Susan Blackwell

Susan Blackwell is an American actress, writer, and singer who grew up in Dayton, Ohio, where she attended Bethel Local Schools. She earned a B.F.A. in acting from Wright State University and an M.F.A. in acting from the University of Minnesota. Before relocating to New York in 1995, she spent two years performing with the company of Minnesota's Guthrie Theatre. She is married to Nathan Heidt.

After arriving in New York, Blackwell built a reputation as a downtown theatre artist, performing Off-Off-Broadway alongside Rebecca Finnegan as The New Wondertwins, a variety act combining songs, sketches, and daredevil feats that included ventriloquism and making deviled eggs in their mouths. A Village Voice reviewer described the duo's 1999 wordless finale, set to a space-age bachelor-pad soundtrack, as "a tour de force of fascination and horror." It was through her longstanding friendships with New Wondertwins collaborators Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen that Blackwell became involved in the musical [title of show]. At the time Bell and Bowen began developing the piece, Blackwell had stepped away from performing to pursue a corporate office job.

[title of show] documents its own creation by two Broadway fans — Bell and Bowen — who attempt to write a musical for the New York Musical Theatre Festival in three and a half weeks, enlisting two actress friends in the process. The four performers are simultaneously the writers and the characters of the show. Blackwell's character, "Susan," is described as a quirky performer by night and corporate drone by day, which Blackwell has called a "distillation" of her true personality. The musical had a successful extended Off-Broadway run at the Vineyard Theatre in 2006 before transferring to Broadway during the 2008 season. Blackwell has described her involvement as a rescue from corporate life, crediting Bell and Bowen for drawing her back to performing.

Blackwell's Broadway credits include [title of show] and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, with her Broadway appearances spanning 2006 to 2008. Her Off-Broadway work includes Speech and Debate, Anon, Working Title, Vilna's Got a Golem, and The Heidi Chronicles. In 2012, she reunited with [title of show] castmates Bell, Bowen, and Heidi Blickenstaff for the Off-Broadway musical Now. Here. This., for which she also co-wrote the book with Bell. In 2018, she appeared in the Encores! Off-Center production of The Civilians' Gone Missing. In 2019, Blackwell performed in a one-night-only Broadway concert of [title of show] benefiting The Actors Fund, featuring the entire original cast and directed and choreographed by Michael Berresse.

Her television work includes appearances on The Sopranos, Third Watch, All My Children, The Good Wife, Person of Interest, Master of None, Madam Secretary, The Blacklist, Succession, and multiple episodes of Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Her film credits include P.S. I Love You, Margin Call, Margot at the Wedding, Changing Lanes, After the Wedding, Yes, God, Yes, and the short Bun-Bun, among others. Blackwell also creates and hosts the talk show Side by Side by Susan Blackwell on Broadway.com. In September 2019, she began co-hosting a podcast with actress Laura Camien called The Spark File.