Matthew B. Cullen
Theatre Generator, Facilitator, Curator
Matthew B. Cullen
Theatre Generator, Facilitator, Curator
Matthew B. Cullen
Theatre Director & Administrator
About MBC
Matthew B. Cullen (he/they, él/elle) is a theatre director and administrator born in Bogotá, Colombia, adopted, then raised in Buffalo, NY. He views his work as generating, facilitating, and curating.
Their work is focused on disrupting oppressive and harmful practices by centering health, equity, and community in his process. The goal is collective liberation by investing in the process over the product. To learn more about their process, check out The Ground Work!
Matthew gravitates towards developing new works, where the bulk of his directing credits lay. New works lay the foundation for the next generation of theatre artists. To break away from the harmful White American Theatre, artists must invest in the development of new material. He has studied directing under U.K. directors Robert Icke and Lyndsey Turner.
Currently, Matthew is the Social Media Intern for the new bilingual musical, AZUL, for their upcoming Joe's Pub concert after previously working on their sold out 54 Below show. Following the concert, Matthew will be returning for his second season with Chautauqua Theater Company as Assistant Company Manager. Past affiliations include Irish Classical Theatre Company (Directing Apprentice), Latiné Musical Theatre Lab (Artistic Associate), KMEntertainment (Operations and Logistics Manager), Disruptive Compassion: A Table Reading Series (Founder), and Main Street Studios (Artistic Intern).
To the utter shock of any of his middle school English teachers, Matthew is (now) an avid reader. They enjoy diving into plays, essays, books on theory and history! Some of his favorite playwrights include Alexis Scheer, James Ijames, Hayley St. James, Aleesha Harris, Anna Ziegler, Ntozake Shange, Clare Barron, Caryl Churchill, Ashley Griffin, Paula Vogel, Lester Eugene Mayers, and Duncan Macmillan.
In his final semester, Matthew is a senior at the State University of New York at Fredonia pursuing a B.A. in Theatre Arts with minors in Arts Administration and English with an expected graduation in May 2023.
Oh ya, he has mustache now. He's kept it much longer than he anticipated...
Investing In a Process Focused Practice
What's goin' on with MBC:
Social Media Intern:
After a sold out performance at 54 Below, Matthew is continuing his work as the Social Media Intern with AZUL: a bilingual musical for their May 24th concert at Joe's Pub.
Summer In Chautauqua:
This June, Matthew will be returning to Chautauqua Theater Company as Assistant Company Manager.
Senior Thesis:
Matthew is writing his senior thesis, rooted in the work of Dominique Morisseau and Erika Dickerson-Despenza, which explores and challenges audience etiquette in the American theatre. The title of the paper is "Reconstructing Theatre Etiquette: Investing in the Liberation of the Audience Engagement Experience".
On Monday, June 12th at 7:30pm EST on Zoom, Matthew will be hosting a public offering of his thesis. To learn more, click here!