Matt's Writing

Matt Werner, writer & editor

First West Coast Reading of Burning Man: The Musical

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Burning Man The Musical poster

The composer Gene Back and I are excited to present the first staged reading of Burning Man: The Musical on the West Coast at Z Below in San Francisco on December 7-8, 2019. A limited number of tickets are available for free at http://www.zspace.org/burningman.

This new musical comedy about hippies vs. techies follows Molly (AKA Sparkle Pony) on her journey at Burning Man. Learn more about the musical at http://burningmanthemusical.com/.

Book and Lyrics by Matt Werner
Music by Gene Back
Direction by Domenique Lozano
Music Direction by Krista Wigle
Executive Producer Matt Werner
Associate Producer Danny Marin
Stage Management by Anastasia Wirth
Sound Design by Michael Creason

CAST
Molly – Maya M Sherer
Bill the Billionaire- Göran Norquist
Joe – Bryan Munar
Hazel the Hippie – Susan Gundunas
Chad/Ensemble – Benjamin Pither
Ensemble – Claire Pearson
Ensemble – KC Dela Cruz
Ensemble – Jack Isaacson-Brewster

THE BAND
Keyboard – Naomi Sanchez
Guitar/Bass – Julian Shipp
Drums – Mark Abbott

ADDITIONAL TEAM
Orchestrations – Rodney Bush
Production Assistant – Jacob Battersby
Production Assistant – Dillon Feldman

In Partnership with Z SPACE at Z BELOW in San Francisco, California

Special Thanks to:
Executive Artistic Director Lisa Steindler
Associate Artistic Director Rose Oser
the Production and Front of House Teams at Z Space

*Burning Man: The Musical is a parody of the Burning Man event and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Burning Man Project*

My Off-Broadway debut!

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Opening scene of Agnus being interrogated inside a futuristic prison

Agnus, a crime drama I co-wrote and co-produced, ran at Theatre Row in Manhattan from Jan-Feb, 2018. My co-writer and co-producer, Ise Lyfe, played the title role of Agnus. The show is a crime drama like “A Few Good Men,” but set 30 years in the future.

Read more about it on my blog!

Public Theater debut!

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Daveed Diggs and Matt Werner in dressing room, preparing for #BARS Workshop Vol 2

Back on September 5, 2016, I had my New York acting and writing debut as part of the #BARS Workshop Vol 2 led by Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal. We spent the summer of 2016 writing theater-in-verse, and then we presented our pieces, introduced by Hamilton Original Broadway Cast members!

Learn more about the experience on my blog!

Interview with Tony Award-winning actor Daveed Diggs

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Daveed Diggs portrait by Laura Tomlinson

Daveed Diggs portrait by Laura Tomlinson

Oakland rapper/actor Daveed Diggs won a Tony Award on June 12, 2016. I interviewed him for 7×7 Magazine about how his Oakland upbringing influenced his portrayal of Lafayette and Jefferson in Hamilton. We also spoke about what San Francisco Bay Area residents will enjoy about Hamilton when it comes to San Francisco in 2017. Read the interview on 7×7.

For my prior writing on Daveed, read my 2012 review of his album Small Things to a Giant (which I rated as my fav album of 2012).