Watching Sammie Wayne maneuver his way around a stage, one would never guess that while studying at DePaul University he “didn’t have the guts to major in theater.” He says, “My dad wanted me to major in something more stable.”
Although he received a B.S. in computer science and initially parlayed it into a career in corporate America, he’s not currently using his degree. Instead, Wayne is a one-man theater crew proficient in lighting design, stage managing, producing, acting and directing. He’s currently flexing his directing muscles taking on not one but two plays simultaneously, opening within one week of each other.
He had never worked on two shows at once, but that didn’t deter the resolute Mississippi native. “It never occurred to me I couldn’t do it,” says Wayne during a recent interview at the Coast Playhouse in West Hollywood – the venue where one of his shows, Macho Like Me is set to open Jan. 15. “I didn’t plan this; it’s just happening this way. Both shows are already directed. The character development has already been done. It’s just getting them up. I’m really just putting the final touches on both.”
Actress/Writer Helie Lee in "Macho Like Me"
Macho Like Me, written by and starring Helie Lee, is billed as “one woman’s unique journey to manhood.” It’s the true account of Lee’s six-month expedition into living life as a man. She cut her hair, donned men’s clothes and actually moved out of her home to prove a point: that men have it much better than women. The results, says Lee, were eye-opening.
Lee met Wayne last year at an earlier incarnation of New Eyes (the second show he is currently directing). She was so impressed with his vision, she asked him to direct her show.
New Eyes, which ran at the Santa Monica Playhouse last year, opened Jan. 8 at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks. Written by Yafit Josephson (who also stars) and Suzanne Bressler, the play tells the true story of Josephson who, as a young woman living in Israel, joined the Israeli army to serve her country. After she was discharged and moved to Los Angeles to become an actress, she quickly realized she would be typecast as a Middle Eastern villain.
“After watching New Eyes last year I expected the director to be this Jewish guy,” explains Lee. “I was surprised when I found out it was Sammie, but I figured if he could step out of his own comfort zone and immerse himself into a show like that, he could certainly do justice to my show, which is about a Korean American dealing with this gender thing. I thought he’d be a perfect fit.”
Lee has nothing but praise for her director and new friend. “Sammie is one of the good guys,” she explains. “We are a lot alike. When we make a decision we go for it. We don’t dilly-dally. We don’t have egos. We work well together. Like attracts like. We have so much in common. I have found a good story is universal and so is a good director.”
Actress and Writer Yafit Josephson in "New Eyes"
Wayne, visibly embarrassed by Lee’s compliments, reluctantly accepts the praise. “I guess I am a good director,” he acknowledges. “I think a good director is someone who is a good listener. I’m a good listener. When I read something, I hear things. One important thing is to hear what the writer says. Then colors begin. You have to be totally open to everything but be disciplined. As a director you have to have a disciplined plan to carve a story. Being the director is like being the captain of the Starship Enterprise. You sit back and engage. You’re involved in every aspect of it.”
Both shows are culturally diverse and chock full of reality – ingredients which attract Wayne to projects. “New Eyes is one of those pieces that found me,” he says. “I read the script and it hit me. There are lines in the play that read: ‘When you almost lose your life in two minutes, you get a different perspective on life. Suddenly nothing in the world matters besides your existence…not Israel, not America… just the desire to breathe and admire nature and love yourself for who you are.’ That was powerful to me. It spoke to me. New Eyes has opened my eyes to see people differently. The same with Macho Like Me.”
Before directing New Eyes, Wayne had very little understanding of Israel.
“I didn’t know any Israeli people,” he says. “All I knew was what I saw on television. Most of it was something being bombed. I read her [Josephson’s] story; it hit me and just unfolded. As humans we have much more in common than not. I want to focus on the beautiful things in life.”
Working on two shows at once doesn’t leave Wayne with much down time but he says he’s not the least bit frazzled. “I’m not stressed because I love what I do.”
FROM THE BEGINNING
Although his life took some detours before he could fully immerse himself into the world of theater, Wayne, who has four sisters and one brother, knew by age six he wanted to be in showbiz. A small portion of his inspiration came from an unlikely source – his pastor at the little church he attended in Westpoint, Miss.
Sammie Wayne director of "Macho Like Me" and "New Eyes"
“We had church only every other Sunday because the town was so small,” remembers Wayne. “Our pastor had two churches. He would alternate, our church one Sunday and his other church the next. He was very theatrical. I would go home and imitate him for my sisters. I enjoyed the response they gave. I enjoyed telling a story.”
Wayne had fallen victim to the accolades. Even so, during his first years at DePaul he was busy playing football (wide receiver) and running track (the 400 meters which he ran at 47.2) under a track scholarship.
“My goal in high school was to get a football scholarship at UCLA, play pro ball for 10 years and then go into acting,” says Wayne, a twice-divorced father of one (12-year-old Shelbie). “But, I got a track scholarship to DePaul. I didn’t want to run track. I wanted to play football because it was one way to release anger. Why was I angry? Because I was born in Mississippi in the ’60s. That’s where the anger came from.”
Today, Wayne, dressed in jeans, a casual blue shirt and black kicks, shows no hint of his Mississippi anger. “I can relate to young people today,” says Wayne, whose specks of gray in his closely coiffed sideburns are the only clues to his 48 years. “Life isn’t easy. It’s hard out there. People always ask, ‘Is it going to get better?’ The life lesson is how you handle it or how you not let it handle you.”
Slinked down in a chair, legs straight out and crossed at the feet, he uses his demonstrative hands and rapid-fire repartee to reinforce every point. His young angst has dissolved, making way for a mellow persona that oozes an enthusiasm for living. He laughs and smiles liberally and gushes about how lucky he is to be making a living with his passion.
“I’ve been very fortunate,” says Wayne, who admittedly finds it hard to sit in a theater as an audience member. “Everyone knows how unstable this industry is.”
Wayne’s entertainment credits are extensive. His stage credits include The Blacks, Salome, Sisterella, Split Second, Bonita and Billie, One Last Look, Nevis Mountain Dew, Cool Negroes and One Woman Two Lives. Wayne was the stage manager and lighting designer of one-woman shows for Kim Wayans (A Handsome Woman Retreats) and Loretta Devine (Pieces of Me). He has stage managed for Glynn Turman’s one-man show (Moving Man) and Ella Joyce’s one woman show (A Rose Among Thorns). He was also the assistant director for the 13th and 14th NAACP Theatre Awards and assistant stage manager for Della Reese’s The Message is in the Music.
As an actor his TV and film credits include Judging Amy, Diagnosis Murder and Soulmates and the feature film Danger in Paradise with Frank Stallone. When acting roles began to dry up, Wayne, who studied with Marla Gibbs, was determined not to return to the corporate world. In 2000 a cousin told him about an opening for the Reese show. He recently won a NAACP Theater Award for his role as Michael in One Woman Two Lives opposite Kellita Smith (The Bernie Mac Show).
While achieving his own success, Wayne has been conscious of giving back. One of his passions outside entertainment is co-producing Giving Back Corporation’s Annual Toast/Roast, a fundraiser to help provide book scholarships for high school seniors entering their freshman year in college.
“Things have always just fallen into place for me,” he says. “Well, except for that one time when I made a huge mistake.” He is referring to an incident at DePaul, where he had done a skit for a campus variety show his junior year. He did such a good job, he was asked to come back and host in his senior year. The dean of the school of theater saw the show and asked for a meeting.
“She said, ‘Someone saw you hosting the show and they’re offering you this internship with this new talk show called AM Chicago,’” explains Wayne, laughing hysterically while pretending to kick himself in the rear. “I said no because I was offered a job at General Motors. Of course we all now know, it went on to become The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
B.T. (BEFORE THEATER)
Prior to jumping head first into entertainment, Wayne spent more than 11 years in corporate America as a software engineer and program analyst for General Motors and Northrop Grumman.
“I worked on the B2 stealth bomber as software engineer,” says Wayne. “I was excited. This was about 1990 or 91. One day this guy let me sit in the cockpit of a stealth bomber replica. I was like, ‘wow.’ This is 40,000 pounds of thrust. It’s enough to kill people. I thought, ‘I’m helping to design weapons to kill people.’ It was an epiphany.”
In his 30s Wayne took a voluntary lay-off so that a co-worker in her 50s wouldn’t lose her job. Once he was finally out of the 9 to 5 grind, Wayne was determined not to return. He credits his humble, albeit unconventional upbringing with his ability to adjust, analyze, make decisions and survive.
When asked to describe himself, Wayne takes a moment to think before replying: “hard working, dependable, full of life, happy, loving and complex to some people. I try to stay even and balanced,” says Wayne, who prays every morning. “I try to leave whatever isn’t going right at the door. I can’t complain right now because I’m healthy and I’m doing what I love. Life is good.”
Macho like Me, presented by 10 X 10 Entertainment, opens Jan. 15; plays Fri.-Sat., 8 pm; Sun., 3 pm; through Feb. 13. Tickets: $30.Coast Playhouse, 8325 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood; 310.720.2388, 800.595.4849 or macholikeme.tix.com or info@macholikeme.com.
New Eyes, presented by Josepel Productions, plays Thur. and Sat., 8 pm; Sun., 3 pm; through Feb. 13. Tickets: $25. Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; 323.960.7712 or plays411.com/neweyes.
