Matthew Hahn
5 Ollgar Close London W12 0NF +44 (0) 7816 334 897
EDUCATION
Goldsmiths College – London, England Indiana University – Bloomington, Indiana
MA in Theatre Directing BA in Journalism & Political Science
London Metropolitan University – London, England
Certificate in Education
SELECTED DIRECTING EXPERIENCE
A Day in the Life (Forum Theatre) Houses of Parliament London, UK
Pimlico Hoxton Hall London, UK
Gender Equality in the UK (Forum Theatre)Committed Artists Durban, South Africa
Living with HIV in the UK Under a tree at a School Lilongwe, Malawi
SubUrbia Southwark Theatre London, UK
Laramie Project Tabard Theatre London, UK
subVERSE Theatre 503 (in residency from 01/05 to 11/07) London, UK
subVERSE LOST Theatre Company Edinburgh, Scotland
(evening of new political writing)
Who Wants to be the Disco King? LOST Theatre Company Edinburgh, Scotland
Brixton Road Portraits Hackney Empire, Bullion Room London, UK
Invisible Cities BoldFish Theatre Company Rapallo, Italy
Man Made Rock (staged reading) Royal Academy of Dramatic Art London, UK
Token to the Moon Chicago Shakespeare Theater Chicago, IL
Day of Absence Bailiwick Theater Company Chicago, IL
Us, Assistant Director City Garage Theater Los Angeles, CA
ON-GOING PROJECTS:
The Robben Island Bible – Since 2008, I have been researching, writing & directing staged readings of my play based on a copy of the ‘Complete Works of William Shakespeare’ that was smuggled around Robben Island, South Africa. The book’s ‘fame’ resides in the fact that the book’s owner, Sonny Venkatratham, passed the book to a number of his fellow political prisoners in the single cells asking them to mark his favourite passage with a signature and date. Signatures included Walter Sisulu, Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada and Mac Maharaj and 28 others. This verbatim play is based on interviews that I conducted in 2008 & 2010 with eight former political prisoners who signed this book intertwined with their chosen Shakespearian texts.
There have been numerous staged readings of the play including the Barbican Theatre in London[November 2014] as part of the opening of the ‘Global Shakespeare’ Programme at Queen Mary’s University, the Cape Town Shakespeare Society[August 2014], Mitchell Library, Glasgow, Scotland [July 2014] as part of the Connect ZA Season / Commonwealth Games, Montana Shakespeare Festival [April 2014], South Africa House, London [April & June 2014], Oxford University [April 2014], Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC [June 2013], the British Museum in London, UK [October 2012], the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre in London, UK [June 2012], the Market Theatre in Johannesburg, SA [February 2010], the Richmond Theatre in Richmond, UK [March 2009] and the Robben Island Museum in Cape Town, SA [February 2009]. The Bodleian Library at Oxford University stores the archive video, play script, transcripts, audio & blog.
‘Ethical Leadership Workshop’ – Workshops based on The Robben Island Bible were piloted at the South West Gauteng College in Soweto, South Africa in August 2014. It ran over two weeks and delivered a performance of Shakespeare, monologues from the former political prisoners’ interviews as well as new pieces of writing created by the college students. The students examined the current leadership situation on a personal, local & national level. They also examined and reflected on their responsibility as young leaders as well as future leaders within South Africa. As a pilot, it is hoped that this workshop can be scaled up and delivered in the United Kingdom, United States and South Africa.
‘Viewpoints’ Training Workshops – Having trained with Anne Bogart [2005] and the SITI Company [2001], I lead ‘Viewpoints’ training masterclasses in the UK for a variety of universities, colleges and actor training programmes to develop a collaborative toolbox for composition in the theatre. I have also utilized the Viewpoints in my work as a theatre director.
SELECTED COMMUNITY & APPLIED THEATRE EXPERIENCE
United Kingdom:
Recent Freelance Interactive Theatre Workshops Current
Lead Facilitator – As a free-lance drama facilitator, I have utilized interactive theatre to develop and
advocate for the following organisations: Amnesty International – facilitated an interactive drama workshop for
their Teacher Training Programme, KRAN [Kent Refugee Action Network] – facilitated a drama workshop
for refugees in Kent, Disabled People Against Cuts [DPAC] – directed & facilitated forum theatre in the
Houses of Parliament as part of a presentation advocating for the rights of the disabled in the United Kingdom;
LLC Social Enterprise – facilitated a number of interactive theatre workshops for volunteer counselors working
in drug & alcohol rehabilitation; University of West London – facilitated a number of workshops for students in the
Substance Use and Misuse Studies, School of Psychology.
Royal National Theatre INSET (London, UK) 2008 & 2014
Facilitator Co- led an INSET programme in Dance Theatre for UK primary, secondary & FE college acting
& dance tutors. Facilitator Led an INSET programme in Forum Theatre for UK secondary school drama teachers.
Participatory Approaches to Behaviour Change and Advocacy Workshop 2013
Assistant Facilitator– A series of Professional Development Workshops at the School of Oriental and
African Studies (SOAS) that equips participants with the skills to facilitate behaviour change and
advocacy. In association with Theatre for a Change, UK.
Youth Drama Workshops at the Arbour Youth Centre (Stepney Green, UK) 2004 - 2008
Workshop Leader Led a variety of drama workshops for local youths including half-term forum theatre
projects & weekly drama clubs.
Streets Alive Theatre Company (London, UK) 2004 - 2005
Internal Moderator Oversaw and facilitated the running of the OCN Forum Theatre Module at this theatre
company for homeless youth.
International:
Theatre for a Change (London, UK) Current
Educational Assessment Developer / Facilitation Trainer / Internal Moderator – Developing TfaC’s Learning &
Impact and Monitoring & Evaluating Strategies. In charge of the development of facilitation skills in the
healthcare / NGO sectors. Moderates the team at TfaC, Malawi in their delivery of Open College Network
(a UK-based assessment body) Qualification modules. Set up and run the OCN Accreditation Qualification system.
Also trained the core team in Ghana the OCN internal moderation process in order for the training to be sustainable
& transferable.
St. Mary’s University / Headroom Productions (London, UK – Durban, South Africa) 2012 - 2014
Theatre for Development Coordinator Coordinated partnership between the drama programme at
St. Mary’s University & Headroom Productions. For more information about the placements, please visit http://whatcanidodifferently.blogspot.co.uk.
Ethical Leadership Workshop (South West Gauteng College, South Africa) 2014
Workshop Facilitator Lead facilitator for workshops based on my play, The Robben Island Bible. See
‘Ongoing Research Project’ below for more details.
Muhawu High School (Engonyameni, South Africa) 2014
Workshop Supervisor Facilitated UK students in Theatre workshops & performances for Muhawu
High school students.
Umzimkhulu Amahushe Secondary School (Harding, South Africa) 2012 - 2014
Workshop Supervisor Facilitated UK students in Forum Theatre workshops & performances for
Umzimkhulu Amahushe secondary students.
University of KwaZulu-Natal(Durban, South Africa) 2012
Workshop Facilitator Ran a workshop with UKZN students on Verbatim Theatre.
Esayidi F.E.T College (Port Shepstone, South Africa) 2012
Workshop Facilitator Ran a workshop with Esayidi College students on Story Devising & Performance.
St. Mary’s University / Theatre for a Change (London, UK – Lilongwe, Malawi) 2010
Theatre for Development Coordinator Coordinates partnership between the drama programme at
St. Mary’s University & Theatre for a Change in Malawi.
Theatre for a Change (Accra, Ghana) 2007
Forum Theatre Workshop Facilitator Ran a two-week forum theatre workshop that resulted 18 trainee
teachers acquiring a qualification from OCN in the theory & practice of Forum Theatre.
Matthew Hahn page 2
SELECTED COMMUNITY & APPLIED THEATRE EXPERIENCE (Cont.)
Forum Theatre Workshop (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) 2004
Workshop Leader Ran a two-day forum theatre workshop that resulted in short forum plays based around
the theme of acceptance. Worked with young adults whom had formerly been living on the streets of
Addis Ababa.
Theatre Workshop (Soweto, South Africa) 2003
Workshop Leader Ran a two-day drama workshop for pre-school children and teen-agers at an HIV/Aids
clinic in the township. With the pre-schoolers, the focus was on role-playing in difficult situations
and with the teen-agers, the focus was on safe sex practices.
SELECTED THEATRE ADMINISTRATION EXPERIENCE
Common Air Project (London, UK) 2004 - Current
Artistic Director New Writing theatre company that produces socially aware productions along with
working within the community to promote social change through the medium of the theatre.
Chicago Shakespeare Theater (Chicago, IL) 1998 - 2001
Office Manager Responsibilities included the day-to-day management of the theatre’s administration
office. Was also responsible for assisting the Executive Director, the Marketing, the Education, & the
Development departments.
Bailiwick Theatre Directors’ Festival (Chicago, IL) 2000
Festival Director Responsibilities included selection of the plays for the festival, the coordination of the
directors and actors, and the organization of the production meetings and the first annual Directors’
Forum sponsored by the theatre.
Chicago Theatre Company (Chicago, IL) 1998 - 2000
Development Assistant Responsibilities included grant-writing and research of not-yet-tapped funding
opportunities through the Internet or through other various resources. Also assisted the managing director
in establishing long-term funding goals for the theatre.
SELECTED UNITED KINGDOM & INTERNATIONAL TEACHING EXPERIENCE
St Mary’s University - College (London, UK) 2008 - Current
Drama & Applied Theatre Senior Lecturer
Wits University 2014
Masterclass – Verbatim Theatre
York St. John University 2013 - 2016
External Examiner – External examiner for YSJU’s MA in Applied Theatre.
Central School of Speech & Drama (London, UK) 2012
Visiting Director Mentor to MA students in their Acting: Performance Practices & Research Module.
Florida State University, London, UK 2013
Visiting Lecturer – ‘Ethical Leadership’
Maryland University, London, UK 2013
Visiting Lecturer – Forum Theatre
Rhodes University 2011
Masterclass – Theatre for Change
Goldsmiths College, University of London (London, UK) 2008
Visiting Lecturer Instructed MA Playwrights in the development of their final project scripts.
Goldsmiths College, University of London (London, UK) 2007
Visiting Lecturer Instructed Third year students in their Drama Production (Devising) course.
PACE Programme at Goldsmiths College (London, UK) 2005 - 2007
External Examiner Examiner for Goldsmiths College’s Foundation Courses in Acting & Performance.
Youth Drama Workshops at the Arbour Youth Centre (Stepney Green, UK) 2004 - 2008
Workshop Leader Led a variety of acting workshops for local youths including half-term forum theatre
projects & weekly drama clubs.
Kensington and Chelsea College (London, UK) 2003 - 2006
Head of Drama Department Instructed in an Adult Education / Further Education college (OFSTED
Inspected April 2007 – Good Grade 2).
Leigh City Technology College (Dartford, UK) 2002
Drama Teacher Instructed Year 7 through A-level students (8 to 18 year olds) in Acting studies.
Physical Theatre Workshops (London, UK) 2001 - 2002
Workshop Leader Led various drama organizations (RADA, Oxford University New Writing Festival,
Goldsmiths College, PACE (Professional and Community Education), Goldsmiths College Theatre Collective,
amongst others) in physical training exercises for actors.
SELECTED TRAINING EXPERIENCE
Abbey Theatre Viewpoints Masterclass Dublin, Ireland
Anne Bogart
London International School Lecoq Training London, UK
of Performing Arts
Thomas Prattki
Method of Physical Action System Training London, UK
Andrew Tidmarsh
Saratoga International Theatre Institute Viewpoints / Suzuki Training New York City, NY
Kelly Maurer, Ellen Lauren, Will Bonds
Laban Workshop Laban Training Chicago, IL
Janet Louer, Peter Forster
Theatre de Complicite Theatre Devising London, UK
Clive Mendus
Forum Theatre Week Cardboard Citizens Theatre Company London, UK
Adrian Jackson
Joker Training, Forum Theatre Cardboard Citizens Theatre Company London, UK
Adrian Jackson
Full Frontal Comedy Improvisational Ensemble Bloomington, IN
For more information about my work, please visit: uk.linkedin.com/in/hahnmatthew1