At the age of five in 2007, Sam’s family took him to see the national tour of The Lion King, his first musical. As soon as the lights dimmed, he was immediately drawn to the stage, spending the remainder of the show on his feet, clutching the mezzanine railing in front of him in awe. For the past 17 years, Sam has been chasing that feeling.

Hailing from Marquette in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Sam is a proud Yooper currently attending Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, where he is pursuing that electric feeling of performing through a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre and a minor in Strategic Communications (expected Class of 2025). His previous Ball State credits include Ernst Ludwig in Cabaret, an Angel in Kinky Boots, Perch Perkins in The SpongeBob Musical, and in the ensemble of the world premiere of Skin and Bones. He also starred in the short film Cliché, which premiered at the 2024 Indy Shorts International Film Festival as part of Radiance Cinema. Throughout his undergraduate years, Sam spent summers performing in Kings Island’s 70s on Demand and Country Crossroads shows and working as a camp counselor at Interlochen Center for the Arts.

Outside of performing, he loves all things outdoors - growing up on the shores of Lake Superior and in one of the top five snowiest cities in the country (according to the Weather Channel) Sam lives for hiking, cross-country skiing, trail-running, and swimming in ANY body of water available. He also loves cooking vegetarian delicacies, 35mm film photography, anything related to the color blue (obviously), and every style of music under the sun. His favorite artists right now are Doechii, Tyler Childers, Ryan Beatty, & JUNGLE but ask him again in a week and he’ll have a new roster for you. As a young, queer storyteller, Sam aspires to bring the emotions he first felt all those years ago to audiences through his performance art and to inspire little midwestern queer kids like he once was. He hopes to make his family—and his five-year-old self—proud.

Sam just completed his senior showcase and capstone earlier in March. He and his class performed their capstone, If They Could See Us Now: A Celebration of Coleman, Herman, and Ball State’s MT Class of 2025 at the Cabaret in Indianapolis and at Joe’s Pub in NYC, and showcase at Theatre Row in NYC! Clips from those performances can be seen on the “Media” tab above. Stay tuned for Sam’s post-grad plans (most excitingly that he is seeing Beyoncé), upcoming performances, and news!