D. Matthew Kizer

Matt Kizer lives with his wife and son in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He is the resident scenic and lighting designer for Plymouth State University, where he has been the head of the design and technology program in Theatre since 1996.

He is a regular designer for Jean’s Playhouse, a regional company in Lincoln, NH, including their national tour of A Christmas Carol. He has designed for the Educational Theatre Collaborative, which produces both traditional and original musicals. He has designed for Kearsarge Arts Theatre (KAT) Company in New London, a childrens’ theatre company, also specializing in new works, including A You and Me World, which was awarded the Moss Hart Award for Children’s Theatre. Mail to the Chief was invited for performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He serves as a regular guest designer for Auburn University in Alabama. He served as faculty lighting designer for Operafestival Di Roma in Italy, where he designed lighting for L’elisir di amore and The Magic Flute, both produced with the Orchestra Sinfonica dell’ International Chamber Ensemble at Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza in central Rome. He has designed for dance and movement in Potsdam, Germany at T-Werk in Schiffbauergasse with A-Fortiorni. He has designed for Barnstormers Theatre, White River Theatre Festival in Vermont, and for dance companies, theatres, and colleges in New England, Virginia, Ohio and Indiana. He serves on the International Activities Committee for the United States Institute for Theatre Technology and is involved with OISTAT (the International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects, and Technicians). For these, he has researched, written, and presented in Prague (Czech Republic), Cardiff (Wales, UK), and Nicosia (Cyprus).

He holds a BA in Theatre from Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne, and an MFA in Design from The Ohio State University.