Samantha Helmstetter
A Bit About Sam
Samantha was born and raised in New Orleans, LA. From a very young age, she enjoyed performing - whether she was portraying a superhero who battled her favorite stuffed animal or impersonating Martha Stewart while cooking and gardening. She first discovered her love of theatre at age eleven when she sang "Elbow Room" in a summer production of Schoolhouse Rock!
During high school, she knew she wanted to give equal time to both theatre and academics, so Samantha attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts in addition to Benjamin Franklin High School. There, she was exposed to a plethora of both popular and obscure theatre pieces. She was also given the opportunity to collaborate with students from the jazz and classical departments.
For college, Samantha attended Wright State University and received her BFA in Musical Theatre. Whilst honing her musical theatre skills, she began to take an interest in classical voice, as well. From WSU, she went on to receive her MM in Voice Performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts.
Since graduating, Samantha has co-written and co-starred in an original cabaret piece and co-created and performed in Chicago's first all-female opera improvisational troupe.
Samantha has written and directed her first short film. The link is uploaded to her media page in addition to more recent performances.
She recently returned from an eight-month contract aboard the Seabourn Encore as one of the resident cast singers. She was heavily featured in five mainstage productions and sang in various vocal styles, including pop, rock, jazz, R&B, and musical theatre.