Meet Sam Saint Ours

Sam Saint Ours brings his talents as an actor, musician, and Music Director to the American Shakespeare Center, where his work continues to inspire and delight. This year marks his third turn as Music Director for A Christmas Carol (2021, 2022, 2024), a role where his creativity and passion infuse the production with warmth and tradition. Audiences may also recognize Sam from his performances in Romeo and Juliet (2022) and The Tempest (2022), among others. A graduate of James Madison University, Sam has earned recognition nationwide, including a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Oil.

Sam Saint Ours in THE TEMPEST 2022.Photo by Anna Kariel Photography.

Go Behind the Scenes with Sam Saint Ours

Sam Saint Ours invites you into the world of A Christmas Carol (2024) at the American Shakespeare Center. In this interview, Sam shares his process for blending period-appropriate carols with modern musical elements, crafting a musical atmosphere that is both timeless and fresh. As Music Director for the third time and stepping into the role of Bob Cratchit, Sam offers insights into the joys and challenges of his dual role. Discover how ASC’s intimate Blackfriars Playhouse transforms this holiday classic into an immersive and unforgettable experience, and dive into the Q&A to learn more about Sam’s creative journey.

Sam, how did you first get involved with ASC and the Blackfriars Playhouse?

How did I first get involved with ASC in the Blackfriars Playhouse? Whoa. That’s a long story. So I grew up in Harrisonburg, VA, and I first came to ASC on a field trip, I believe, in 2008 to see Much Ado About Nothing with my English class.

I was in eighth grade. I wanted to be anywhere else but there. But I remember coming in and being like, oh my gosh, this is the most beautiful room I’ve ever seen. And it’s in Staunton!? There’s a bit of like a Harrisonburg/ Staunton… like our is better than yours. And, I was like, what the heck?

Staunton’s got all this. And then I came back to see Comedy of Errors in 2010 with my English class in high school. And it was at the time I had really gotten into playing music. But I hadn’t gotten into theater yet. And it was kind of the first time that I saw that you could do both.

Gregory Jon Phelps and Tyler Moss in THE COMEDY OF ERRORS. 2011.

I remember seeing the actors in that company playing the preshow music and everything and just thinking like, wait a second, you can be an actor and a musician. I just immediately knew that’s what I wanted to do. And that was when I shifted into doing more theater. Now, I focus more on musical theater.

I didn’t think I’d get in with Shakespeare, but, I, I set my sights. And then in college, I really was like, I want to work with ASC one day. That’s my dream. And then finally, in the beginning of 2020, I came on for the Renaissance season as a swing for the season. And, well, we all know how that went.

I was only working here for a couple of weeks before the whole world shut down. And I ended up quarantined here in Stanton. When we reopened in the summer of 2020 with the outdoor theater, I was already in the bubble here. I got to work on Twelfth Night and Othello that summer, and I got to play music, and then, it just kind of kept going from there.

We went on to do that winter. We did A Christmas Carol, which got closed before we could even open because of capacity regulations for Covid safety. And, then I just became a resident company member. I became a music director here. And so the rest is history, as they say.

What’s it like balancing the roles of music director and actor? 

You really… you get to the point where you don’t think of them as separate jobs. Especially here. It’s so long. I was originally hired on as an understudy and a musician, so music’s just kind of always been a quintessential part of the job.

And it’s funny, I have done shows in other places since working here, and I’m like, wait, what do you mean? I’m just an actor? It just feels weird because now it’s become so ingrained, and it’s kind of like… I think of my mom, who is superwoman. I mean, there’s nothing she can’t do.

But I was always so impressed. I’m the youngest of eight kids, and she raised all of us. She has all these grandkids, everything. And I was always like, how are you? Not only like a mom who reads my bedtime stories and takes care of me when I’m sick. She’s a mom, she’s a doctor, she’s a chef, she’s a NASCAR driver, getting us all to our various rehearsals and practices and everything.

And I was always just like, how do you do all of these? And she’s like, well, it’s all just a part of being a mom to me. They’re not separate jobs. It’s just one job. And Lord, if she can do that, and if all the mothers and fathers out there can do that, I can do music director and actor as one job. I think they’re connected. 

How do you approach creating the musical atmosphere for this production?

 Well, what I love about working on Christmas music is… there’s centuries of creating this musical atmosphere. Everybody knows what Christmas sounds like, but you might not really put a finger on it. But you can hear within the first five seconds of a song on the radio that it’s a Christmas song.

And when you really take the time to think about it, and you’re like, oh, it’s because, like, this is the only time of year that I hear the glockenspiel unironically or any number of different bells, tubular bells and stuff that, like trumpets are all these things that lend themselves to the soundscape of Christmas that has been, very clearly cultivated and created, but especially, specifically for American ears.

We know what Christmas sounds like. We don’t hear Jingle Bells at any other time of the year. So that’s kind of where it starts, is like create the musical atmosphere, work smarter, not harder. We have centuries of work already done. It’s just a matter of analyzing it and recreating it, adapting it around what we have, and throwing in our own little flairs.

And it’s like, okay, this is the sound of Christmas. How do we twist this for the spirits? How do we make this so that it sounds appropriate for Dickensian-era characters to be singing Mariah Carey? What can we do? But you start from square one of the atmosphere that has been very well established already.

What’s your favorite song or musical moment in this year’s show? 

Aw man, I mean, Fezziwig. It’s such a joy for me. This is the third time I’ve gotten to write the Fezziwig parody for Christmas Carol, and it is just such a fun process for me. I just… I love writing these Christmas parodies, and that moment when you get to watch, I won’t say what song or parody, and I’ll leave that for the audience to see.

But that moment when you watch it, click for the audience of what this song is. Man, that is such a joy. And it’s always really funny because there’s a clear generational divide. I’ll be honest: the songs that we parody for Fezziwig every year, I don’t know them. I don’t listen to music, I really don’t, but especially not contemporary music. But then this time of year comes around, and I’m like, oh gosh, what? What are those kids listening to these days? And I have to find out.

The cast of A Christmas Carol 2024 at the American Shakespeare Center performing the Fezziwig Paradoy song.

And, so then, when we’re playing and for the audience and you’re used to especially doing Shakespeare and Dickens. A lot of times, adults are more tuned in than kids. And this is one of those rare moments in theater where you see the kids lean forward in their seats very excitedly and like grabbing onto their parents like, oh my gosh, it’s this song. And the parents are like, what the heck is this song? And it’s really, really funny, but I, I love that moment. I love seeing the audience see what we’re parodying.

How do you collaborate with the cast to make the music feel authentic and emotionally connected?

The pre-show and interlude songs, I don’t make that setlist. I ask the cast to submit their ideas for what songs we think we should do. And then, Stephanie and I will sit down and and we’ll talk through what we think of all the songs that were suggested.

So, right from Square One, it’s a community contribution. The whole cast has a say in it. It’s also very much… I don’t expect anybody to learn a new instrument. The first email the cast got for me was a survey on what they play or what’s something that they want to learn to play.

Once I get those responses, that helps me decide what direction to take for music and for the production. So I can’t go in with big expectations. I go based on what the cast brings to the table, which is always a ton, but it’s never conventional. We find these really fun ways to create and it’s all based around the cast.

What’s one behind-the-scenes story about the music in A Christmas Carol that audiences would love? 

Ooh, behind-the-scenes story. I mean, I think people just don’t understand how much it’s like improv. I mean, it’s a brilliant group that can come up with these songs. Everybody in this cast is such a good musician. We’ve got this moment where the fundraisers are leaving Scrooge’s office, and we kind of do this Carol of the Bells moment.

That was just like filler at first. And it’s funny how these things that are just like ideas that the actors bring up in rehearsal, where it’s like, I’ll just start humming this, and then over time it becomes like really good, and it becomes the set thing. I think that’s one thing that the audiences would really love.

Stephanie and I walk in the room, ready to play with the ideas that are brought. And from there we’ll refine them. But I think people just underestimate how much of it we are just making up as we go along. I kind of came into the rehearsal process a list of Christmas carols that are period-appropriate that they would have been singing at this time. Choose your own adventure. Pick which one you want to have in your scene.

How does an intimate space affect your approach to music direction? 

The biggest one is just instrument choice. It’s an intimate room. It’s also designed in a way that swallows certain sounds. It can be really hard to hear the guitar over something. So it can be really hard to hear certain voices. So, I have to really hold back on some things. The piano is often too loud; the drums are often too loud. We don’t have microphones to boost over this.

The cast of A Christmas Carol (2024) performs preshow music at the Blackfriars Playhouse.

And depending on where we put these instruments in the space, they can overpower everything. So we have to be really careful, with the tubular bells playing in Westminster chimes, with the piano playing ominous stuff, with timpanis backstage. We have to be really careful not to be too loud because it is intimate. And we also don’t want to blast our patrons with a wall of sound from two feet in front of them.

What’s one moment in this production where the music truly elevates the storytelling? 

I mean, one, come on, this show starts and finishes with God Rest Ye, obviously the Fezziwig. We do music during all of the traveling. I mean, truly, if you think of this whole show like a concert, the music never stops, even if it’s not so direct of music as like a melody line.

There’s always some sense of rhythm. There’s always something. I mean, I think the entire show is just completely elevated by music.

How do you manage the dual challenge of performing live and directing music simultaneously?

It’s funny. I’m coming off of a week of losing my voice, which was really frustrating for me. And that’s not only because it affects performance. It’s not like I only know my voice part in these harmonies; I know all four voice parts because I sing them as I’m teaching them.

A lot of times, I’ll sub in for the Alto line or the bass line or something. And it was so frustrating this last week that I haven’t been able to do that. I haven’t had that register to sing along these other parts.

 And I think that sometimes I get so caught up in teaching all the music that I learn everybody else’s track, and then we get to performances, and I’m like, wait, what am I supposed to do here? I don’t know what voice part I’m singing. I don’t know what banjo solo I’m playing because I just focus on the cast first. I think that the biggest one is that often, I’ll focus too much on the collective sound, and I forget to fine-tune my individual track and responsibilities.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone interested in becoming a music director for live theater?

 Just do it. I think it’s a really great skill to have, but you have to just go out on a limb and try it. I was terrified the first time in music because there’s not really much of a middle ground. I mean, like at ASC, we often will have shows where we have an assistant music director, but even then, it’s really… there’s a big step from assistant music director to music directing, and the expectation and everything.

But, I mean, observe. Work on productions where you have music directors. Obviously, if you’re working in a lot of Shakespeare productions, you might not have music directors, but ASC always does. If you’re a member of those casts or whatever, observe what it is about the music director that you admire, or what you don’t admire, or what you would do differently.

Observe what tools they bring to the table and make sure that you know how to use those tools as well. See what works for the people around you. What are effective ways of teaching this? What are not effective ways of teaching it? And then you just gotta try it. If you get the opportunity to music direct anywhere, and this can be anything—it doesn’t have to be at the American Shakespeare Center— You can, especially this time of year, so many churches and community centers are putting on performances, concerts, and plays for the holidays. They need music directors. Find your opportunity, go try it, and just be forgiving to yourself. But take those tools that you observed into your process and then fine-tune them to yourself. And I mean, that sounds ridiculous. But yeah, that’s my advice: you’ve got to just do it. 

How do you use music to make classic stories like A Christmas Carol resonate with modern audiences?

Well, like I said, Fezziwig, that’s a pretty clear example. But also, I mean, we’re playing six-string steel guitars, steel string guitars, not steel guitars. That would be cool, too, though, if we were playing resonator guitars.

We’re already playing on modern instruments. There are so many instruments backstage that we can’t even show the audience, but all those sound effects you hear, there’s someone back there playing it while changing costumes. But we use modern instruments already, which helps make it more approachable.

We also, like I said with Fezziwig, bring in modern melodies, and we bring in modern vocal styles. I think a lot of people underestimate how much singing styles have changed over the years. So, yeah, just a lot of adapting to a modern audience. I think in the same way that we adapt the language of the script to the modern audience and, how we deliver certain lines, and how we know a contemporary audience will take this differently than an audience 200 years ago would have.

So, what’s your process for choosing or arranging the music in this show?

 Well, like I said, the big one with this show is that it’s set in a specific time period; I want to make sure that I look at what songs were actually sung then. We are not going to be putting a song in the show that was like a Darlene Love hit or something like that.

The cast of A Christmas Carol (2024) at the American Shakespeare Center performing a lively dance scene on the Blackfriars Playhouse Stage.

We need songs that might have been sung at Fred’s Christmas party or that the fundraisers would have been singing in the streets. So that’s kind of step one for choosing, which is to do something period-appropriate. Then, adapting it to the capabilities and talents of our cast and our theater. So we have the means to do. 

How does the Blackfriars Playhouse acoustic affect your musical direction?

Yeah, so I mentioned this one earlier. Just because we have to be really careful. And it’s one of the tricks with being on stage playing the music. I don’t hear the music the same way that an audience will, just because of where the space where the sound bounces off and gets to the audience. I need Stephanie in the audience to tell me, hey, I’m hearing way too much of the drums, or Sarah Dale will be like, hey, all I’m hearing is the banjo.

So we have to be very mindful of – not every instrument puts out the same sound – and not everybody’s voice rings in the same way. Depending on what register you’re singing, it can really get swallowed by the space. And so it’s just a constant trial and error. We have found that the ideal place for a vocalist to stand is directly downstage with the trap that really helps get the noise out.

And the kit should be just up kind of under the gallery; bass should be up there as well. That helps to decrease the delays that we get because sometimes if the rhythm is in another place, you’ll actually hear the music bounce off the back wall and come back. So we’ll fall behind by a couple of beats.

Piano as well. We’ve had the piano in a million different places, and it can really affect the delay, just that aural delay if it’s too far from center. But the biggest one is. Yeah, volume levels. 

What’s your favorite memory of performing in A Christmas Carol at the American Shakespeare Center? 

There’s so many. I mean, I just, I love that I’ve gotten to work with Stephanie on this show three times. She truly is just one of the greatest directors imaginable, not just as an actor, but as a music director and just as a person. I mean, she is incredible. I wish everybody could do this with her. But certainly, the most unique memory was doing A Christmas Carol in 2020.

We had eight actors. We were in a very tight bubble because this was before we had vaccines, and it was… this script with only eight people. We were all scrambling, just putting on one costume piece was the only difference between these characters. All the instruments were on stage, everything. We had this whole production planned.

And then, the week before we were supposed to open, the governor put a cap on, indoor gathering spaces because Covid was rising again. And what would have been our opening night became our filming night. And so in a few days, we had to re-imagine our show, which we had built for an audience to be built for cameras and we failed in so many ways.

Sam Saint Ours performs on guitar as part of the ensemble for A Christmas Carol 2020.

We are not TV actors. Once you learn how to stage a show on the Blackfriars stage, that’s what you get used to. And it’s very different than working for a camera. Everything was closing all around us. And all we wanted was to get this Christmas story out there, and we did it.

It wasn’t about the quality. It wasn’t about anything. It was about the community needed a Christmas message. We could have just closed the show, but we knew we wanted to distribute this to all these schools and all these families who come to Christmas Carol every year. To all the people who had never seen Christmas Carol before.

It was just… it was a really cool moment of the eight of us coming together. And artistic leadership came together, and we pulled it out, kind of did the impossible, and got it filmed. We did a live-streamed concert right before Christmas as well. It was a really special memory.

Do you have a favorite holiday song outside of the show?

Oh my gosh, it changes like every year. As a kid, I was obsessed with Little Drummer Boy. I don’t know why it’s such a monotonous song. My mom hated that I was obsessed with that song, but I just couldn’t help it. But then, like, now, put on some Nat King Cole. I’ll be happy forever. Bing Crosby obviously.

Every year it’s something different, and I just can’t help it. But Little Drummer Boy was probably my original favorite Christmas song. 

What’s one quality you think every great music director should have? 

Low, not low expectations, but just the expectation that your expectations will be challenged?

I think, too often… and this isn’t just music directors, this is managers, it’s any sort of leadership, if you come into a space with this big expectation of what your finished product is going to be, without taking into consideration all the components that go into it. And in this case, the components being the cast, the budget, the instruments that we have, the audience that we get, you’re just going to make everybody feel disappointed or feel like they failed.

So you got to come into the space knowing like, hey, this probably isn’t going to be my vision, but my vision can provide a guiding light. But don’t make a vision an expectation; make it a motivation, and then see what your team can do and what they do well, and what makes them shine. What makes you shine? And then from there, build a beautiful product. 

Why do you think music is so essential to the story of A Christmas Carol? 

Music is a tool that’s essential to any story. But, particularly around holidays. Holidays are really built around tradition, and it’s one big part of tradition. We have the food, we have the decorations. 

Music is a huge part of tradition, and it’s not just Christmas. We’re talking about the Happy Birthday song. We’re talking about marching bands at the 4th of July. We, associate sounds with tradition. So I think that’s why it’s such a huge part of Christmas. And it’s certainly a very effective way of getting Christmas to the masses. 

I mean, people who never would go see a symphony orchestra in their own time or a choir concert, but they recognize when Handel’s Messiah starts playing the Hallelujah chorus on the radio. Everybody knows that even if you’re not a concertgoer. So music is a really key part of holiday traditions and obviously A Christmas Carol for that matter.

How do you keep the music fresh for returning audiences year after year?

 That’s actually a big challenge, but one that we talked about in our process: let traditions be tradition. We don’t have to keep this fresh. It’s kind of like every year at Thanksgiving; everybody’s like,” What am I going to do to spice up this cranberry sauce?”

And it’s like, you don’t have to because here’s the news: nobody’s eating cranberry sauce the rest of the year. We look forward to coming back and having that cranberry sauce a lot. Like, guzzle that ocean Spray right out of the can. Don’t be afraid of traditions just because you did it last year. That’s not a bad thing.

Ally Farzetta as the Narrator and Sam Saint Ours as Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol 2024 at the American Shakespeare Center. Photo By October Grace Media.

And I mean, look at us, for crying out that we’re a Shakespeare theater. We only have a a small amount of plays that we can produce year after year after year. We keep them fresh, but the material is still the same. So we don’t have to put this pressure on ourselves of, like, oh, we got to change this up.

You don’t see Santa come to the mall every year in a different-colored suit. We like tradition. That’s good. That’s something to be celebrated. It’s something that people get really eager to bring their kids to the show so that their kids can see what they grew up doing. I think there’s just this stigma around, like, oh, you don’t want to do what you did last year, but why not?

I had fun last year. I had fun doing it this year, you know? So it’s not really like we have to keep things fresh. We find ways to make it fresh. Certainly, and it’s really fun. But I think for the first time this year, we really emphasized and this was, Vanessa Morosco, emphasized this with us of like, let’s not be afraid or feel like we have to freshen this up.

Let tradition be tradition. Let custom be custom. From there, we can still get creative, but there’s no pressure to. 

What’s one moment in this show you can’t wait for audiences to experience?

 I just think everybody knows the story, right? But it still lands every year. And I just think going on Scrooge’s journey is a really great reminder for anyone. A really great lesson in being human. And that’s that’s it. 

It has nothing to do with the music. It’s just the show in total, just a reminder of like, Christmas isn’t the only time that there are people in need. Christmas isn’t the only time that you can donate money or means or time. You can volunteer. Just a reflection on Christmas isn’t the only time we should reach out to family or loved ones.

If the only piece of mail you send out is a Christmas card every year. Oh, why not send one out in the summer? Reaching out to people. And I think I’m just excited for audiences to get this story again. And just reflect a little bit on how this can affect my life.

Any final thoughts for your audiences joining us at the Blackfriars this holiday season?

We’re so, so happy to have you and our Playhouse. That’s my final thought is thank you. 

We quite literally cannot do this without you. And at a time when theater is a tough industry and theaters all across the country are facing a really tough time filling their seats.

We love what we do because you love what we do. We love getting to contribute to the community in this meaningful way. But we can’t do that without the community giving to us first and getting that support from the community, walking down the street and seeing Christmas carol posters up in the windows of local businesses.

Molly Martinez-Collins as Tiny Tim, Kenn Hopkins Jr. as the Ghost of Christmas Present, and Sam Saint Ours as Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol at the American Shakespeare Center. Photo by October Grace Media.

I mean, it’s just it’s so heartwarming. And it means the world to us that the people of Staunton and Waynesboro and Harrisonburg, and we got people coming down from the northeast, coming up from Florida, coming from the West Coast, that they want to support us. So my final thought is, thank you from the bottom of my heart. And I know I speak for the whole company when I say that we can’t do this without you, and we are all just so grateful.

And we hope that whatever holiday you celebrate or don’t celebrate, that you enjoy this time of year. And that our story can help you along the way. Thank you.

Join us for A Christmas Carol

Join us this holiday season to experience the joy, music, and timeless message of A Christmas Carol. With Sam Saint Ours and our talented cast and crew, we’re thrilled to share this magical story with audiences of all ages. Thank you for supporting the American Shakespeare Center and helping us create unforgettable moments. We can’t wait to welcome you to the Blackfriars Playhouse and celebrate the season together.