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Theatrical Work

Before transitioning into game development, Sam worked in theater in various capacities. Many of the principles he learned in theater inform his game development practices; the skills are quite cross-applicable.

Directing - Macbeth

Macbeth was put on by The Deans Men theater company at the University of Chicago in 2019. It was my first experience as the creative lead on a project. I learned a lot of important communication skills managing both the cast and production team. Similar to game development, directing in theater involves working with talented artists from various disciplines and ensuring their individual works comes together into a coherent, consistent whole. Every team member must feel like their work is valued and important to the project. Another important skill gained from directing is intentionality of choice - nothing can happen for no reason, everything must be consistent within the world of the show.

Stage Management

  • Antony and Cleopatra

  • Julius Caesar

  • Measure for Measure

  • Aftermath

  • Hairspray

  • Shrek the Musical

  • The Adding Machine

  • All Through the Night

  • Sleep No More

Skills from stage management are equally transferable to game development - especially documentation. Both disciplines require extensive work throughout the process to create records, best practices, guidelines, and more. This is vital to ensuring the process runs smoothly and is a core skill for both game designers and stage managers. This supporting paperwork not only allows for easier onboarding of new team members but also assists in avoiding mistakes in future work. Stage management also hones one's attention to detail, another skill useful to game dev.

If directing taught me how to express a creative direction to people of varying disciplines, my work as a technician taught me how to be an effective part of a creative team. I learned how to tailor my work to a greater whole and communicate with other parts of the production team. I also learned the importance of taking direction from the creative lead, since they have the whole picture while any individual designer may only have one small piece.

Technical Work

  • Assistant Technical Director - Macbeth (St. James Players)

  • Lighting Technician - All Through The Night; The Glass Menagerie

  • Sound Technician - The Adding Machine

Production

  • Treasurer - University Theater at the University of Chicago; The Deans Men

  • Producer - Something Wicked (Short Film); Intellectual Property with Andrew Rivera (Web series); Weekly Comics News Show (web series)

  • Production Assistant - Anatomy Theater

Many of the skills I learned in production roles overlap with directing - communicating with various creative disciplines, managing a team, etc. But here I also got experience working with budgeting and prioritization - what is vital to the work, what is a worthwhile addition, and what should be the first to go when the production inevitably runs low on funds. I have found this skill vital in setting the scope of projects across disciplines.

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