Interview: Director, Matthew Green and SPRING AWAKENING by Kaleidoscope Youth Theatre at The Summit Playhouse

The Summit Playhouse's youth theatre group, Kaleidoscope Youth Theatre is now presenting a production of Spring Awakening through July 31. It is directed by Matthew Green with musical direction by Kyle Cao. The show has some mature themes and is suggested for audience members ages 15 and older.

​Spring Awakening is the winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Told by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, Spring Awakening explores the journey from adolescence to adulthood with a poignancy and passion that is illuminating and unforgettable. Join this group of late nineteenth century German students on their passage as they navigate teenage self-discovery and coming-of-age anxiety in a daring and powerful celebration of youth and rebellion.

Broadwayworld had the opportunity to interview Matthew Green about his career and Spring Awakening at Summit Playhouse.

Green is a director, choreographer, and performer currently pursuing his BFA in Musical Theatre at Temple University. He just completed a semester studying abroad in Italy and working with The English Theatre of Rome, where he assisted in mounting the world premiere production of William Demby's "Beetlecreek". He has directed several productions at the Summit Playhouse in addition to "Spring Awakening" including "The Addams Family Young@Part", "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee", "Dear Edwina Jr.", "Grease", "High School Musical Jr.", and "A Year With Frog and Toad". In Philadelphia, he has directed "treat me like a stranger" and "Okay", original works presented as part of Temple Theaters Side Stage's Ben Vargas Short Stuff Festival, and has appeared in "Spring Awakening" with Temple Theaters and "Chess" with 11th Hour Theatre Company.

When did you first decide to pursue a career in theatre arts?

I fell in love with performing when I was enrolled in my first theater class at 4 years old. I have loved performing and creating theater ever since and I have never seen myself doing anything else.

We'd love to know a little about your current education at Temple University where you are studying for your BFA.

Temple has been a great place for me to grow as a performer and as a person. I have met incredible people, from the students to the faculty, who share my passion and drive. I love that the school has a real campus while being located in the vibrant city of Philadelphia, filled with tons of incredible theater! The program is meant to build on each student's strengths, rather than fitting us into a mold as performers. This has allowed me to explore my interests in directing, social media, and marketing, in addition to my training in performance.

You wear many hats! How does working as a director, choreographer and performer inform you career?

While my love of performing came first, my passion for creating theater came shortly after. At a young age, I was creating cardboard sets and putting on all kinds of performances for my family in a make-shift theater in our basement. The duality of having experience both as a performer and as a director/choreographer allows me to better understand how one role thinks and operates when I am functioning in the other role, enabling me to best serve the needs of the production. There are several performer/directors that I look up to and I am working towards a career in which I am able to continue to work both on the stage as a performer and behind the scenes as a creative.

Why do you think Summit Playhouse has been such a successful community organization?

I think we've been successful because we have a group of very dedicated volunteers who are committed to providing the community with high-quality theater season after season. We put a great deal of thought and time into selecting our seasons so we can present the community with productions that we feel will interest, intrigue and enlighten them. Also, practically all of our volunteers and performers are from our community and have a real passion for the Playhouse. We always welcome new volunteers who want to get involved.

Can you tell us a little about Kaleidoscope Youth Theatre at the Summit Playhouse that is presenting "Spring Awakening?"

Our youth theatre group, Kaleidoscope Youth Theatre, began at the Playhouse in 1993 and we have now staged 50 productions. In December, we produce a 60-minute family musical and in the summer, we typically produce a 60-minute musical with our younger performers and a full-length musical with our high school and college performers. We invite students to work on our directing team and crew and learn from our Playhouse regulars. Most of all, we are committed to making our productions a fun and supportive atmosphere for performers and crew members of all levels of experience, including those entirely new to theater. I am fortunate to be spending my 5th summer at the Playhouse, working on my 9th production here, and in that time I have gotten to work with the most incredible people- from our production teams, to our crews, and, of course, our amazing performers!

What have been some of the challenges of presenting "Spring Awakening?"

One of the biggest challenges, and yet the thing that I have loved most about working on this show, is the creative freedom that comes with "Spring Awakening". With certain shows, the audience has an expectation of what they will see and there is a standard way they are done. We didn't feel tied to what had been done before with this piece, we were able to build this production with a blank slate, which is such a gift but can also be daunting. I am so thrilled with the way this show has come together; our cast and crew have poured their hearts into this piece, each bringing a unique part of themselves to this story.

What would you like area audiences to know about the show?

Well, I must start off by saying that the show deals with mature themes and is recommended for audience members aged 15 years and older, but beyond that I want to emphasize how important this piece is. It deals with several topics that are more relevant now than ever, including censorship, abortion, and same-sex relationships, so I hope audiences come and are willing to listen to the story we have to tell.

You can follow Matthew Green on Instagram: @_matthew.green_

The Summit Playhouse is located at 10 New England Ave, Summit, NJ 07901. For more information, please visit https://www.thesummitplayhouse.org/ and call 908.273.2192.

Production Photos by Sandra Nissen.

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