hi there!

I’m Surrey, a Queer, New Haven-based theater maker who explores the intricacies of the LGBTQIA+ experience through belonging, community, honesty, and humor. I am additionally drawn to stories that examine grief, loss, and neurodiverse ways of connecting with others. I am also a big crier. I’m currently studying Playwriting at Yale’s DGSD (yay MFA class of 2027)!

In addition to writing, I believe wholeheartedly in the intersection of arts education, trauma-informed teaching, and advocacy. I am passionate about giving young people, especially young Queer people, space and liberatory tools to start conversations about their personal and collective histories regardless of societal factors that may tell them otherwise.

what’s new?

  • This fall (2024), I will be a playwriting MFA candidate at Yale University’s David Geffen School of Drama! It still feels pretty surreal, if I'm being honest. My classmates, Nia Akilah Robinson and Aaron Magloire, are amazing creators & humans, and I’m honored to be able to dedicate the next three years to creating new work alongside such compassionate folks. :’)

  • This summer I’ll be workshopping for the fish with the wonderful Leo Grierson at the cell theatre. I feel so grateful for the time to get more specific with this piece and to share it with audiences in NYC for the first time! I’m also in pretty fantastic company with the other artists-in-residence this season.

    Click here to learn more.

  • for the fish is a finalist out of 600+ submissions for Live Arts’ WATERWORKS Festival in Charlottesville, VA! WATERWORKS is “a labor of love: for playmaking, artistry, storytellers, surprises, and most importantly, for the power of theater…”

    Click here to learn more.

  • for the fish is a semi-finalist out of 200 submissions for Local Theater Company’s Local Lab in Boulder, CO. Local Lab is “a forum to explore, develop, and strengthen work…” concluding in a staged reading with public feedback sessions. Stay tuned for updates as they come!

    Click here to learn more.

  • for the fish is a finalist out of 345 submissions for Seattle Public Theater’s Distillery New Works Festival in collaboration with Macha Theatre Works in Seattle, WA. Distillery is a “celebration of emerging theater…” concluding in a staged reading with public feedback sessions. Stay tuned for updates as they come!

    Click here to learn more.

what my work is about

queer youth, mental health, rural America, LGBTQ liberation, found family, grief, navigating loss, queer joy, addiction, middle school, friendships, bodily autonomy, revenge fantasies, magical realism, sentient fish.......

queer youth, mental health, rural America, LGBTQ liberation, found family, grief, navigating loss, queer joy, addiction, middle school, friendships, bodily autonomy, revenge fantasies, magical realism, sentient fish.......

here’s some photos of my life

feeling very grateful (& inarticulate) about our week of (re)exploring ‘for the fish’ at @thecelltheatre. we laughed! we cried! we ate shawarma! we went head to head with a mechanical fish! 🎣 there’s can never be too much inte
lots to consider here (or NY pt. 1) ((also sorry about the feet))
pet some goats, went to Michigan, left my cheese job, watched my brother graduate, moved outta Boston, and moved to New Haven — all while being kinda bald and very nervous :’)
had to put my bald head on the grid
oh baby, I’m gonna need six therapists after this past month! ((aka I’m feeling v grateful and excited and ?!?! to be joining the folks at the playwriting program at @geffenyale for three whole years. also my mom bought me this hat, and t
when I went to name these on my computer, I accidentally typed ‘headshit’ and I think that’s a beautiful thing
even MORE good mugs from 2023 :’) 1) scrunchy mugs 2) bereavement camp mugs 3) Hazel mug 4) picnic (not really) mugs 5) CURSED mug 6) new cat mug 7) mugs from another reading of ‘for the fish’ 8) sleepy Cricket mug 9) also not rea
some good mugs from 2023 :’) 1) sunny mug 2) @gptcplays mugs 3) brunch mug 4) more @gptcplays mugs 5) Bonkie mug 6) Mad Dash mugs 7) American Gothic mugs 8) Angela’s mugs 9) nostalgic mugs 10) family mugs

For script requests and to get in touch with me, please send an email: surreyhoulker@gmail.com

(I'm pretty good at responding, I swear.)