Born and raised in Christchurch, Samantha developed her love of theatre as a child at Original Scripts Theatre School and knew immediately she wanted to direct her career into the performing arts.
Samantha gained a Bachelor of Communication Studies with a major in creative industries and minors in public relations and journalism from AUT. She returned to AUT the following year to gain an honours degree, where she focused her dissertation on the importance of the arts for youth development.
Samantha spent time living and working in New York where she wrote for a Broadway publication – Theaterhound, and further developed her skills in digital marketing. She returned to Christchurch for a year where she worked for the 2013 Christchurch Arts Festival and The Court Theatre before making her way to London.
During her time in London, Samantha worked on the West End at Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Really Useful Group marketing each of his licensed titles on a global scale. She was involved in the revival of Cats on the West End and Broadway, marketing the touring, Broadway and West End productions of The Phantom of the Opera, global tours of Cats, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Wizard of Oz and the opening of ALW’s latest musical, School of Rock.
She returned to Christchurch to take up her current position running the marketing department at The Court Theatre, and couldn’t be happier to be home. In her spare time, Samantha enjoys going on adventures to quench her insatiable itchy feet, spending time with loved ones, and learning new things.