Matt Herzfeld

Matt Herzfeld

Matt Herzfeld was born in Brooklyn, New York, but grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio. After an early interest in filmmaking, Matt drifted over to plays by his teenage years, bolstered by his high school’s strong theater department and an early positive experience with the Marilyn Bianchi Kids Playwriting Festival (run by excellent Cleveland-area powerhouse Dobama Theatre). He received his BFA in Creative Writing...
Matt Herzfeld was born in Brooklyn, New York, but grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio. After an early interest in filmmaking, Matt drifted over to plays by his teenage years, bolstered by his high school’s strong theater department and an early positive experience with the Marilyn Bianchi Kids Playwriting Festival (run by excellent Cleveland-area powerhouse Dobama Theatre). He received his BFA in Creative Writing at Columbia, and his MFA in playwriting at the New School for Drama (where he studied under several esteemed playwrights including Christopher Shinn, Jon Robin Baitz, Laura Maria Censabella, Stephen Karam, Michael Weller, Nicole Burdette, and Frank Pugliese).

Matt’s plays have been produced or given workshops/readings at such places as Dobama Theatre, Cleveland Public Theatre, TACT (The Actors Company Theatre), Ugly Rhino Productions, Naked Angels, Peculiar Streams, and The New School for Drama, where he was a recipient of the Ted Snowdon Playwriting Fellowship. Matt is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild.

Plays

  • The Masque of the Red Death by Matt Herzfeld
    Cast: 
    14–30
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, comedy + 8 more
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    Keyword: Edgar Allen Poe, Masque of the Red Death + 6 more
    Genre: adaptation, comedy, commedia dell'arte, dark comedy, fable/folktale, horror, pageant, period, satire, verse
    Keyword: Edgar Allen Poe, Masque of the Red Death, plague, black death, horror-comedy, absurdist, irreverent, bawdy
    This pitch-black horror comedy inspired by Poe's original story takes an irreverent, bawdy, and satirical look at the vanity of the wealthy. After the outbreak of a horrific plague, a group of nobles locks themselves away, seeking to banish death. All is well, until a group of displeased nobles inside the abbey start to challenge the wisdom and rule of Prince Prospero...

    This play, inspired...
    This pitch-black horror comedy inspired by Poe's original story takes an irreverent, bawdy, and satirical look at the vanity of the wealthy. After the outbreak of a horrific plague, a group of nobles locks themselves away, seeking to banish death. All is well, until a group of displeased nobles inside the abbey start to challenge the wisdom and rule of Prince Prospero...

    This play, inspired by the writings of Poe, the Marquis de Sade, Rabelais, Crowley, and others, includes adult subject matter which some may find offensive or tasteless. Others will find it hilarious.
  • The Foxes by Matt Herzfeld
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic + 4 more
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    Keyword: psychic, ghost + 3 more
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic, drama, melodrama, mystery/thriller, period
    Keyword: psychic, ghost, historical, biography, pre-feminist
    The Fox Sisters, Maggie and Kate, unwittingly changed the world forever by beginning the Spiritualist religious movement, the precursor to many of the psychic and paranormal beliefs held in the world today. Years after their childhood as mediums and spirit-talkers, however, Maggie is now ready to confess that her entire career has been a fraud. Pressured by her domineering husband into confessing before a...
    The Fox Sisters, Maggie and Kate, unwittingly changed the world forever by beginning the Spiritualist religious movement, the precursor to many of the psychic and paranormal beliefs held in the world today. Years after their childhood as mediums and spirit-talkers, however, Maggie is now ready to confess that her entire career has been a fraud. Pressured by her domineering husband into confessing before a packed crowd, Maggie is visited by her sisters on the eve of her demonstration in a last attempt to win her back.
  • 7 Bolts by Matt Herzfeld
    Cast: 
    9–11
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    Genre: adventure, comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: absurdist, Surrealist + 3 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, commedia dell'arte, dark comedy, farce
    Keyword: absurdist, Surrealist, environment, climate change, allegory
    Mac, an everyman character, moves to a new town, an idyllic country getaway that he hopes will finally provide him with the peace and relaxation he needs. However, it quickly becomes apparent that the sunny town, whose inhabitants claim that it is free from bad weather, is in fact a never-ending torrent of lightning and thunder, a fact of which the town's eccentric residents are unwilling or unable to...
    Mac, an everyman character, moves to a new town, an idyllic country getaway that he hopes will finally provide him with the peace and relaxation he needs. However, it quickly becomes apparent that the sunny town, whose inhabitants claim that it is free from bad weather, is in fact a never-ending torrent of lightning and thunder, a fact of which the town's eccentric residents are unwilling or unable to acknowledge. Mac, trapped in this absurdist nightmare, finds himself fighting vainly to convince the others, all while struggling to maintain his own sanity.
  • Omakase by Matt Herzfeld
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: drama, horror
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    Keyword: cannibalism, murder + 2 more
    Genre: drama, horror
    Keyword: cannibalism, murder, serial killer, true crime
    Sei, a woman of Japanese descent raised in France, goes on an awkward first date. Years later, she is haunted by the memory of the man she met that night, a man who turns out to have later committed an unspeakable crime.

    This play is heavily fictionalized, but uses elements from the story of Issei Sagawa, a Japanese man who killed and cannibalized a woman in 1981. It has moments of graphic...
    Sei, a woman of Japanese descent raised in France, goes on an awkward first date. Years later, she is haunted by the memory of the man she met that night, a man who turns out to have later committed an unspeakable crime.

    This play is heavily fictionalized, but uses elements from the story of Issei Sagawa, a Japanese man who killed and cannibalized a woman in 1981. It has moments of graphic violence which some people may find disturbing.
  • Dry Bones by Matt Herzfeld
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: skeletons, death + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, horror
    Keyword: skeletons, death, existential
    Harry, Larry, and Barry don't quite fit in with the rest of the living dead. Sure, they need human flesh to survive, but must the skeleton army so viciously raze its way across the post-apocalytic plain? OK, the living are a festering sore destroying each other and the known world, but is the only solution to wipe them out? And yes, it is an indisputable fact that the dead have risen from their graves, but...
    Harry, Larry, and Barry don't quite fit in with the rest of the living dead. Sure, they need human flesh to survive, but must the skeleton army so viciously raze its way across the post-apocalytic plain? OK, the living are a festering sore destroying each other and the known world, but is the only solution to wipe them out? And yes, it is an indisputable fact that the dead have risen from their graves, but for what purpose?

    Equal parts Bruegel, Beckett, and Three Stooges, Dry Bones is an existential comedy that asks not about the meaning of life, but the meaning of death.
  • Crown Heights by Matt Herzfeld
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: Brooklyn, Relationships + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, romantic comedy
    Keyword: Brooklyn, Relationships, young love, contemporary, Chekhov
    Four recent college graduates housing together in a rapidly gentrifying section of Brooklyn navigate friendships, lovers, and each other in a tragicomic coming-of-age tale inspired by Chekhov. Jan hates people but loves creating chaos. June only wants to be loved, but struggles to return the emotion. April desperately tries to balance her art and boyfriend. And Ember seeks to escape her pain, any way she can…
  • What We Lost by Matt Herzfeld
    Cast: 
    6–10
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: virginity, Sex + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, romantic comedy
    Keyword: virginity, Sex, dance
    Holly lost it with Jordan Finer after a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Martin lost it in a parking lot with his middle-aged next-door neighbor. Greg lost it with Claire in her mother’s bed, a towel over the sheets. Through six true stories, ranging from the hilarious to the heartbreaking, What We Lost is a deeply honest theater piece that explores the circumstances, emotions, and complexities of...
    Holly lost it with Jordan Finer after a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Martin lost it in a parking lot with his middle-aged next-door neighbor. Greg lost it with Claire in her mother’s bed, a towel over the sheets. Through six true stories, ranging from the hilarious to the heartbreaking, What We Lost is a deeply honest theater piece that explores the circumstances, emotions, and complexities of losing it.

    Originally performed as a dance piece with monologues in collaboration with director/choreographer Suzanne Karpinski, based on devised work with the original cast. It was originally performed by 6 actors sharing the roles (3 men, 3 women), though casting is flexible.
  • Beardsley's Mentor by Matt Herzfeld
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic + 2 more
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    Keyword: LGBTQ, gay + 5 more
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic, drama, period
    Keyword: LGBTQ, gay, Victorian England, Art and Artists, visual art, Oscar Wilde, religious doubts
    The story of the evolving relationship between Victorian illustrator Aubrey Beardsley and poet, critic, and self-confessed "invert" Andre Raffalovich, this psycho-sexual drama provides a fascinating look at late-19th century homosexuality, the birth of modern art, and the price paid for being a genius.

    Beardsley’s Mentor was a Semi-Finalist for the 2014 National Playwrights Conference at the O’Neill.
  • The Ladder by Matt Herzfeld
    Cast: 
    9
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: college
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, political, romantic comedy, satire
    Keyword: college
    Tensions flare between the student workers over the course of one night at Tate University’s annual Phonathon, where jealousies, crushes, and financial worries all collide into a hurricane of undergraduate angst. Into this maelstrom of a “hot-mess” comes Jill, a transfer student trying to find her place in school and life. As Jill’s first phone call approaches, will she be able to put on her mandatory “Tate...
    Tensions flare between the student workers over the course of one night at Tate University’s annual Phonathon, where jealousies, crushes, and financial worries all collide into a hurricane of undergraduate angst. Into this maelstrom of a “hot-mess” comes Jill, a transfer student trying to find her place in school and life. As Jill’s first phone call approaches, will she be able to put on her mandatory “Tate smile?” This dark satire on the state of higher education asks us: when do we compromise our morals – and does the all-mighty liberal arts degree hasten our (inevitable) descent?
  • Material for Malcolm Porter by Matt Herzfeld
    Cast: 
    4–6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: Memoir, writing + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: Memoir, writing, truth and lies
    Material for Malcolm Porter is a play about the intersection between life and art. Malcolm Porter, a memoirist, believes in telling the truth. He believes in the truth so much that he’d rather bend real life for a good story than write a lie. This is all good and dandy for him, but when Kathy gets involved, an impressionable young girl he begins dating, things start to get complicated. For her, it’s love, but...
    Material for Malcolm Porter is a play about the intersection between life and art. Malcolm Porter, a memoirist, believes in telling the truth. He believes in the truth so much that he’d rather bend real life for a good story than write a lie. This is all good and dandy for him, but when Kathy gets involved, an impressionable young girl he begins dating, things start to get complicated. For her, it’s love, but for Malcolm, there’s a thin line between honest emotional expression and manipulative psychopathy…
  • The Improbable Fall, Rise, And Fall of John Law: A Play About Money in Eight Acts and a Prologue by Matt Herzfeld
    Cast: 
    25–150
    ·
    Genre: adventure, biography + 9 more
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    Keyword: John Law, economy + 7 more
    Genre: adventure, biography, comedy, commedia dell'arte, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, farce, parody/spoof, period, political, satire
    Keyword: John Law, economy, banking, money, French history, Louis XV, Finance, epic, impossible
    Who is John Law? A rogue or a savior? A genius or a gambler? A conman or an innovator? From humble beginnings in Edinburgh, to a sterling reign as France’s Controller General of Finances in the infant years of Louis XV, the epic tale of economist John Law’s rise and fall spans forty years, eight acts, and over one-hundred characters. A bawdy and irreverent comedy about early modern finance, the sensational...
    Who is John Law? A rogue or a savior? A genius or a gambler? A conman or an innovator? From humble beginnings in Edinburgh, to a sterling reign as France’s Controller General of Finances in the infant years of Louis XV, the epic tale of economist John Law’s rise and fall spans forty years, eight acts, and over one-hundred characters. A bawdy and irreverent comedy about early modern finance, the sensational story of John Law, the inventor of paper money and the architect of the world’s first stock market boom-and-bust cycle, points to a legacy of financial shenanigans which continue to plague the world to this very day.

    Flexible casting (while the play has hundreds of characters, it is assumed doubling will be used).