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Samantha Cocco is an actor and writer based in Cleveland, Ohio, originally from San Francisco, California. Throughout high school and her undergraduate education, she received training in runway and print modeling, signed with a modeling agency, and had her first experiences with formal stage acting - a high school musical and one play, and little monologues and scenes in college. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in sociology with honors and upon graduation, and spent two years on a Pacific island as a full-time volunteer teaching high school. She returned to the states and earned her Master of Arts in nonprofit administration, also with honors.
After finishing her education, Samantha took some acting classes on a whim in 2016 and quickly fell back in love with performing. She trained for one year with the Houde School of Acting in Cleveland, Ohio. She studied improvisation, screen acting, scene study, and Shakespeare. She has also studied under casting director Delora O'Bryant, AEA actor Corey Mach, and SAG-AFTRA actor Kurt Yue.
Her first professional role was in The Phantom Tollbooth at Ensemble Theatre in January 2017. She has since worked on more than 50 shows at mostly professional theatres, including Dobama Theatre, Karamu House, Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, Beck Center for the Arts, convergence-continuum, and two appearances on stage at Cleveland's Playhouse Square in 2019. Favorite roles include Phyllis in Double Indemnity, Melissa in Love Letters, and Truvy in Steel Magnolias.
In 2023, Samantha just kind of started writing one day, and short plays started tumbling out. She also returned to writing poetry and, in an effort to help along the lacking field of theatre reviews in Cleveland, committed to reviewing (not critiquing) select local shows, especially those written by playwrights or centering characters who are Black, brown, indigenous, and queer. By early 2025, she has had two pieces produced locally and has been commissioned to write a piece for a local theatre.
By day, Samantha is a nonprofit administration and higher education professional. By night and weekend she is an avid kayaker and cyclist and dog connoisseur. For a number of years, she facilitated spiritual retreats for women in recovery from addiction and resettled refugees from around the world. She volunteers regularly with many organizations including Slow Roll Cleveland.
After finishing her education, Samantha took some acting classes on a whim in 2016 and quickly fell back in love with performing. She trained for one year with the Houde School of Acting in Cleveland, Ohio. She studied improvisation, screen acting, scene study, and Shakespeare. She has also studied under casting director Delora O'Bryant, AEA actor Corey Mach, and SAG-AFTRA actor Kurt Yue.
Her first professional role was in The Phantom Tollbooth at Ensemble Theatre in January 2017. She has since worked on more than 50 shows at mostly professional theatres, including Dobama Theatre, Karamu House, Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, Beck Center for the Arts, convergence-continuum, and two appearances on stage at Cleveland's Playhouse Square in 2019. Favorite roles include Phyllis in Double Indemnity, Melissa in Love Letters, and Truvy in Steel Magnolias.
In 2023, Samantha just kind of started writing one day, and short plays started tumbling out. She also returned to writing poetry and, in an effort to help along the lacking field of theatre reviews in Cleveland, committed to reviewing (not critiquing) select local shows, especially those written by playwrights or centering characters who are Black, brown, indigenous, and queer. By early 2025, she has had two pieces produced locally and has been commissioned to write a piece for a local theatre.
By day, Samantha is a nonprofit administration and higher education professional. By night and weekend she is an avid kayaker and cyclist and dog connoisseur. For a number of years, she facilitated spiritual retreats for women in recovery from addiction and resettled refugees from around the world. She volunteers regularly with many organizations including Slow Roll Cleveland.
Skills & Talents
- Proficiency in Spanish language and remote island language (Pohnpeian)
- Some vocal training (tenor)
- Strong projecting voice
- Excellent sight reading ability
- Accent proficiency in RP (English), American Southern, Boston/Jersey/NY, Spanish as first language
- Yoga (advanced) and Latine and African dance (beginner)
- Narrative writing, graphic design, desktop publishing, interior design