Mat has been performing since the age of 5, where he represented Japan in a Christmas production at his elementary school, donning a kimono that his mom made. 

It was a different time.

 

He would go on to be in local theatre productions, showchoir, church choirs, and praise bands before heading off to Auburn University where he pursued a BFA in musical theatre. 

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While at Auburn, Mat was fortunate enough to study under renowned conductors Dr. Thomas R Smith and Dr. William Powell, as well as composer Dr. Rosephayne Powell. He studied voice with Dr. Jeff Gilbreath. 

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While at Auburn, Mat was cast in his first summerstock at Lake Dillon Theatre Company in Dillon, Colorado. It was here that Mat realized his dream of performing for a living would be not only a possibility, but a must. He played Fred Casely in Chicago, Rocky in The Rocky Horror Show, and Jinx in Forever Plaid. 

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From Lake Dillon, Mat went to Hersheypark in Pennsylvania where he would clog for his life in Matt Davenport's production of Wild Country. 

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Dolly Parton's Dollywood then brought Mat to East Tennessee to perform in their production of Twas the Night Before Christmas. Mat set up shop in Pigeon Forge for the next couple of years performing in America's Hit Parade, Hoot-N-Holler (yep), and the closing season of Blackbear Jamboree. 

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Mat set sail immediately after closing Blackbear Jamboree, and spent almost 4 years performing with some of the most incredible performers in the very best shows the open seas have to offer. He performed across the world with Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Princess Cruises. 

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After finally getting his anchor tattoo, Mat ran his boat ashore in Los Angeles and hasn't looked back.

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Mat has his hands in everything here. He produces for Del Shores (Sordid Lives, Queer as Folk), has cast for The Mouse, Lifetime, and other independent projects, and is usually in a stage show. 

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He won his first Ovation Award for his performance in Celebration Theatre's The Boy From Oz in 2016. He was most recently seen in 911 on Fox and The CW's Jane the Virgin and most recently heard on his highly ranked podcast,The Fagnostic Podcast. 

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In February of 2019, Mat produced Del Shores' filmed adaptation of his one man play, Six Characters In Search of a Play .

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Mat's film Cognitive won him his first festival awards with BEST SHORT at various festivals around the world. It was distributed through Dekkoo and Hyvio and can now be seen here. His next project, Shafted will be playing the festival circuit throughout 2023 with location/times announced on social media. 

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