(Cedar City, UT) - Susan Merson, founder of New York Theatre Intensives, will present “The Artist’s Voice: Writing New Plays for Today’s Society” as part of Southern Utah University’s Convocations Lecture Series on Tuesday, January 24, at 11:30AM in the Sterling Church Auditorium.

Merson’s New York Theatre Intensives program is a summer conservatory providing university students an immersive experience focused on the art of new play creation. She maintains a bi-coastal residency, leading the Theatre Intensives program on the East Coast while also acting and writing in Los Angeles. Merson also teaches writing in both locales, at Cal State University-Fullerton and Sacred Center, New York.

Starting her career as an Off Broadway actress in New York, Merson went on to co-found the Lion Theatre Company in New York City, helping to create the existing Theatre Row complex on 42nd Street. Among her featured television and film roles are “Grey’s Anatomy,” “True Blood,” and “Terminator 3.”

Her plays - “Hair: A Reminiscence” and “Bounty of Lace” - have been seen at theatres across the US and Canada. She has also written several novels, including “Dreaming in Daylight,” “Reclamation,” “Surviving the Loss of a Love” and “Your Name Here; An Actor Writers Guide to Solo Performance.”

Merson will speak about her life’s work in the theatre and writing industries at SUU. This convocation will be presented in partnership with the Sigma Tau Delta English Society.

Tuesday’s Convocation lecture is free and open to the general public.