Payson Whitwell is a Los Angeles-based writer, actor, and model. 

Her work is grounded in her training as an undergraduate at Yale University, where she studied a range of methods including solo performance with Deb Margolin, postmodern dance and movement improv with Iréne Hultman, and Alexander Technique. Since graduating, she has continued to hone her work in ongoing scene study with Frances Brennand Roper at the Anthony Meindl Actors Workshop in Hollywood.

Payson is a fierce performer with an undeniable presence. She is most passionate about bringing an open vulnerability to all of her work. Payson believes performance should create a reciprocal relationship between actor and audience in which both parties share space to be affected by the material. 

As a writer, Payson’s work deals with questions like: why does my mom act like that? Do I act like that? And, additionally, am I the only person in the world who cares this much about being pretty? Her writing is raw and expressive, fluidly traversing between the absurd and the tragic. 

Payson’s writing practice underpins her imaginative acting style, while both—through a commitment to visual storytelling—bolster her work as a model.

Payson is a lover– not a fighter– a freak, and an intellectual. She is hot, bothered, and ready to be a part of your next project.