Founder/Producer

(he/him/his)

Originally from Oregon, Sam is now a Nashville based actor, writer, and teacher. He has played such roles as Hamlet for the Nashville Shakespeare Festival and Henry V for the Tony-award winning Utah Shakespeare Festival. Other regional credits include the Gulfshore Playhouse, the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey, People’s Light Theater, Northlight Theatre, TimeLine Theatre Company, Writers Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, American Players Theatre, Montana Shakespeare in the Schools, and Montana Shakespeare in the Parks.  As a teacher, Sam has taught Acting for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and was invited back as a Guest Lecturer in 2015. He’s designed and taught stage combat workshops for the Montana Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival, and the University of Montana Western. In New York City, Sam was self-employed as a Shakespeare audition coach, successfully coaching students to book work at venues such as the Globe Theater in London, as well as various graduate programs across the country. In 2018 he appeared in a leading role in the award winning independent feature film, Ruin Me and wrote and directed the short film BOB, which premiered online at the 2020 Knoxville Film Festival. Sam received his MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his BFA from Southern Oregon University.  As a Co-Founder of Strange Trio Productions, Sam is excited to inspire and challenge a new generation of young actors in their artistic journeys. For more information, visit samashdown.net