Biography and education
For Texas State, Matt is an Assistant Professor of Lighting Design, and he teaches courses in both the MFA and BFA lighting programs and mentors all student lighting designers in the program's 8+ show season.
As a professional designer, Matt's lit productions for Seattle Rep, Syracuse Stage, Arden Theatre, Seattle Children's Theatre, Houston Symphony, the Contemporary American Theater Festival, San Jose Rep, the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Zach Theater, Arkansas Rep, Midland Festival Ballet, Phoenix Theatre, Cumberland County Playhouse, Book-It Rep, Playhouse on the Square, Cortland Rep, Omaha Theater Company, ArtsWest Playhouse, New Stage Theatre, Sound Theatre Company, and others. He was also the associate designer for the Asolo Rep and 5th Avenue Theatre's co-production of Ragtime, and he's assisted designers including Paul Miller and Duane Schuler.
Matt's background is as a resident artist, and he designed for seven seasons with Arkansas Rep in Little Rock, AR, and four with Zach Theater in Austin, TX, while managing each company's lighting and video departments. He's also created architectural light as a member of Brooklyn-based Sighte Studio, with residential and commercial projects in New York, Connecticut, Tennessee, and elsewhere. Prior to joining Texas State, Matt held faculty positions at the University of Houston and Mississippi State University.
Matt's designs have been nominated by the Seattle Writer's Guild, the Syracuse Area Live Theatre Awards, and the Ostrander Awards in Memphis, and his design of It Happened in Little Rock appeared on the cover of American Theatre.
MFA, University of Washington School of Drama.
BA, Mississippi State University.
As a professional designer, Matt's lit productions for Seattle Rep, Syracuse Stage, Arden Theatre, Seattle Children's Theatre, Houston Symphony, the Contemporary American Theater Festival, San Jose Rep, the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Zach Theater, Arkansas Rep, Midland Festival Ballet, Phoenix Theatre, Cumberland County Playhouse, Book-It Rep, Playhouse on the Square, Cortland Rep, Omaha Theater Company, ArtsWest Playhouse, New Stage Theatre, Sound Theatre Company, and others. He was also the associate designer for the Asolo Rep and 5th Avenue Theatre's co-production of Ragtime, and he's assisted designers including Paul Miller and Duane Schuler.
Matt's background is as a resident artist, and he designed for seven seasons with Arkansas Rep in Little Rock, AR, and four with Zach Theater in Austin, TX, while managing each company's lighting and video departments. He's also created architectural light as a member of Brooklyn-based Sighte Studio, with residential and commercial projects in New York, Connecticut, Tennessee, and elsewhere. Prior to joining Texas State, Matt held faculty positions at the University of Houston and Mississippi State University.
Matt's designs have been nominated by the Seattle Writer's Guild, the Syracuse Area Live Theatre Awards, and the Ostrander Awards in Memphis, and his design of It Happened in Little Rock appeared on the cover of American Theatre.
MFA, University of Washington School of Drama.
BA, Mississippi State University.
Featured scholarly/creative works
- Lighting Designer, Tristan and Isolde.
January 2026 - March 2026.
Performances:
- Houston Symphony. February 28, 2026 - March 1, 2026 Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, Houston, TX.
- Reviewed by: Gregory Barnett (Houston Chronicle).
- Reviewed by: Scott Cantrell (Dallas Morning News).
- Reviewed by: Lawrence Wheeler (EarRelevant).
- Lighting Designer, Murder on the Orient Express.
September 2025 - March 1, 2026.
Performances:
- Zach Theater. January 21, 2026 - March 1, 2026 Topfer Theater, Austin, TX.
- Reviewed by: Elise Kretzel (Sun News Austin).
- Reviewed by: Brian Paul Scipione (CTX Live Theatre).
- Reviewed by: Hannah Neuhauser (CTX Live Theatre).
- Reviewed by: Joni Lorraine (BroadwayWorld Austin).
- Reviewed by: Blake Haynes (KXAN Studio 512).
- Reviewed by: Shannon G. (Bat City Stage Reviews).
- Reviewed by: Leo Emerson (Stage and Cinema Texas).
- Lighting Designer, What Will Happen to All that Beauty?
2024.
Performances:
- Contemporary American Theater Festival. July 5, 2024 - July 28, 2024 Frank Center, Shepherdstown, WV.
- Reviewed by: Bob Ashby (DC Theatre Arts).
- Reviewed by: Jack L. B. Gohn (BroadwayWorld Baltimore).
- Reviewed by: Andrew White (BroadwayWorld Washington DC).
- Lighting Designer, Once.
January 2024 - May 19, 2024.
Performances:
- Syracuse Stage. May 1, 2024 - May 19, 2024 The John D. Archbold Theatre, Syracuse, NY.
- Reviewed by: Craig Thornton (WWNY).
- Reviewed by: Linda Lowen (Syracuse Post-Standard).
- Lighting Designer, Teenage Dick.
March 4, 2022 - April 3, 2022.
Performances:
- Seattle Repertory Theatre. March 4, 2022 - April 3, 2022 Leo Kreielsheimer Theater, Seattle, WA.
- Reviewed by: Dusty Somers (Seattle Times).
Featured awards
- Award / Honor Nominee: Best Lighting Design, Musical (The Scottsboro Boys), The Ostrander Awards (Memphis, TN). 2023
- Award / Honor Recipient: Citation for Urban Lighting Research, IESNYC Lumen Awards. 2022
- Award / Honor Nominee: Excellence in Lighting Design (The Journal of Ben Uchida), Seattle Theatre Writers Critics' Circle. 2019
- Award / Honor Nominee: Best Lighting Design, Musical (Mamma Mia), Syracuse Area Live Theatre Awards. 2019
- Award / Honor Nominee: Best Lighting Design, Play (Sleuth), Syracuse Area Live Theatre Awards. 2019
Featured service activities
- Member
Graduate Scholarship Committee
- Member
Graduate Faculty Committee
- Member
Design, Technology, & Management Committee
- Member
Season Selection Committee