MATT BUCHANAN
441 Martha Street
Montgomery, AL 36104
(334)
265 9789
Web
Site: http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Alley/3765
Harvard
College, Cambridge. BA, Music, 1990.
Moorhead
State University, Moorhead, MN. Special
Student, Theatre, 1987-1988.
University
of Texas at Austin, Austin. MFA, Children’s Theatre/Creative Drama, 1996.
(Additional
coursework in Dance at the University of Houston, in Psychology at Fitchburg
State University, and in Education at Auburn University at Montgomery.)
The
Montgomery Academy, Montgomery, AL, 1999 – Present
I
teach full time in the Upper and Middle Schools. I teach various courses in
Creative Drama, Acting, Theatre History, Playwriting, Puppetry, and Technical
Theatre on a rotating schedule. I also teach a multidisciplinary course
called “The Western Cultural Tradition.”
I direct and design two Upper School plays and one Middle School play
each year. In the fall of 2000 I taught Music Theory and Advanced
Placement Music Theory during another teacher’s sabbatical. I advise the extracurricular Drama
Club, and maintain the school's Drama Homepage. I
serve as chair of the department of Performing Arts. (Archie Douglas, Headmaster)
Center
for Academic Advancement, Frederick, MD, 2000-Present (summers)
I
teach academically gifted youth in a summer program administered by Johns
Hopkins University. Students have five hours of class and two hours of
supervised study time each day for two three-week sessions. I designed my
curriculum, which teaches creative and expository writing through the study of
the literature and practice of the Theatre. I also serve as a mentor for other
Drama Instructors. (Michelle
Switala, Site Director)
The
Haverford School, Haverford, PA, 1995 - 1999
I
taught Drama full time in the Lower School and directed various Upper School
productions. I created the Drama program in the Lower School. I taught courses
in the Summer School program. I designed sets for many Upper School
productions. I was a member of the technology support group and the Lower
School Curriculum Committee. (Dr.
Joseph Healey, Headmaster)
Treehouse,
Philadelphia Zoological Gardens, 1996 – 1999
I
performed in an overnight Theatre-in-Education troupe in the Zoo’s Treehouse
education program. Our program for young people was part scripted material,
part improvisation, and part educational workshop. (Paul Taylor, Director)
University
of Texas Dept. of Theatre and Dance, 1993 – 1996
As
a teaching assistant I assisted the professor with undergraduate classes. I
lectured, corrected papers and exams, and directed all class productions. When
the professor was suffering a long illness I took over the class for some time.
As a research assistant I read and evaluated literally hundreds of playscripts
for possible inclusion in a reference work being prepared by the professor. I
wrote an analysis of each script.
(Dr. Coleman Jennings, Professor)
American
Experience Theatre, Haverford, PA, Summer, 1995
I
designed and supervised the building of the set for a small professional
theatre’s production of Once on a Summer’s Day. (Scott Schwartz,
Artistic Director)
Austin
Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Spring, 1995
I
directed a full-scale production of The Gondoliers for a large urban community theatre. I supervised most of
the hiring and all of the technical work.
(Robert Mellen, Artistic Director)
Free
Street Theatre, Chicago, Summer, 1994
As
part of Arts Corps—a pilot program of the National Endowment for the Arts—I
served as project historian and assistant director for Free Street’s Summer
Youth Program. With a partner, I directed a group of ten underprivileged
teenagers from Chicago’s public housing projects in writing, rehearsing, and
touring a theatrical presentation.
(Julie Glazer, Administrative Director.)
Angelo
Civic Theatre, San Angelo, TX, Spring, 1994
With
another teacher, I designed and taught an intensive program of Creative Drama
workshops for grades 2&3, 4-6, and 7-9. (Don Wellen, Artistic Director)
University
of Texas at Austin, Fall, 1993
I
team-taught Saturday drama classes for grades 1-3. (Rod Caspers, Lead
Teacher)
Indian
Hill Arts Youth Summer Theatre, Summer, 1990 – 1993
I
oversaw all aspects of full-scale productions of Pippin, Anything Goes, Bye
Bye, Birdie, and Once on this Island, including the hiring of technical and creative staff. Our
casts were area students from grade 6 through college. Under my hand, the
program enrollment nearly tripled in three years. (Harry Chalmiers, Executive Director)
Varnum
Brook Middle School Players , 1992, 1993 Seasons
I
served as Music Director and Choreographer for productions of Li’l Abner and Annie at VBMS
in Pepperell, MA. I assisted the stage director with blocking, costumes, etc. I
designed the set for Annie.
(Mike Connolly, Principal)
Groton
Country Day School, Groton, MA, Spring, 1992
I
designed and taught a course for Jr. High students, culminating in an informal
production of my own adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (Edie
Tompkins, Arts Teacher)
Groton-Dunstable
Middle School, Groton, MA, Winter, 1992
I
directed seventy Sixth- through Eighth graders in my own adaptation of Victor
Herbert’s Babes in Toyland. I oversaw
all aspects of the production.
(Mike Deneault, Theatre Manager)
Abbot/Day
Musical Productions, Westford, MA, Winter, 1991
I
directed sixty students from the public Middle Schools in Westford in a full-scale
production of Li’l Abner. (Debbie Alexander, Principal)
I am an accomplished children’s playwright with a number of
productions. Produced plays include Ernie’s Place, Nowheresville, Texas (commissioned work), Sleeping Walter, an adaptation of Little Women, and the upcoming
musical Prince Ugly.
I am a skilled composer and electronic musician, and am
experienced in using electronic music and other technology, integrated with
live theatre. I have written music
for a number of productions, including commissioned work.
I maintain an informational web site, dedicated to the art
of Theatre for Young Audiences and to the craft of teaching Drama in the
classroom. (URL above.) My site is
one of the most popular and most comprehensive sites of its kind anywhere on
the web. The main “Lesson Plans” page on this site has been visited tens of
thousands of times in the past year.
I have performed, as an amateur and as a professional, in
more than fifty musicals and plays.
I am trained in dance and choreography, with classes at
Radcliffe College, Moorhead State University, and the University of Houston.
I am a trained and active dramaturg.
I am a skilled theatrical photographer.