m a t t p o w e l l
Musical Theatre Creative | Video Designer | Digital Practitioner
I’m Matt: my pronouns are they/he/she and I'm a musical theatre creative, video designer and digital practitioner.
I am passionate about musical theatre, the connection between theatre, film & digital landscapes and LGBTQIA+ storytelling. With over eight years of freelance experience, I work in a variety of creative roles to create theatrical experiences through live performances, digital experiences, community projects and youth productions. I am passionate about reimagining classics, telling queer stories and amplifying new musicals. My producing practice has artist development at its core, fuelled by a passion on boosting ideas and exploring new avenues with artists. Through my work, I've created opportunities for hundreds of writers, creatives and performers.
Below, you can see an overview of my work as a Musical Theatre Creative, Video & Digital Designer & Queer Practice.
Tap any underlined links to see showreels and further information on a project!
m u s i c a l t h e a t r e
c r e a t i v e
I am deeply passionate about musical theatre. The art form has been a constant inspiration
I have worked in a variety of roles in musical theatre including directing, producing, assisting, designing and developing new musicals, reframed revivals and musical artists through digital, professional, community and youth projects over the past eight years. I have teach acting through song in academic and drama club settings.
Recent work and career highlughts include
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Creative Producer for MPTheatricals work including
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Is He Musical? by Jude Taylor- premiering at VAULT Festival 2022
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Snowflake by Lewis Cornay - Visual EP & Workshop Production at The Lowry, Salford Quays
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Wilf Goes Wild by Sarah Middleton and Josh Sneesby - Animated Childrens Musical
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Subway: A Musical Short by Gus Gowland- Audio Musical
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Make Me Infamous by Jude Taylor - Audio Musical
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MTPRIDE - co-produced with Queerly Productions, ALPMusicals, MTN & MMD - Digital Festival
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on hope: a digital song cycle - directed/co-produced with The Other Palace and Victoria Saxton - Digital Song Cycle Trilogy
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Assistant/Associate Director to Adam Lenson on Public Domain (Forristal and Clarke), STAGES: A Video Game Musical (Chris Czornyj)
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Assistant Director for MA Music Theatre at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama on The Limit (Dir: Adam Lenson/Ellie Coote, Writers: Freya Smith & Jack Williams), Catch Me (Dir: Adam Lenson/Ellie Coote, Writers: Arnoud Brietbarth & Chris Czornyj), Plaza (Dir: Maja Milatovic-Ovadia, Devised Musical) Into the Woods (Dir: Adam Lenson), The Tunnel (Dir: Maja Milatovic-Ovadia, Devised Musical)
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American Idiot - Derby Theatre, July 2019 - Director/Producer/Video Designer
v i d e o d e s i g n &
d i g i t a l
Through my digital & video design practice, I am interested in how we can merge visual languages to create an unforgettable experience. I bring my experience in video design to create digital landscapes that enhance the storytelling. Highly skilled in the Adobe suite, I have designed engaging overlays for live performances, edited full length digital performances & bespoke projects & designed projected sets & visuals for various shows.
As Video Designer, I design bespoke visual landscapes tailored to each production. I have provided design for ALPMusicals, Aria Entertainment, archipelago arts collective, University of the Arts Philadelphia, The MTA, Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, The Other Palace and my own produced work.
As Digital Practitioner & Artist, I have created a variety of bespoke theatrical content launching new musicals & digital expansions for live shows. Recent work includes creating digital projects for Watford Palace Theatre. I also work frequently with theatrical.solutions on various livestream projects.
My editing experience includes editing full length digital performances, multi-performer videos and short films. I also teach video editing & design basics.
Recent work & career highlights include:
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RUMI: The Musical - The London Collesium, November 2021
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SANTA MUST DIE - alphabetti theatre, December 2021
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34 - The Lowry, June 2021
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PUBLIC DOMAIN - Vaudeville Theatre, ALPMusicals - May 2021 (West End Debut)
q u e e r p r a c t i c e
As a genderqueer identifying practitioner, I have a passionate interest and commitment to developing LGBTQ work. I have directed and produced a majority queer portfolio of productions and projects & frequently support queer writers and artists. In my own performance work, I am currently experimenting with drag, spoken word and video to explore identity and fandom. During my studies, I explored practices of queering, explored solo drag performance and engaged frequently with queer theory.
My work in queer musical theatre led me to being offered a Studentship as a part time PhD candidate at the University of Wolverhampton. Over the next six years, I will be studying and creating opportunities for queer identifying musical theatre artists in a practice based PhD to explore production practices that broaden representations of queer bodies in musical theatre.
Recent work includes:
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IS HE MUSICAL by Jude Taylor - Commissioned & In Development for 2022 Production
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SNOWFLAKE by Lewis Cornay - Overseeing three years of development & producing it's premiere workshop production at The Lowry, Salford Quays
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QUEERME - Digital concert showcasing eight commisioned songs
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QUEERED - a digital concert reframing musicals to boost LGBTQ+ identities as part of MTPRIDE