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“…characters that are so well-rounded and multi-layered” ~ Gephardt Daily
The first review for Wasatch Theatre Company’s production of ART & CLASS is out — and it’s a good one!
“…the most charming of rom-coms” ~ The Gephardt Daily
Here’s a rave from the Gephardt Daily for my new summer rom-com, FROM JUNE TO AUGUST.
My favorite bit: “The script, direction and performances are so subtle and natural that you really forget you are watching a play; it just feels like a slice of life.”
“…witty, sensitive, realistic and intelligently sentimental.” ~ The Utah Review
Another great review for my new summer rom-com, FROM JUNE TO AUGUST.
This part: “Indeed, this is easily Bennett’s lightest, most playful script to date. But, he also manages — with his usual supreme skill — to anchor the story and dialogue in intelligent, mature realities. Certainly, the quartet of actors gleefully romped through this little summer gem.”
An editorial in The Salt Lake Tribune
The Utah legislature passed a terrible law in their last session: a law prohibiting people from rescuing sick animals from concentrated feeding operations. While it was still being considered, I wrote this editorial for The Salt Lake Tribune.
Selected Works
Photo by Doug CarterMatthew Ivan Bennett has been Resident Playwright of Plan-B Theatre since 2007, where he’s premiered several stage plays and 10 radio plays in collaboration with KUER’s RadioWest. His work usually focuses on the sociopolitical while centering character with elements of humor. His adaptation of FRANKENSTEIN won the Best Feature Program award from the Utah Broadcasters’ Association. His one-person play ERIC(A) won Best Drama at the United Solo Festival in New York. His road trip play, A\VERSION OF EVENTS is published with Stage Rights ». His anti-bullying play DIFFERENT=AMAZING—for grades 3 to 6—is published with Leicester Bay Theatricals ». With the O’Neill, he’s been a Finalist (LET DOWN YOUR HAIR, 2016) and Semifinalist (ART & CLASS, 2019). He’s won the Best Local Playwright award from PlayUtah and Salt Lake’s City Weekly honored with an Arty for writing Plan-B’s entire season in 2009. In 2014, he received the Holland New Voices award from Great Plains Theatre Commons and returned in 2019 to workshop his play ART & CLASS. His short plays have appeared at Pacific Play Company in Seattle, the Source Festival in DC, Monkeyman in Toronto, and Theatre Out in Santa Ana. His comedy A NIGHT WITH THE FAMILY ran at the Omaha Community Playhouse. His short film B+A appeared at Slamdance and his feature-length film THE WHOLE LOT was an Official Selection of the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival, the Kansas City Independent Film Festival, the Mesa Independent Film Festival, the San Francisco Independent Film Festival, the Mumbai Indie-Fest, and the New York International Reel Film Festival in 2022 and 2023. In 2015 and 2016, he was a screenwriting finalist at the Austin Film Festival. In Utah, he’s worked as a playwright and/or actor with the Salt Lake Acting Company, Pygmalion, Sackerson (devised pieces: A BRIEF WALTZ IN A LITTLE ROOM and THE WORST THING I’VE EVER DONE), and Wasatch Theatre Company. His rom-com FROM JUNE TO AUGUST was the Official Selection for Meanwhile Park’s second season in Salt Lake. Matt served 13 years as Assistant Business Manager for Pioneer Theatre Company, as well as reading for their Play-by-Play series, and was previously a part-time Literary Manager for The Constructivists in Milwaukee. His poetry has been published with Sugar House Review, Western Humanities, Utah Life, unearthed, and Organic Ink, Volume 5 ». Matt earned his Bachelors in Theatre from Southern Utah University—where he also acted for the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s educational tours of THE TAMING OF THE SHREW as Grumio and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” as Puck. He is a member of Futurescapes, the Dramatists Guild, and recently joined Mastodon.
Upcoming Projects: RADIO HOUR EPISODE 17: SHERLOCK HOLMES & THE FINAL PROBLEM at Plan-B Theatre Company in October.