If you’ve spent much time Olympia, chances are you know at least a little about the story of Sam Miller, whose life trajectory has taken him from meth addiction and time in jail to a career doing standup shows across the country, including at major clubs.
Though his act includes lots of stories about his troubled past, the 6-foot-6 comedian doesn’t find it easy to dive deep into the rough times he’s left behind. On Sunday, June 15, though, he will do just that, joining his mom, Mary Soehnlen, on stage to read letters they exchanged while he was incarcerated more than 20 years ago.
Miller and Soehnlen performed The Jail Letters Project several times in 2017, when Miller was doing standup locally and hosting a comedy open mic. They’re revisiting it now because Stand Up Records, which produced Miller’s 2023 Round Trip, is working on a documentary about him.
“I’m used to standup, and I’m good at standup,” he said. “Even though I’ve done this show before, it is more challenging. … The thing about my drinking and using that I am most ashamed of is how I treated my mom. Doing a show with my mom about that time is the hardest thing.”
“It’s hard to go back there,” Soehnlen agreed. “It was very painful, very emotional.”
Sitting next to Miller, she described how it felt to watch her only child struggling. “When Sam was using substances, I knew that my son was still in there somewhere, but the outward manifestation wasn’t really him,” she said. “I was just praying. Sometimes, I’d get glimpses of who he really was.”
“That other person wasn’t really him,” she said. “This is really him.”
Miller, who celebrated 17 years of sobriety on June 10, is not just a comic on the rise but also a husband, a father and a loving son. Soehnlen shares a house with Miller and family, and when she broke her kneecap last summer, he canceled comedy shows to care for her. (“Only two, and one of them got replaced,” he said.)
As Soehnlen talked about the past, tears came to her eyes. “Bring tissues to the show,” she said.
Miller being Miller, though, Jail Letters includes plenty of comic relief.
“It’s funnier than hell,” he said. “In pop culture and a lot of media, prison and jail are depicted just sa places of doom and gloom. I and other inmates were very capable of experiencing joy. Some of the times I’ve laughed hardest might have been when I was locked up. It might not have been about stuff that I’m proud of, but we laughed.”
“Probably the main place where I learned how to do comedy was when I was incarcerated,” he added. “You are locked up, and they take everything. But I could still run my mouth. I’ve been running my mouth my whole life.”
Photos courtesy of Sam Miller.
WHAT:
The Jail Letters Project
WHEN:
3 and 6 p.m. Sunday, June 15
WHERE:
Wild Child, 414 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia
COST:
$15
LEARN MORE:
https://sammillercomedy.com