Matt Webb

Matt is a designer and educator, currently on the faculty of the University of Houston, with extensive experience as both a freelance artist and a resident team member - and with wide-ranging passions, including theatre for families, new work, and the American musical.

At U of H, Matt heads the MFA program in lighting design, and he teaches courses at both the MFA and BFA levels in lighting design, lighting technology, and stagecraft. Prior to joining UH, Matt taught at Mississippi State, his undergraduate alma mater, and he's led classes at the University of Washington, where he received his MFA.

Matt's professional background is as a resident artist, having designed for seven seasons with the Arkansas Repertory Theatre in Little Rock, AR, and four with ZACH Theatre in Austin, TX, while managing each company's lighting and video departments. He has also created architectural light as a member of Brooklyn-based Sighte Studio, with residential and commercial projects in New York, Connecticut, Tennessee, and elsewhere.

In addition to his work as a resident, Matt has designed with Arden Theatre Company, Seattle Rep, Syracuse Stage, San Jose Rep, Seattle Children's Theatre, the Contemporary American Theater Festival, the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Phoenix Theatre, Cumberland County Playhouse, Book-It Rep, Playhouse on the Square, Cortland Rep, Omaha Theater Company, ArtsWest Playhouse, New Stage Theatre, and Sound Theatre Company. He was also the associate designer for the Asolo Rep and 5th Avenue Theatre's co-production of Ragtime and has assisted designers including Paul Miller and Duane Schuler. Matt's designs have been nominated by the Seattle Writer's Guild, the Syracuse Area Live Theatre Awards, and the Ostrander Awards in Memphis, and his design of It Happened in Little Rock appeared on the cover of American Theatre.

As an artist and educator, Matt believes that theatre is above all about sharing stories. He loves helping students and audiences to connect, both with the play and with each other. He believes fervently that the most important stories are being told by resident companies to the communities that house and support them. Nothing excites him more than sharing a show with the community that made it, and, in particular, a story for youth or a new work for all of us.