Sam Levy

UNE arts graduate Sam Levy is a Theatre Producer who now resides in New York City. He has produced works on Broadway, Off-Broadway and in the West End. Sam is a Tony, Olivier, Drama Desk and Drama League Award winner and is Managing Director and founder of Trumper Park, a New York-based theatrical production and consulting firm.

Recent productions include Dear Evan Hansen; Les Liaisons Dangereuses starring Liev Schreiber; An Act of God, starring Jim Parsons; The Elephant Man, starring Bradley Cooper; Lucky Guy, starring Tom Hanks; I'll Eat You Last, starring Bette Midler; Red, starring Eddie Redmayne and Alfred Molina; Hamlet, starring Jude Law; and the 2012 Broadway revival of Annie, starring Jane Lynch.

Sam recently co-produced The Ferryman by Jez Butterworth; a play which was awarded Best New Play at the 2019 Tony Awards. He is part of the producing team bringing the new musical hit, SIX, to Australia in 2021 opening in Melbourne in February and Sydney in June 2021.

Online or on-campus study?

On campus for three wonderful years at Duval College.

How was your experience with UNE lecturers?

Just amazing.  I had such incredible teachers (and classmates), who inspire me to this day.

What was your reason for studying at UNE?

Partly, I just wanted to get out of Sydney, and get some life experience away from my family and friends.  It may have been the best decision I ever made!

Your current job?

I am a Broadway and West End theatre producer.

The personal qualities needed to do your job?

The ability to identify - and then collaborate with - people who are far, far more talented than me!

If you weren’t in this line of work, what do you think you’d be doing instead?

Goodness, I think I’d tried almost everything before landing in THIS line of work! It’s a good question, but probably work in television or film. It’s not the same as theatre, though – live performance is king, as far as I am concerned.

Your advice for anyone interested in pursuing this type of career?

There are gatekeepers at every entry point to this industry, and it’s incredibly disheartening to be consistently told why you can’t or won’t be able to break in. Ignore them, and stay focused. Think strategically, and ask yourself what you bring to the table:  it’s important to be able to tell the gatekeepers why they should unlock the gate for you.

The biggest challenge you’ve experienced in your work?

I’ve been pretty lucky so far, touch wood, and most of the challenges I’ve faced professionally have been positive ones.  But I’d have to say that for my industry, it’s this pandemic.  Nothing prohibits the communal experience of hundreds or thousands of people sitting together in a building more comprehensively than a pandemic.

The biggest achievement you’ve experienced in your work?

I’ve been really lucky to work with a lot of emerging talent over the past 15 years, many of whom have since gone on to great success, including winning the Pulitzer Prize, the Oscar, the Golden Globe, the Emmy, the Tony, the Grammy, and tons of other recognitions. I’m incredibly proud of them. I’ve also produced some successful shows, and received some recognition myself, including a Tony Award and an Olivier Award.

How has your UNE qualification aided you in your career?

I learned to think critically and imaginatively at UNE; and both attributes are essential to any career, as far as I am concerned, especially now.

What inspires you inside work and outside work?

Well, I am constantly inspired by my colleagues and our audiences.  But the most inspiring thing to me recently has been the hundreds of thousands of people around the world who joined the Black Lives Matter protests responding to the murder of George Floyd.  It was a global response of collective rage and distress about racial injustice.  That’s exactly the kind of action that is changing the world.

Do you volunteer your time for a community project or organisation?

I was appointed by the City of New York to sit on my local Community Board, which covers much of midtown and downtown Manhattan. I also sit on the Board of the Times Square Alliance.

In this time of Covid-19, how has the virus impacted your work?

It has been disastrous, to be honest.  Our industry shut down in New York just three hours before one of my shows was due to open on Broadway on March 12; by March 17, nine individual productions that I am involved in around the world came to a complete halt, including one that was due to open in Sydney in August. Tens of thousands of my colleagues are unemployed, with very little likelihood of returning to work until 2021.  It is absolutely devastating for the industry, and for our cities.

There are gatekeepers at every entry point to this industry, and it’s incredibly disheartening to be consistently told why you can’t or won’t be able to break in. Ignore them, and stay focused...it’s important to be able to tell the gatekeepers why they should unlock the gate for you.