About Sam
Sam was born in Troy, NY, a city that would turn out to be instrumental in shaping his future and career as the site of the New York State Theatre Institute. He was raised in the quiet Albany suburb of Schodack, NY and attended Maple Hill schools. In his youth, Sam had always enjoyed participating in class plays and general public speaking events, but it was in middle school where his interest in theatre really spiked, when he was cast as the villainous henchman "Spider" in the production of "Sleeping Beauty." His taste for live audiences whetted, Sam was promptly enrolled in SummerStage, a summer session of theatre classes offered by the New York State Theatre Institute in Troy. He studied there every summer from 1998 until 2002 and began taking extra classes on Saturdays during the school year and started working in NYSTI's young adult production company, Summer Theatre Institute as an actor and occasional musician (Sam plays the alto saxophone). In 2003, SummerStage hired him as a Junior Staff councilor, and on his second day of work was promoted to Head Junior Staff. In 2005, he was promoted again to Co-Teacher, responsible for teaching kids ages 6-16 Intro to Acting, Improvisation, and assisting the Stage Combat instructor. At Maple Hill High School, Sam was cast as a lead actor and assistant director of every production until his senior year, where he was promoted to full Student Director of the theater program and got his very first taste of actual direction. The same year he was selected by NYSTI's prestigious intern program and worked full time for their regional productions for school credit, working as an actor, assistant stage manager, or assistant to the master electrician at various times. He continued to work for NYSTI until he moved to New York City and enrolled in Pace University as a Directing major, an idea the theater department's chairman Dr. Ruis Woertendyke had due to Sam's fledgling background in directing at Maple Hill. At Pace, Sam started as a prop designer and assistant stage manager, until he was hired as Assistant Director for a new works production that was picked up by the Manhattan Repertory Theatre, an Off-Off-Broadway blackbox in Times Square. The next year, another new works that Sam fully directed was picked up by Manhattan Rep for two weekends. Sam's final production at Pace, "W.A.S.P." by Steve Martin, was voted "Best In Show" by his peers. Before leaving the school, Sam started Pace's very first improv troupe "Nacho Cheese," which now occasionally opens for the Upright Citizens' Brigade, and was featured in the multiple Telly Award-winning after school series of educational films called "Play It Out" for Mazzarella Media. After a year of assistant stage managing "Girl Talk: the Musical," an Off-Broadway Times Square-based show, Sam made his own Off-Broadway directorial debut with the Jason Robert Brown musical "Songs for a New World." Most recently he began acting in film, appearing as an extra in films such as the festival favorite When Harry Tries to Marry, the upcoming independent comedy He's Way More Famous Than You, and Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy finale, The Dark Knight Rises. Sam worked at the Off-Broadway venue the Midtown Theater in Times Square as house manager and resident lights/sound designer for two years before recently moving back to Albany. Upon his return he was cast as the lead in "Big Business Wonderful Opportunities," a short film written and directed by Nathan Fullerton that went on to win the RPI Film Festival. Soon after, Sam was asked to act as Tech Director for Charlie Ross' "One Man Lord of the Rings" National Tour at Proctors Theater in Schenectady, NY. Sam is excited to be starting his professional career in the performing arts and looks forward to utilizing his biggest passion in life: using the tools entertainment offers us to teach audiences more about themselves and life as a whole.