Tripler Army Medical Center –
When U.S. Army Capt. David Samsel, a physician, is not working at Warrior Ohana Medical Home in Kapolei, he can often be found acting on a local theater stage.
This year, he played Eddie McCune in the Diamond Head Theatre’s production of “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940,” which ran Feb. 2-24. The play is a fast-paced and deliriously funny farce that takes place in an isolated mansion in the middle of a snowstorm. The characters are cut off from the outside world with only a deranged murderer, the Stage Door Slasher, for company.
Samsel was born and raised in New Jersey and began acting at a young age.
“I first pursued acting in high school taking a theater elective and auditioning for the school plays,” Samsel said.
He continued acting in college. He then lived in New Orleans for seven years, working as a high school educator. While teaching, he started his school’s first theater program, producing plays such as “Almost Main” and “Our Town.”
Samsel explained that to work in theater, it takes “enough passion to dedicate a significant amount of time outside of work without pay to rehearse and put on the show.”
Prior to performing on the Diamond Head Theater stage, Samsel had not acted in more than 12 years. He recently graduated from a TAMC residency program, providing him with more time to engage with the local theater community on Oahu.
“Although I was attending rehearsal after work for three hours, four days a week, and four hours on Saturday and Sunday, I was energized and excited to be part of the performance,” Samsel said.
He has worked at Tripler Army Medical Center for the past four years and is currently a family medicine physician at WOMH, a subsidiary clinic.
Being in the military is a lot like acting, Samsel said. For both, teamwork is key. Just as one depends on fellow soldiers, actors must do the same with fellow actors.
“You all must share the same commitment to the mission, in this case, being on time, and performing one’s duties such as memorizing lines,” Samsel said.
TAMC supports 264,000 active duty and retired military personnel, their families, and veteran beneficiaries. In addition, the referral population includes 171,000 military personnel, family members, veteran beneficiaries, residents of nine U.S. affiliated jurisdictions and forward-deployed forces in more than 40 countries throughout the Pacific.