Meet Sam Kressner | Screenwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sam Kressner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sam, why did you pursue a creative career?
Because I can’t not. I wish I had a better answer. Simply put, the desire to pursue an artistic or creative profession is by definition illogical. There’s a a common aphorism thrown around the screenwriting community that purports to be true: there are more professional athletes employed in major sports than there are working screenwriters.

Whether or not this statistic is accurate is mostly irrelevant. While the odds are technically not insurmountable, they remain so great that you have to be willing admit to yourself that you are pursuing a career as a writer because the thought of not attempting to do so would leave bereft of purpose. You have to love telling stories and illuminating their meaning.

Furthermore, you actually have to love the business and all of its cutthroat qualities. I think this is the hardest aspect for writers to come to terms with. Hollywood is a game (often a waiting game). Despite your irrational pursuit, you have to remain grounded and logical in your perception of your career. The job requires patience, strategy, and a hell of a lot of luck.

It’s about savoring the succession of small victories and knowing that your devotion craft and assiduous attention to detail will, indeed, all pay off in due time.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
A former professional actor and screenwriter of nearly twenty years, I’ve dedicated my entire being to the power of the performing arts, its ability to illuminate, contextualize, and imbue order and meaning to the confounding maelstrom of life.

Growing up among the middle class of the Tri-State area, I had no connections to the film or television industry. However from a very early age, I made it my mission to be a part of the storytelling process. At first, that was acting. While I booked some roles, I never felt fulfilled with the finished product or the story I was simply a small part in telling.

Since I was always enamored with cinema, I decided to write my first screenplay at the age of seventeen, and I haven’t looked back.

However, I don’t simply consider myself screenwriter. Instead, I like to think of the job as more a sculptor. There is often a misconception that writing for film and television requires the consistent generation of stories. While that’s partly true, the real job of a screenwriter is take a story or an idea and sculpt it for an audience; so they can understand its emotional weight and value in their own lives.

Writing for film and television is — much like an actor’s job — an act that demands compassion and tolerance for those who may appear dissimilar; you are depicting people who are attempting to conquer tremendous adversity. And it’s our job to take a skeptical audience and convince them to bear witness through another individual’s eyes. The most difficult and exciting part is that you get to be the conduit for the general public.

I’ve made it my mission to portray stories that cross the socioeconomic and political divide–everyday people wrestling with and ultimately fighting to buck corrupt systems and institutions of staid practices and ideologies. Quite simply, I write about underdogs scratching to get by.

And if I do my job correctly, every now and then, I have the fortune of eliciting an emotional response from an audience that helps them see the world in a more caring light.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Personally, I’d avoid any and all tourist traps in NYC. Although I live with my dog right by Riverside Park, I would certainly need to venture with this friend to Central Park before heading to a concert either at the The Beacon, City Winery, Iridium, or the Blue Note. Although, a trip to the Comedy Cellar might also be worth checking out. the following day we’d head to a beer garden in Astoria or Brooklyn. We could hang with a handful of my friend who live out in those parts. It’s always important to check out a borough other than Manhattan. Maybe we’d head to a retrospective cinema showing a classic film at some point.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My family for their enduring support. Also, my Columbia MFA professors and mentors: David Henry Hwang, Lynn Nottage, Matt Williams, David Auburn, Josh Harmon, Simon Stephens, Beau Willimon, and Robert Schenkkan. In an industry full of charlatans, writers need to look out for other writers. And these are some of best and most insightful minds we have working today. Not to mention, they are also enviable in their kindness and honesty.

Website: https://www.samkressner.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samkressner/

Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3295656/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

Image Credits
Aaron Seller. Tayler Everts.