Matt Harmon

Matt Harmon

Matt Harmon (he/they) is an award-winning playwright, director, and teaching artist. Born and raised in Michigan, their plays have been produced in Michigan, Wisconsin, Washington D.C., Texas, Florida, and New York. The Kennedy Center, Alleyway Theatre, and the Hopwood Program at the University of Michigan have recognized and awarded Matt’s plays. They have directed work at the university and high school-level...
Matt Harmon (he/they) is an award-winning playwright, director, and teaching artist. Born and raised in Michigan, their plays have been produced in Michigan, Wisconsin, Washington D.C., Texas, Florida, and New York. The Kennedy Center, Alleyway Theatre, and the Hopwood Program at the University of Michigan have recognized and awarded Matt’s plays. They have directed work at the university and high school-level across Michigan. Matt currently lives and works in Detroit as a YMCA Teaching Artist and an InsideOut Literary Arts Assistant Writer-in-Residence.

Plays

  • watering for hope's sake
    At a Grief Support Group, Joanie, Victoria, Isaiah, and newcomer Persephone attempt to maneuver through their weekly practice without their facilitator. As a result, the four learn more about the act of remembrance and about each other. WATERING FOR HOPE'S SAKE asks audiences the question, "What's the point of watering a plastic flower?"

    Written for the Henry Ford College HFC23 Play Festival
  • Poured Over (High School Edition)
    POURED OVER is a dark comedy that pairs workplace mundanity with the legacies of global colonialism. When Claire begins enlightening her co-worker David to the atrocities his purchases allow, everyone in the office must reckon with their complicity and decide how to move forward — with deadly results.

    Edited from the original script to be appropriate for high school-aged actors.
  • Goat Song
    WINNER of the 2020 Maxim Mazumdar New Play Competition at Alleyway Theatre in Buffalo, NY

    What if your favorite musician didn't love their music the way you do?

    Once the face of the wallowing introspective indie music scene, singer-songwriter Marcus Weeks is back with a new album of charming, upbeat tunes. As the reviews roll in, it is clear his audience wants the old Marcus...
    WINNER of the 2020 Maxim Mazumdar New Play Competition at Alleyway Theatre in Buffalo, NY

    What if your favorite musician didn't love their music the way you do?

    Once the face of the wallowing introspective indie music scene, singer-songwriter Marcus Weeks is back with a new album of charming, upbeat tunes. As the reviews roll in, it is clear his audience wants the old Marcus back. Over Instagram/Facebook Live, Marcus reconciles the past and present in this heartbreaking and inspiring digital solo performance of music, family, bisexuality, and addiction.
  • Exhibits in the Zoo
    DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD at the 2019 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival

    FINALIST at the ThinkTank Theatre 2021 TYA Playwright's Festival

    Mendel is an imaginative, bright boy that finds joy in the most unlikely places. The only thing keeping this joy contained is the German occupation of his home city in Warsaw, Poland. When Mendel finds a German soldier’s...
    DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD at the 2019 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival

    FINALIST at the ThinkTank Theatre 2021 TYA Playwright's Festival

    Mendel is an imaginative, bright boy that finds joy in the most unlikely places. The only thing keeping this joy contained is the German occupation of his home city in Warsaw, Poland. When Mendel finds a German soldier’s camera while begging in the Plac, a new world is unlocked for him where he sees things as he wishes to see them. However, his parents know this camera, coupled with Mendel’s inability to produce vocalized sound, make him a target. As Mendel, his parents, and everyone around them grapple with the dangers of imagination under persecution, Mendel refuses to let his dreams be crushed.
  • Quit While You're Behind
    In this experiment with silence and setting, QUIT WHILE YOU'RE BEHIND centers on a single father's relationship with his son, his other paternal figures, and the invisible forces that keep him dormant. This piece asks the question: "In the race for men to best their fathers, who wins?"
  • Gears
    GEARS is an experimental movement piece that imagines the beginning of competition and capitalism. As 1 and 2 attempt to construct and turn a wall of gears, their teamwork makes this task effortless. But when 2 learns the job can be done by 1 alone, the greedy and subjugated classes emerge.
  • Poured Over
    POURED OVER is a dark comedy that pairs workplace mundanity with the legacies of global colonialism. When Claire begins enlightening her co-worker David to the atrocities his purchases allow, everyone in the office must reckon with their complicity and decide how to move forward — with deadly results.