” — The New York Times
“As bubbly and delicious as a chilled glass of Prosecco” — The Scotsman
“Delightfully funny” — Buzzfeed
“Well-paced and keenly sharpened” — The Washington Post
Hi, I’m Sam — an award-losing lyricist & librettist who bounces between the US and UK.
Recent projects include Echolocation, The Shadow and Come Dine With Me: The Musical.
I write words for operas and musicals. I’ve recently been Resident Artist at the American Lyric Theater, an American Opera Initiative Fellow, a Johnny Mercer Foundation Songwriter and winner of the MTI Stiles & Drewe Mentorship Prize 2025-6, as well as receiving the inaugural Roger Allers Legacy Scholarship Special Recognition Award for Librettists.
Proud member of Mercury Musical Developments, the BMI Musical Theatre Librettists Workshop and the Dramatists Guild.
News
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Roger Allers Legacy Scholarship 2026
Creative Talent Network selects me for their Special Recognition Award for Librettists
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Repped by Susan Gurman Agency
I’m thrilled that my work in musical theatre and opera will now be represented by Susan Gurman
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Chicago Opera Theater commissions INVENTING OZ
Composer Stacy Garrop and I are commissioned to write a full-length opera about author L. Frank Baum
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ECHOLOCATION appears at The Other Palace
ECHOLOCATION will have a public presentation at off-West End theatre, June 26
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THE SHADOW returns to NYC
An expanded version of our opera THE SHADOW will be presented at Symphony Space, May 16
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CONSTANCE opera receives world premiere
CONSTANCE, A CONFESSION — written with the EiO Writers Room — runs May 13-22 in NYC
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THE DEBUTANTES selected for Newport NewWorks 2026
Our musical will receive two weeks of development in Newport, RI, with two public presentations in August
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ELECTRIC to receive premiere in RE-WIRE Festival
Opera, written with Aaron King, will be presented by Birmingham Opera Company, April 28-30
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Selected as Catalyst New Music FUSE 2026 Artist
I’ve been commissioned to write a micro-song cycle with Regina Stroncek and Sarah Heltzel
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Writer in Residence for Drama Club Camp 2026
THE DEBUTANTES is selected for a weeklong residency in Maine, June 2026
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Third Prize in StoryPros Contest
My debut screenplay, RAGEQUIT, wins third prize in the 18th Annual StoryPros Screenplay Contest
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Finalist for 2025 Stiles & Drewe Song Prize
“Reason and Love”, written with Eliza Randall, will be performed at The Other Palace in the final
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2025 MTI Stiles & Drewe Mentorship Prize
ECHOLOCATION is selected as the winner of the biennial prize and will receive development over 2025-6
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THE SHADOW to Receive Premiere
ALT will premiere short opera, written with Ivette Herryman Rodríguez, at Symphony Space in concert form
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ECHOLOCATION receives £20,000 grant
Arts Council England awards our musical a grant for dramaturgical and technical development
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Libretto to Receive Public Reading
THE SHADOW will receive reading as part of American Lyric Theater’s Living Libretto event
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Inaugural Musical Developed with MMTL
THE DEBUTANTES is first piece picked for development at Manhattan Musical Theatre Lab
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Experiments in Opera Writers' Room
I'm one of eight opera-makers (four composers, four librettists) in the EiO Writers' Room 4.0
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Finalist for 2024 Stiles & Drewe Prize
"Die Like Trees", written with Bela Konstancja, will be performed at The Other Palace
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Resident Artist at American Lyric Theater
I’m one of seven artists accepted into ALT’s Composer & Librettist Development Program
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Interviewed in The Times
I’m interviewed with the COME DINE WITH ME creative team ahead of our Edinburgh Fringe run.
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London Extension and Cast Announced
COME DINE WITH ME is slated for an off-West End run at The Turbine Theatre.
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Venues Announced for COME DINE WITH ME
COME DINE WITH ME will be produced at the Norwich Playhouse and Underbelly in 2024.
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MUCKRAKERS Receives NYC Performances
Our short opera will receive performances at NYU’s Shubert Theatre and the Hudson Guild.
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Winner of ScreenCraft TV Pilot Fellowship
My TV Pilot GAMESTOP is selected out of 2000 entries and will receive further development.
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HAIRPIECE premieres at Kennedy Center
Chamber opera, written with composer Joy Redmond, is performed in Washington DC.
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Finalist for 2023 Stiles + Drewe Best New Song Prize
“Time Slows Down”, from Black Holes Like Donuts, will be performed at The Other Palace, November 13th
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Selected for Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project
Eliza Randall and I are chosen for an intensive weeklong songwriting program
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Featured in Mini-Musical Festival
Black Holes Like Donuts is selected for Sound Bites X, produced by Theatre Now New York
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Selected as AOI Fellow
Three writing teams are commissioned to write short operas for the Kennedy Center
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Profiled on The Crush Bar
Aaron Nihal King and I are interviewed by Fergus Morgan about COME DINE WITH ME
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Off-West End Presentation
COME DINE WITH ME receives its debut at The Turbine Theatre as part of MTFest 2023
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Mini-Musical Premiere in NYC
Prospect Theater Company produces BLACK HOLES LIKE DONUTS as part of its Caption This concert
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Song Premiere at Catastrophe Concert
ALP Musicals produces an evening of new musical theatre at The Golden Goose Theatre, London
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Workshop at Off-Broadway Theatre
Vongai Shava and I host a free workshop on “The Audio Explosion” in Rattlestick Theater’s Global Forms Theatre Festival, NYC
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Short Opera Receives Premiere
THREE PENELOPES, written with Richie Johnsen, receives its premiere at the Royal College of Music, London
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The Yellow Wallpaper Goes to New Mexico
Blank Conversations Theatre Company performs our short musical in Las Cruces, NM
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Interviewed on Follow Spot Radio
Eliza Randall and I are interviewed about our upcoming podcast musical Echolocation
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Finalist for Stiles + Drewe Prize
Our song “A Letter at a Time” is a finalist in the Best New Song prize, and performed in the Hackney Empire
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THE YELLOW WALLPAPER at Alleyway Theatre
Our short musical THE YELLOW WALLPAPER receives its stage debut in Buffalo, NY
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Broadway World Announces Tin Pan Alley 2 Concert
I’m featured in the “International Artists” edition of the Tin Pan Alley 2 Concert Series
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Featured in Broadway Future Songbook
Our song “Play” opens the final concert of the “Broadway Future Songbook” season at the Lincoln Center
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Rattlestick Theatre Presents Village Song Series
Our song “Play” opens the Village Song Series at Off-Broadway Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre
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NYU News Features the “Chaos House”
NYU News profiles the 14-strong house of musical theatre writers where I lived during the pandemic
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Interview with Frank DiLella
3x Emmy Award winner Frank DiLella profiles our house on NY1 News