Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Torres.
Hi Sam, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in Ann Arbor Michigan. I grew up a performer. Whether it was on a stage, in a classroom, on a screen, or in the circus, I felt like performing as someone else, made me feel the most like me. Like most young “theatre teens” I wasn’t the most academically driven student. My favorite subject in school was always History. Which is why I believe I was so drawn to acting. In a show, I got to become part of history. Not only did I get to learn everything I could not only about the events that took place in the dramatic time of any given show, but I also got to experience empathy for a person experiencing those events. Performing has always felt profound in that sense. My ability to throw myself completely into my work and hobbies has been my greatest superpower. With that skill, I did things like join the circus and become an aerialist; learn to play instruments; live a zero-waste lifestyle; learn to crochet and crochet a LOT; convert a van into a home on wheels and travel the west; and the list goes on.
I went to school, got a BFA, did the things you are supposed to do to work in the industry of acting, started working, and then experienced a pandemic. Every profession hurt in 2020 and artists were no exception. Community is the foundation of our occupation and isolation was our Achilles heel. In a lot of ways, we’re still recovering and relearning what it means to be part of an ensemble after a long time of self-preservation. But we’re still artists, we still yearn and strive for human connection above all else. Storytelling and art are the fastest way to human connection. I had a professor in college who embodied that idea more than anyone I have ever met. He directed the university chorus’. I joined the non-audition, not for credit, chorus because I simply missed being in a choir. in a class of 90+ people, Dr. Mitchell truly knew every single one of us. He made sure we knew how important we were as artists and as people. Before every concert, he’d come backstage and say “It’s only music… the most important thing in the world”. He was right. And I take that mantra with me to this day.
In the spring of 2021, I converted my minivan into a little home and traveled the West on a mission to see a side of the country I had never seen before as a lifetime patron of the Midwest. I wanted to have an adventure and challenge myself to get to know myself outside of the life and friends I grew up surrounded by. I cried a lot on the road. Shit can be hard when location-wise, you are completely alone. I traveled to Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada, California, Arizona, and Utah. Then one day, while having a post-hike beer at Bewildered Brewing in downtown Salt Lake City, I met my partner. We sat, drank, and discussed ideas for hours. I was still living in my van at this point and he offered me the street in front of his house to set up camp for the night. I like to think my gut is the strongest and most reliable insight source I have and my gut said this person was safe. I of course still slept with my taser and locked doors. Yet again, my gut proved reliable and I get to spend every day with my best friend Dan.
Salt Lake City, Utah was never a plan. But plans are never the way life goes. I had no clue how to navigate the art world in Utah and also knew I would need to get the dreaded “survival job” while I figured it out, A Facebook post in a “Utah Women Hikers” group landed me in the work world I exist in now. Criminal Justice. That’s right, an actress from the Midwest now works as a paralegal at one of the top Criminal Defense Law Firms in Utah. Like anything I do, I completely threw myself into the world of criminal justice and law in Utah. Most actors’ survival jobs don’t completely change your views on social justice and public policy, but alas, here I am. An actor and an advocate for prison reform, criminal justice, and criminal defense. Maybe I’m destined to be cast in Legally Blonde the Musical?
Since I’ve been in Utah, I’ve worked in the arts. I’ve discovered Utah’s incredible local theatre community. I worked alongside Utah Theatre veterans at Plan-B theatre company, met and worked with incredibly talented playwrights, been on set for a couple of Fox shows and Netflix films, and found people just as driven to produce meaningful art in a city you would not think of as being necessarily progressive or diverse.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I don’t think any road in someone’s life can be described as smooth. Especially in the arts, I struggled to figure out where I fit in the casting world as a white Puerto Rican when it came to “ethnic” casting calls. My name is Sam Torres, but my face doesn’t necessarily embody “Torres”, a predominantly Spanish last name. I once auditioned for West Side Story and made it to the final rounds of casting only to be told “You’re great, but we’re only looking for Puerto Ricans”.
I moved to Utah from Michigan with zero warning. I left everything and everyone behind on a whim. I don’t regret that decision at all. I have a wonderfully happy life with a supportive partner making art and advocating for criminal justice, but I feel lonely in a city that has a transplanted culture.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I work as a non-union actress in Salt Lake City. I’ve been in the theatre and film scene here for almost two years and I’m proud to have had consistent work.
Just recently I got to perform my aerials in Melancholy Play directed by local playwright Morag Shepherd. My goal is to portray authenticity in all my work.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
What I like about Salt Lake City is the local arts and culture. For a predominately white and predominately religious place, The local art calls on social justice, queer/LGBTQ representation, BIPOC-focused writing and production teams, and absurdity.
Salt Lake City is going through a political revocation and unfortunately, our political leaders have proved to be driven by development and corruption. With a partner who works in homeless health care, we see the front lines of the fight for human rights and the ignorance and blatant disregard of the city and Mayor.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://samtorresofficial.wixsite.com/mysite
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samcattorres/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@samtorres8233
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@samsationalspam?lang=en
Image Credits
Matt Lovejoy, Lucas Bybee, and Joseph Kitchens
