6 Theatre Workers to Watch | American Theatre

Known for: Sampson is the founder and artistic director of All Queer Shakespeare (AQS), an all LGBTQIA+ Shakespearean theatre company that launched in 2024. Since then, AQS has marched in London Pride and Seattle Pride and given talks at universities and theatres around the U.S., U.K., and Europe. She is also the owner of the Sampson Studio, where she has worked for over a decade using trauma-informed, anatomy-based voice and acting pedagogy to train hundreds of performers, many of whom are now working on Broadway, the West End, national tours, and feature films. Sampson directs and acts locally in Arizona and has been featured on NPRPBS, and NBC as well as at Phoenix Theatre Company, Childsplay, Arizona Theatre Company, and more.
What’s next: After AQS’s fully sold out first season, Sampson is looking forward to the company’s second season, titled “A Season of Collaboration,” with a mission to “show that the values of inclusion and diversity are not limited to a queer company, but are for all.”
What makes her special: Multiple artists voiced praise for Sampson and AQS’s work to uplift queer voices. Artist and AQS core company member Ezra Neighbors said Sampson “is changing the landscape of our hometown,” while performing artist Taryn Landis added that Sampson has “created a wonderful, welcoming, and kind community of like-minded theatre artists here, even beyond her work as a director and intimacy coordinator. Her work and talents are invaluable and unmatched in Phoenix.”
Hello, Monica: Sampson said she’ll never forget the exact moment she first knew what she wanted to do with her life. She was 8 years old and enjoying a Barbra Streisand movie marathon: Hello, Dolly!, Funny Girland then Yentl. “As the credits rolled,” she recalled, “seeing ‘directed by Barbra Streisand,’ ‘produced by Barbra Streisand,’ ‘starring Barbra Streisand’—in that moment, something clicked. I understood it was possible to be the creator of your own story, and I’ve been unapologetically myself ever since. As a plus-size, Jewish, queer woman, I’ve been incredibly lucky to live a life where I’ve been able to build beautiful creative opportunities and to be unapologetic in my pursuit of joy in the theatre.”