Lili talks with Sammi Sadicario, Seattle-based actor and health coach. They discuss what made Sammi become interested in a parallel career as a health coach, what prompted her move to Seattle, and why morning routines are especially important in this time.
Sammi's instagram: @sammisaysjump
Add Sammi on Facebook or join her Facebook Group "The Creative Health Community" where we talk all things sustainable health!
If you want Sammi's "Guide to Quit Your Snacking Habit" email Sammi.Sadicario@gmail.com or add her on Facebook!
Five Minute Journal
(Physical Journal)
(App)
TDQ’s Website
Instagram: @thedreadedquestion
Lili’s instagram: @lili_torre
Email: thedreadedquestionpodcast@gmail.com
TDQ #58 Sammi Sadicario
Lili Torre: [00:00:00] Hello! And welcome back to The Dreaded Question podcast. I'm your host, Lili Torre, and this week's guest is the lovely Sammi Sadicario.
Sammi is an actor who used to be based in New York and recently took the leap to move to Seattle where she's growing and expanding her parallel career as a health coach. "Health coach" can be a pretty broad term, so I'll let her define it for you.
In today's episode, we discussed what made her become interested in a parallel career as a health coach, what prompted her to move to Seattle, and why morning routines are so darn important.
So without further ado, let's find out with Sammi Sadicario is up to.
So Sammi Sadicario. What are you up to?
Sammi Sadicario: [00:00:47] Ah, it's such a fun question. Too much and too little, all at the same time.
Lili Torre: [00:00:53] Yes. Oh my God. I think you just summed up CoronaVirus in a very brief and beautiful sentence. I couldn't agree more.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:01:07] Yeah. It's like, too little, cause we're like not going anywhere. It's all being done from our houses, from my bedroom. And too much cause like putting so much pressure to do more, you know?
Lili Torre: [00:01:20] Yeah.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:01:21] Also just like, wondering if I'm doing too little in general, like for my friends, for the community, for this whole beautiful movement that's happening, for the BLM movement and if I'm like asking too much of myself. And, I think that's a lot of the too much, too little.
Lili Torre: [00:01:37] Absolutely. I can completely relate to all of that. That... yeah, it feels like we're not doing as much in this time, since we're staying home the majority of our days, but it also feels like we're doing too much screen time, or I don't know, for me, like too much junk food or like too little exercise.
And at the same time, yeah, relating it to the Black Lives Matter movement, feeling like we're not doing enough. or, you know, or we're doing too much, but in the wrong way. And you know, I think that a lot of people are probably feeling that and relating to that right now.
And you know, the only thing that I would say to that is that we're all learning and we're all growing. And, an event that I attended recently said, "Be humble and ready to fumble." And I just keep playing that in the back of my head of, you know, I'm just going to show up whichever way feels right.
And if someone I trust tells me that that's not the right way to show up, then I will be humbly ready to fumble.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:02:40] Oh my God. I love that so much. I just wrote it down.
Lili Torre: [00:02:44] It's a juicy one.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:02:45] be humble and ready to fumble that's... wow that's really grounding. I think we're all so afraid of failure so often that that's pretty beautiful. The way somebody put it to me even today was like, there's so many lanes for progress and We can only do what we can, especially because if you're high risk, like you cannot go to a protest.
Lili Torre: [00:03:07] Right. Of course.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:03:08] If you're high risk and you have a immune system that is compromised, like please do not- find another way,
Lili Torre: [00:03:14] Right. And there are other ways
Sammi Sadicario: [00:03:16] Yeah, there are other ways. And so here we are, I'm taking a class on Monday about how to be a better health coach during this time,
Lili Torre: [00:03:21] I'm so glad that you built in this beautiful transition for us so that we can talk about your parallel career as a health coach.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:03:29] Yes. I feel like health coach is such a broad term, but I call myself so many different things that health coach might as well be it.
Lili Torre: [00:03:37] Yeah. I mean, it's true. I, I would agree with that, that I think health coach is a term that's sort of thrown around a lot that not a lot of people know what it means. And I think it can also to some extent, mean different things. So I guess I'm curious what it means for you.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:03:53] Well, that's a great question. For me, a health coach, and what I do is I help people implement the healthy lifestyle habits that they want in their life. You know, it's not about like what I want for you. Like that's dumb. I want what you want and I'm going to help you get there. So like one question that I asked my clients, like our first meeting is what do you envision when you picture a healthy person, quote, unquote, healthy person.
What do you think their day looks like? And what part of that day do you want to be part of your life?
Lili Torre: [00:04:28] Ooh, I love that. That's really interesting because my first impulse was, I thought you were going to say, when you think of a healthy person, like, what do you picture? What do you imagine? And, you know, that can obviously be so manipulated by what we've been told is healthy or what, you know, societaly, or culturally we've been told is healthy or attractive.
And I think it's so interesting to think about it. What does that person do and how much of that interests you? I love that. That's a great perspective.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:05:00] You know, when we think of like bodybuilders and we think of people who make physique or make strength like their life, they have to sacrifice a lot to get there.
Like there's like, a lot of sacrifice that goes into that. And most people don't want that. They just like, want to feel better. They just want more energy.
They just like want to be able to like nail their dance audition and feel super good that movement. you know, and it's also like breaking down the realities of that to, to people and what that means.
Lili Torre: [00:05:32] Yeah. And I think also questioning why we think of certain things as healthy. You know, why, why do we think a six pack is healthy? It's not necessarily super healthy for everyone and not every body type was meant to have one.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:05:47] Yeah, absolutely not. Absolutely not. And that's the daily work you got to put in to keep a six pack going
Lili Torre: [00:05:56] Yeah, especially as a woman.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:05:58] yes, absolutely. It's just, I'm like, I don't want that. I don't, I don't have a six pack and I cannot imagine a world in which I have to put in enough effort to get there.
Lili Torre: [00:06:09] No, no, thank you.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:06:11] No. Thank you.
Lili Torre: [00:06:12] Amazing. I love your approach already. I would love to know more about how you became a health coach and how you found yourself on this journey, starting out as a performer.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:06:27] Yeah. Gosh, it's such a, I feel like it's a long story, but it'll probably end up being pretty short. So performer forever, like down to itty bitty baby performer. And I was actually singing on a cruise, as one does... and my singing partner was a personal trainer and a health coach. And I had been living with chronic pain for a really long time and like really weak immune system.
And so many doctors I've tried every diet. I yoyo dieted for years. I mean, my mom, yoyo diets, my sister yoyo, dieted. So like ingrained, definitely a family where it's either like "You put on weight" or "You lost weight" now I'm like "Stop commenting." Yeah. So I I've really liked my singing partner's approach and I just really wanted to learn how to lift weights and just how to have better habits.
That's what I said to him. So he helped me with that. And then at the end of one year, working with him, I was like, "Oh my God, the world needs this."
So I got certified and I kind of just poured all of my time and energy into learning more and tapping into empathy and like learning about motivational interviewing and learning about how, how to coach really, because like, you can know everything about nutrition, about anything, but that doesn't mean, you know, how to coach.
Lili Torre: [00:07:47] Yeah,
Sammi Sadicario: [00:07:48] So, yeah. And, I only like stopped performing like six months ago and I fully and moved to Seattle and, was still very much intending to perform here, but then like Corona...
Lili Torre: [00:08:02] sure, sure, sure.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:08:04] So it's very much like a parallel career path, but one that I think brings me a lot more fulfillment than any one show ever did.
Lili Torre: [00:08:11] Yes. something that brings you more fulfillment than any one show ever did that, I mean, that's it, that's the nature of the beast here. That's what we're going for is that. We can't just go from show to show, to show begging for fulfillment. We need to create something for ourselves where we feel fulfilled.
So that doing shows on top of that, isn't, we're not demanding as much from the shows that we do do on top of that. I love to hear that. I do have about a million follow up questions, but one I'm. I always have a lot of questions. People know this. but one that I don't want to gloss over is what you said about families having opinions and input about our bodies, especially right now, a lot of people are at home with their families for a more extended period of time than they typically are.
And, you know, I understand what that feels like to have a well meaning family who has opinions about your body type and how much weight you have put on or lost in their opinion. And I'm curious, you know, now that you have such a deeper understanding of health and what it means to be healthy and what that looks like for different people.
I'm curious if any advice comes to mind on how to respond in those situations or how to approach that conversation with your family when they're giving you some perhaps unsolicited feedback.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:09:40] So that's like a really layered question because I think that we won't be able to tackle conversations with our families until we tackle the conversations with ourselves.
Lili Torre: [00:09:53] Ooh you went there, yeah.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:09:54] Yeah, so a lot of what I talk about with my clients is mindset coaching. It's not just what we eat, but it's how we talk to ourselves and how we, navigate the stories in our head about our bodies and our weight and our health. And, how we move away from those stories, because if I'm still holding onto the story that I can never lose weight.
And then I go see my mom and she's like, "Oh, you've put on 10 pounds." And then that is just going to be, detrimental. And on the opposite side of that, if I am holding that story, that I can never lose weight. And my mom says to me, "Oh, it looks like you've lost weight." I'm also going to feel bad about myself.
Lili Torre: [00:10:30] Yeah. Oh, cause it's challenging your perception of yourself.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:10:35] Yeah. But if I have, like, if I have the mindset of, I take care of my body and I, I get to take care of my body, I deserve to take care of my body. I am entitled to a healthy body- these are just like all the affirmations that I still use. And I use with my clients- then, when somebody comments on a weight either way. It's, "I feel great."
Lili Torre: [00:10:58] Yes.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:11:00] So there's that aspect of it. And then there's also just like setting boundaries.
Lili Torre: [00:11:06] Yeah. That's really the crux of all of it.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:11:10] But that's hard cause like your mom might not listen. Because as my mom says, "I made you from scratch so I can do what I want." (laughs)
Lili Torre: [00:11:19] I've never thought about making a person from scratch before. I quite, quite like that, that's hilarious. But you're right. I mean, it definitely, definitely starts with ourselves and then from there, you can start to set some healthy boundaries and, and I even loved what you kind of casually said of like, "Well, I feel great." Because I think that's what parents really want for us is to make sure that you feel okay.
And so if you respond to, "Well, it looks like you put on some weight." with, "Well, I feel great!" You know, I don't really know how anyone argues with that. So that's a really great, perspective on that. And especially what you were saying about, you know, I, I have a body that I get to take care of. I get to, you know, I deserve that and I get to do this.
You also briefly, mentioned that you had dealt with chronic pain for years You know, so I can kind of directly see how that appreciation for like, getting to take care of yourself could perhaps arise from that. And I'm also curious, has your work on your own personal health and wellbeing eased some of that for you and helped you with the chronic pain that you were dealing with?
Sammi Sadicario: [00:12:36] Yes and. Yeah, so chronic pain, can come from anything. I want to help people with chronic pain too. Like it's also a goal to have clients who've been dealing with this.
So a lot of that is mindset. And I think the thing with my chronic pain was that I was always searching for the physical answer, you know, going to chiropractors, going to doctors, getting x-rays. I was in high school hospitalized, for migraines and I like rolled my ankles so many times in college, I was on crutches in college at Penn State musical theater for six weeks through the snow.
And honestly, that was like the least of my worries. There was so much pain everywhere. And now I know a lot of that has to do with the, my nervous system and like previous stories, previous like childhood traumas, like anything, anything can be a trauma, like having strep throat could be a trauma to a child.
And I actually- post the physical change that I made, found this app that helps people with chronic pain change the central nervous system response. So I have started implementing that into my coaching. And a lot of that is the same mindset coaching. A lot of that is the same, like how we talk to our bodies before we work out.
Once again, the stories we tell ourselves, it's amazing how I've gotten the more I've become more of a mindset coach the more the stuff that I learned from this app, it's called Curable for anybody who's out there. I am not affiliated. I just love them.
It's amazing how the two align, because our brain can change. Like anybody who's like "I'm 60. My brain can't change anymore!" I'm like, that has been scientifically proven to be incorrect.
Neuroplasticity is a real, I don't know if I answered your question.
Lili Torre: [00:14:23] You did. I mean, it sounds like... I imagine to an extent, the work that you did physically helped in some degree with your chronic pain, but it sounds like the real game changer for you was the mindset shift.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:14:38] Yeah. And it still is like, that's, you know, you don't just like become a health coach and all of a sudden you're done. Like, I'm very much like I wake up every morning and practice what I preach. I have a very strong morning routine because I know that when I don't have it, all the other things start to fall apart.
Lili Torre: [00:14:59] Yes. Oh my gosh. That's so true for me as well.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:15:02] It's insane how there's like dominoes, you know? And you just need to set up one to be really strong so the rest can align properly. But if I don't take care, if I just take care of myself physically, then I'm in pain. If I just take care of myself mentally, then I'm in pain.
If I just take care of myself spiritually, then I'm in pain. All three of those like need to be there every day. And I think this was like a recent development from COVID.
Lili Torre: [00:15:29] Interesting. Tell me more.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:15:31] Well, you know, there's like no day versus night when you're home all the time.
Lili Torre: [00:15:38] Yeah.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:15:39] So developing routines to separate, those was just so important. I've had a nighttime routine for a while because I found out how important it was to help my sleep. That's like part of the program I went through, that's part of the program that I offer, we will work on sleep hygiene.
But I finally was like, all right, I got no excuse. I have to implement a morning routine.
Lili Torre: [00:16:03] Yeah.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:16:04] So I love it. And I find that it's my best internal work comes out in the mornings.
And, you know, when I'm getting out all of my- I'm a very, like, as most, I feel like artists are like very high anxiety, human being.
as a very high anxiety, human being like taking care of myself at the beginning of the day is so it's just so vital. And so I have my own coach and my coach is like, when your morning routine is not there and you're not seeing success in your life, I'm going to ask you, "Are you doing your morning routine?"
(laughs) Yeah. It's so true. It's funny, there's this like current obsession with celebrity skincare routines, like morning and evenings skin care routines. And I don't even know if it's celebrities as much as like influencers or whatever, but every time I like, see one of those pop up on my YouTube or something, I'm like, "I want to see people's like, Lili Torre: [00:17:05] morning and evening routines, like not skincare."
Like I want to see what people do in the morning and evening because I find it so fascinating. And I definitely agree with you. And I don't know that I had thought of it that my morning routine has been so great since all of this quarantine COVID-ness started and it's been something I've really grown to treasure and something I don't think I'll be able to give up when we eventually are able to leave our homes again.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:17:36] So can I ask what's in your morning routine?
Lili Torre: [00:17:40] Oh, my gosh, turning things around on me.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:17:42] I want to know. I'm so curious.
Lili Torre: [00:17:44] I know.I love morning routines. Okay, well then I'm going to flip this around on you. So get ready.
I wake up at the same time every day and I do the Five Minute Journal. I write in my Five Minute Journal every morning, and then I meditate for 20 minutes and then I have a glass of water with apple cider vinegar in it, which sounds disgusting. But I have one of those pallets who loves things like that.
And I make breakfast and listen to a podcast, usually as I'm eating breakfast. And then only at that point, am I allowed to look at my phone other than to open the podcast app. But other than that only then, so it's usually about like, usually about like 45, 50 minutes. And I love it. It's simple, not, you know, not too fancy and delightful. I love it.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:18:41] Well, Lili, your morning routine might be stronger than mine.
Lili Torre: [00:18:46] It's not a contest.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:18:49] That's true. That's true. So my morning routine, I definitely look at my phone. We're work in progress there... I've deleted Facebook. Like I deleted from my phone, so I'm not scrolling in the morning, but I love the first thing in the morning during the week is to read the Skimm. I love to read the news in the morning.
Lili Torre: [00:19:07] That's the first thing I read when I look at my phone.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:19:09] Yes! I love it. So I sit in bed and I read it out loud to my boyfriend. and then... I make coffee and while the coffee is brewing, I brush my teeth. I put on some yoga clothes and typically I will do 20 minutes of yoga just to get my hips going. My lower back definitely needs 20 minutes of yoga, but I don't need a full hour.
We'll give you 20 minutes. and I will meditate and I will write and... my meditations can be either by myself or I'm really enjoying different guided meditations. I've been listening to this abundance meditation, meditation is around setting boundaries, sometimes I'll do- so have you heard of tapping EFT?
Lili Torre: [00:19:49] I don't think so, no.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:19:51] So it's like affirmations mixed with meditation while tapping on certain points in your body. I can't say that I know all of the details of like the science, but it works. And so I'll do some of those particularly now, like releasing stress about the world is a huge one that I've been doing.
And I write down my vision and my affirmations, which are a vital, the affirmations. I've started to make all my clients do affirmations because I'm like, this is, this is the real key to life.
and the vision re writing and looking at pictures of my vision. So those are like really important for me because it helps me remember like why I'm doing this and like what my values are.
And so I don't just start doing something that doesn't align with my values.
Lili Torre: [00:20:41] Yeah, that sounds like an amazing morning routine. I love that. Yeah. It sounds like an incredible way to start your day and must just put you on such a great path.
I'm so, so curious about how these routines and habits adapt through major changes in our lives. So we were both saying, you know, the start of COVID was actually a really great time to implement these morning and evening routines. And I'm also curious for you how some of these habits have been built and what things have changed for you in your move to Seattle.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:21:22] So both are really great questions. The first one, you know, one of the biggest things like I have four phases of my program, my coaching program, and the last phase is all about flexibility, learning flexibility, because like, I mean, I embarked on my health journey while I was living in two states at- well, I was living in four states, but I was like, I was going back between East coast, West coast all the time, for my job.
And, so I had to have flexibility. And so teaching people like, you know, release the control a little bit. So the same goes for the morning routine. And that's why mine's like... mine fluctuates. Like I went to- my boyfriend and I went to Portland, to his mom's house last month... And let it be known, we had COVID four months ago. So like at this point, yeah. So like we consider ourselves like low risk to spread it to like family, with current evidence at least.
So we went to his mom's house and it was like, you know, how do you adjust your morning routine to then like, be around other people?
And it was really like, okay, what's important to me? So like five minutes of stretching, five minutes of meditation and five minutes of writing. And then I spent time with my future mother-in-law.
So like, It it's the flexibility, the, the intention of self care was there. And I did the things that I needed, but adjusting to where I am that day.
And, you know, I think for me, and one thing that I hope my clients, you know, get out of this is finding one thing to hold on to, you know, so if I can't do all of it, what's the one thing I really need?
Lili Torre: [00:23:02] Yeah. And what's the purpose behind it? Because, you know, I think in some ways, if you're looking for connection or if you're looking to stay open to possibility, or if you're, you know, trying to be more flexible, literally with the stretching, like how can being more flexible with your routine get you to the same result?
You know, you're still practicing flexibility, it just doesn't need to look like this one thing that you thought it would look like, and, you know, by connecting with your boyfriend's mom and being around other people, like how does that fuel you in... in a specific way?
So I, yeah, I love what you said about that. And I'm. I'm sure that so many people listening are as curious as I am right now about what it's been like for you in Seattle and what even encouraged you to move out there in the first place?
I know a lot of people, maybe people who are listening are sort of considering for maybe the first time living in a market that's not New York City and considering where else they might live and potentially pursue a career in theater.
And I know that you said you moved kind of just before all of this happened and so you haven't really gotten to fully immerse yourself in the theatrical community in Seattle, but I would still love to hear a little bit about your perspective on it and what encouraged you to move out there.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:24:32] Absolutely. A little backstory... so I was living in New York. I was doing the whole audition every day thing. You know, four or five auditions a day going down that route. And then I also worked in the film industry for a while in production, and then I got a job singing in Portland on a river cruise, and I basically got off the plane and went, "Oh my God, I've never seen a mountain."
And fell in love with the Northwest. And it's funny because I think part of me was like thinking of leaving New York, my whole family's from New York, like Brooklyn Jews since the dawn of time. And I didn't realize I needed something else until I was there. So, I met my partner and he actually was saying he would move to New York.
And I was like, "Hmm, I think I'm gonna check out Seattle." And I told him he wasn't invited and I went by myself. I got on a bus and I went by myself and I stayed in a hostel and I made friends as I do. And the first night I was there, I was like, okay, what arts thing do I want to do? And someone from- there's like one person from Penn State who lives in Seattle and we didn't even know each other, but we met up because I was like "Hi!", and she invited me to a dance show, but I was walking around there's this thing called the gum wall. And I just was like going to see all the touristy things by myself and. under the gum wall, there's like this little door and it was an improv studio. And I saw a sign that said, "Improv According to Sondheim" or something like that, but it was Sondheim. She was like, I am going, I loved it.
I thought it was the funniest thing I've ever seen. They literally put on a Sondheim show. Like it was like a full, like 90 minute show and it was all improv based off of the nursery rhyme. And I was like, this is the kind of performer I want to be.
Lili Torre: [00:26:27] Yeah, that's awesome.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:26:28] Yeah. It was really, really great, and like, you know, the, the keyboardist, was, was improving like, it was insane.
I laughed so hard. I was crying. It was so amazing. And I kind of just went and I was like, okay, I'm going to take class here. Like I've taken classes at UCB- RIP UCB- and I was like, okay, this is, this is the step. And I saw some other shows. There was a... at Fifth Avenue theater, I believe it was, a workshop presentation.
So female writers who like went and did a retreat for a month, a writing retreat all like performed their work. And I was like, this is cool. And I was just really excited about the theater. And when I looked at auditions online, it was all like, I don't know if this word is still appropriate, but colorblind casting.
That's like what they put. I'm not sure what the future of that thought is going to be, but that's what it was. And it was all like, gender nonconforming theater. I loved that it was just like Shakespeare all over the place with like, you can literally audition for whoever you want -as a 5' 10" person who always like played Romeo till I was 14, I was actually really excited about that. and also as a queer person, I was like, Oh my gosh, this is exactly what I want. So I got really excited by the kind of theater, because I felt like in New York you had to dig for that.
Lili Torre: [00:27:52] Yeah.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:27:52] And here I just kind of wanted to, I wanted to play more and work less. So I was just like, all right, I think I'm doing this.
And you know, New York. Well, I was like, New York will always be there. I could always move back. I just, it took me a year, a year to finally move cause I wanted to travel before I paid rent again.
But yeah, so we decided that we would move at the end of 2019. So we moved... at this point, my, my partner was invited...
Lili Torre: [00:28:26] I'm so glad.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:28:27] And we moved together, December 27th and I got a job at a gym and yeah, the rest is history. I went on one audition this year, but I was like, very much not there for it. You know, when you're like going audition, just cause you feel like it's the right thing. And I was like...
Lili Torre: [00:28:44] We've all been there.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:28:45] Yeah. I was like, I need to not do this because I would, I think at this point right now, I would rather get back into directing and be on the other side of the table anyway.
Especially now coaching, because coaching is very much like directing,
Lili Torre: [00:29:00] Totally
Sammi Sadicario: [00:29:01] Yeah, I think like in the future that will be there, but right now, I don't know when theater is going to open back up in Seattle.
Or anywhere, let's be real... one reason why I was so confident in my decision to move is because like, you know, we auditioned in New York to go perform everywhere else. So I was like, why don't I just... do that somewhere else?
I don't know, there's so many layers to it.
Lili Torre: [00:29:27] Yeah, I'm curious. I don't want to lead the witness here, but I'm curious to what extent you feel like having a parallel career allowed you to more easily make that decision and take that leap
Sammi Sadicario: [00:29:46] Oh, yeah, without a doubt, because I mean, at the very least I was like, well, my waitressing skills will for sure come in handy if I can not get a job at a gym. But like, you know, I also think that artists and creative people who only have, like the only thing that they want to do is perform and be theater and be this one part of theater are so much less interesting on stage and their work is so much less interesting.
And that's why colleges care so much about all the things you do outside of theater, because they know that. and so finding those skill sets that you have outside of theater will only make you a stronger performer and artist.
And you know, you see it all the time with famous people who have like clothing lines and have all these other things. It's not just for money it's because they were like, "This interests me. And this is a creative thing that I can do."
Lili Torre: [00:30:38] Right. I'm really interested in what you just said about colleges being so interested in what you do outside of theater, because I'm not sure that that's everyone's experience.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:30:48] Oh, my gosh, Penn State was like, what do you do that's not performing?
Lili Torre: [00:30:53] Yeah,
Sammi Sadicario: [00:30:55] They very much wanted to know that you were a 3D human and that you were going to be an asset to the community.
Lili Torre: [00:31:04] Yeah. So what did that look like? Like, were they encouraging you to- because Penn State is not a conservatory program from what I understand. So were they encouraging you to kind of diversify the classes that you were taking outside of your required, theater classes?
Sammi Sadicario: [00:31:20] That's a great question. I went during- to Penn State during a really weird time of like all of the old teachers left my sophomore year. And it was like this whole new, all the new teachers came in my sophomore, junior year. So like, there was definitely different theories around that. But like I got a minor in religious studies and it was very much encouraged, which was great because then I, I actually melded it with, with theater and I did an independent study and did a one woman show at the end of my senior year.
It was awesome. It was the coolest thing, to be encouraged to do something different. So in my experience, the teachers were like, yeah, find yourself. That's what college is for. Somebody else might have a different experience there.
But for sure, without a doubt in the interview process, that was a huge question they asked. Like, when I was like, yeah, I'm head of thespians, I'm president of this and that. They were like no- what, what is, what do you do outside of theater? And then I had to open up about that.
Lili Torre: [00:32:24] Yeah, no, that's really great to hear. I mean, we've talked a lot about, about this on this podcast, you know, that old adage of, "If you can do anything else, do that instead." And how that has created a generation of people who either did do that instead and are not theater artists or who thought, "Okay, well, if I'm going to do theater, then I have to only do theater because if I could do anything else, I should be doing that instead."
And I think that's a really old school mentality. So I think, you know, it would make sense that with like a new generation of professors, perhaps a new thought process came through.
But also I think what happens then because of that adage is that whenever professors tell us that we're good at something else, or try to encourage us to deepen our knowledge about something else we're hearing, "Oh, they think I shouldn't be an actor."
And that sort of threat of your identity of yourself comes into play. And so I think a lot of, people who went to theater programs that weren't as like explicitly supportive of doing other things, felt limited to only theater and only acting. And so it's amazing to hear you say that your college experience and your college program wasn't like that.
And, I hope anyone who's listening, who is currently in college is hearing that and thinking about the ways that they can be taking the things that they're learning in their other classes and bringing that back through their creative lens, but also using the things they're learning in their theater classes and bringing that to the classes outside of their theater department.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:34:09] I think one of the most useful classes I took was business of the business. And if I could give any college student or recommendation, it would be to find a class that's business of the business, because it doesn't matter how good you are. If you can't support yourself.
Lili Torre: [00:34:26] I'm just curious, was that a class about like the business of like the theater business?
Sammi Sadicario: [00:34:30] Yeah. And, and one of the things that we had to do in that class was write down all the things that we're good at outside of theater
and how to do taxes. And what's a tax write off. And actually what's really funny is we also had to write a one person show. So we had to like do an outline of it. So interestingly enough, on the boat that I worked on last year, I did that one woman show.
Lili Torre: [00:34:54] Oh, wow. That's awesome!
Sammi Sadicario: [00:34:56] It was a Barbara Streisand revue and I wrote it for a class assignment. And then I was looking for a show that I could perform for, for 70 to 90 year olds. We have once a week. And I was like, "Oh my gosh, I should just do this show." And it was great.
So that was a really, now that I'm thinking about it, that was probably the most useful class I took. Well, that and auditions class, because like that is your job. But yeah, it was within the department and it was taught by a grad student.
Lili Torre: [00:35:22] Wow. Even better.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:35:24] Which is really cool. And now she's a vocal teacher at another school. And she's lovely. And I just remember her just pushing us to be like, you got to, you're going to have to make money other ways Everyone does.
Heck, Barbara Streisand did!
Lili Torre: [00:35:40] Right. Exactly. No, it's true. And I love that it was taught by a grad student because I feel like their information would be so much more current and relevant. Cause I think a lot of times the professors at these theater programs haven't even necessarily like been to New York in maybe decades. And certainly haven't lived in New York and maybe decades. So some of the information that they think they know about the business, isn't always the most topical.
So I think that's a really, it sounds like a really amazing class and yeah, I definitely think if there is a class like that at your university program, if you're currently in one, then I say, go for it.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:36:23] Stamp of approval.
Lili Torre: [00:36:25] For sure. Well Sammi, thank you so much for taking some time to have this conversation today. I think what it sounds like you've been up to with your health coaching and your big move and implementing new routines into your life. It sounds like you're in such a place of serious growth and really taking an opportunity to question a lot of the things that you thought you always knew about yourself.
You know, I was thinking about the fact that you said early in our conversation that you started in theater as a little kid. And, you know, I think that that can really ingrain an identity of like, "I'm an actor, I'm a performer, I've done this my whole life. This is what I do."
And I just really commend you for challenging that and questioning that in so many elements of your life, both your, your parallel source of income, the place where you live, what you do within that industry. I think that that's really amazing. And there's so much to take from that.
Sammi Sadicario: [00:37:33] Thank you. This was awesome! Thank you so much for having me. This is such a productive conversation, I really hope that people take that you can really, it's only, this is the life you've got, you know, and you can live it in so many ways.
Lili Torre: [00:37:46] Yes. Let's all move to Seattle. I'm ready!
Sammi Sadicario: [00:37:51] Yeah. Come join me. I need more friends. I'm stuck at home.
Lili Torre: [00:37:54] Sammi is such a delightful person. She's incredibly smart, intentional, and thoughtful. And I truly admire her open-mindedness, her boldness, and her commitment to wellbeing and growth.
If you're interested in learning more about Sammi's health coaching business, I'm linking everything you need to know below in the show notes.
As always, thank you so much for listening. I hope that wherever you are, you're wearing a mask and doing okay. I'm Lili Torre, and this has been The Dreaded Question.