Stephanie Byers was born and raised in Brockport, New York. Stephanie’s parents fostered her vibrant imagination and love of language from an early age. She first realized the benefits of creative alteration when learning to read provided the devastating realization that Queen Esther very well may never have eaten the “pancakes and maple syrup” her father always wove into a favorite (and oft-repeated) bedtime storybook. Overcoming her devastation, Stephanie began to write original stories of her own. After several years considering other careers (most notably Chuckie Cheese employee and veterinarian) by the ripe old age of nine, Stephanie knew without a doubt that she would spend the rest of her life writing.
Throughout grade school and into high school Stephanie developed a passion for theatre and film. This passion led Stephanie to earn her BFA in Theatre Performance from Denison University. During her time at Denison, Stephanie wrote several plays, including Common Denominator, a short play exploring the childhood events which deepen sibling rivalries and generate strong family bonds through the lens of Shakespeare’s “Seven Ages of Man”, which was performed at the inaugural DITA one-act festival. Other works written during this time include: Arnold, Check, Mist of Days, Spicy Tendercrisp, and the full-length screenplay Zombie U. Stephanie also directed the DITA production of Partially Katherine, several monologues from The Vagina Monologues for a DU benefit performance, and assistant directed the Denison main-stage production of David Lindsay-Abaire’s Fuddy Meers. She appeared as Lauren the Sorceress in DITA’s Jimpleton Cremebrulee, and as Heads, half of the Cockney-clown comedy team, in Denison University’s modernized take on Ubu the King (in which she also portrayed several other characters with equally outrageous accents {the Appalachian janitor being a personal favorite}).
Since graduation, Stephanie has completed several full-length screenplays. She is currently working on a children’s book and developing new screenplays. Stephanie has also worked in varying capacities on several independent films.
Her favorite writers include: Mark Twain, William Shakespeare, Louisa May Alcott, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, C.S. Lewis, Aldous Huxley, Frank Herbert, Tom Stoppard, David Lindsay-Abaire, and Karel Čapek.
Stephanie inherited a love of music from her mother, an accomplished sing and vocal tutor. Stephanie sings, plays the piano and the guitar.
Stephanie occupies her free-time with travel, photography, painting, needlepoint, knitting, and cooking. She is an avid soccer fan.
Stephanie looks for adventure wherever she can find it- she is always in search of a first-rate story- whether for a new film or to entertain close friends over dinner. One of her favorite Mark Twain quotes also serves as her personal mantra: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”