

Writer
Performer
Dramaturg


MORGAN J SMART (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based, multidisciplinary artist from Chicago, Illinois. Morgan grew up in a household that helped to instill in her a deep appreciation for musicianship. After receiving the gift of her first real guitar at twelve years old, Morgan’s curiosity for storytelling through song emerged. She began writing short songs and stories in a composition book and never stopped.
A love of live performance brought Morgan to NYU's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing program, where she explored and expanded her interest in writing for the stage. There she wrote three thesis musicals, Our Mother’s Mothers, AWAKENED, and SHADOWS, presented in three 29-hour equity readings (New York University, New York, 2018-19), produced as part of the NYU Tisch New Musical Theatre workshop in collaboration with New Studio on Broadway (New York University, 2019).


Morgan’s work has since been presented and workshopped at GoodSpeed Opera House (Connecticut 2018), Broadway's Future Songbook Diversity series (Lincoln Center, New York, 2018), William Finn’s Emerging Writers presentation with New York Theatre Barn and Tisch IPA’s Pandemic Project (2020-21). Morgan was a semi-finalist in Pilots, a month-long playwriting competition hosted by Town Stages NYC in March of 2019. She’s worked as a dramaturg at Hi-Arts NYC, New Victory Theatre on Broadway, and Seattle’s Village Theatre (2023). She has written a musical short film entitled “What’s Left”, produced by the New York Film Academy which is running the festival circuit in Winter 2025. Currently, Morgan is writing book and lyrics for the Broadway-bound musical Six Triple Eight, inspired by the true story of the first and only All-Black, all-woman unit of the US Army to serve overseas during WWII. She’s also a co-librettist for The Factotum, a Black adaptation of The Barber of Seville, receiving a week-long workshop at the Portland Opera in January 2025.
Morgan has made a career of using her own multifaceted identity to help bring light to necessary and unique perspectives. Whether she's performing, writing, or dramaturging, Morgan finds a way to weave her whimsical, humorous and romantic style into her work. When she’s not writing shows for the stage and screen, Morgan is a singer-songwriter, performing in venues around the country. Morgan has been a featured performer PlayBill’s Songwriter Series (2024), and has performed at 54 Below, The Green Room 42, The Duplex, The Town Hall theatre and has been in several 29-hour readings, concerts, and cabarets
She can be reached at smartmorganj@gmail.com for booking inquiries.
Projects





inspired by the true story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion
“No Mail, Low Morale.”
