Matthew Joseph Shaffer (born May 4, 1978) is an American

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

, and

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, director,

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

, author, and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

. He was born in Florence, Colorado, USA.

Career

Shaffer began his career in Southern California. He attended

Orange County High School of the Arts Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA, ), is a 7th–12th grade public charter school located in downtown Santa Ana, California. The school caters to middle and high school students with talents in the performing, visual, literary arts, culin ...

. He was accepted as a performing apprentice to the concert dance company

Giordano Dance Chicago Giordano Dance Chicago, formerly Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago and Gus Giordano's Jazz Dance Chicago, is a jazz dance company based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Gus Giordano in 1963 as Dance Incorporated Chicago, it has toured worldwide, includi ...

in 1996. He became a principal in the company the following year. After three years touring the United States and Europe he left the company. He worked in the ensemble of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

in New York City for five seasons. Shaffer was involved in the final stunt of the feature film

Jackass Number Two ''Jackass Number Two'' is a 2006 American reality slapstick comedy film directed by Jeff Tremaine. It is the sequel to '' Jackass: The Movie'' (2002), both based upon the MTV series '' Jackass''. Like its predecessor and the original television s ...

, with Johnny Knoxville. Shaffer had comedic roles in two off-beat and independent short films: ''Feet Afire'' in 2005, and in 2006 the movie ''Queerspiracy'', which was an official selection at the 2007 Breckenridge Film Festival. In November 2006, he originated the role of Bergdwarf Goodman, the narrative gnome in the

Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center. Leadersh ...

production of Hansel and Gretel at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. In October 2007, he completed his first

35 mm film 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film 35 mm film is a film gauge used in filmmaking, and the film standard. In motion pictures that record on f ...

project as

on the set of Harrison Bergeron, based on the Kurt Vonnegut short story. In November 2007, Shaffer originated the lead role "Sim" in the revival of

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...

's Frost and Fire directed by

Zina Bethune Zina Bianca Bethune (February 17, 1945 – February 12, 2012) was an American actress, dancer, and choreographer. Early years Bethune was born on Staten Island, the daughter of Ivy ( Vigder), a Russian-born (Sevastopol, present-day Ukraine) act ...

, at the Alex Theatre, in Los Angeles, CA. From 2010 through 2015 Shaffer and his producing partner, Jeff Payton created 40 pop culture digital shorts, which garnered a large fan base and led them to create and option two television pilots. In 2015 Shaffer's first book, "So You Want To Be A Dancer", was published by

Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing compa ...

. In 2016 he was commissioned by Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania to choreograph his first concert dance piece entitled, "Give Me A Mingus" set to the music of

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...

. In 2023, Matthew earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in directing and choreography, from

Wilson College (Pennsylvania) Wilson College is a private, Presbyterian-related college in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1869 by two Presbyterian ministers, it was named for its first major donor, Sarah Wilson of nearby St. Thomas Township, Pennsylvania, who gave $ ...

Roles

Theatre

* ''Nostalgia Radio Hour Presents: Growing Pangs''…Writer and Director… City Garage Theatre… Santa Monica…2023 * ''Hansel and Gretel''...reprised his role of “Gnome”… Dorothy Chandler Pavilion…Los Angeles, CA 2018 * ''Maggie Miguel ...a corporate American employee'' ...Director and Choreographer... One Woman Show starring Maggie Miguel ... ACME Comedy Theatre

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, CA March 2009 * ''Share Inc. Boomtown Benefit''...Ensemble...

Santa Monica Civic Auditorium Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is a multi-purpose convention center at 1855 Main Street in Santa Monica, California, owned by the City of Santa Monica. It was built in 1958 and designed by Welton Becket and as a concert venue, it has a seating cap ...

... Santa Monica,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

2008 * ''Frost and Fire''…originated lead role “Sim”… Alex Theatre

, CA 2007 * ''Hansel and Gretel''…originated the role “Gnome”… Dorothy Chandler Pavilion…Los Angeles, CA 2006 * ''Stand Up Salad''…Comic… Friars Club of Beverly Hills 2006 * ''Radio City Christmas Spectacular''…Ensemble….

…2000–2005 (Five Seasons) * ''Tess’ Last Night''…The Stalker…Greenwich House Theatre…NYC…2003 * ''16th Annual BC/EFA Easter Bonnet Competition''…Ensemble… New Amsterdam Theatre…2002 * ''On A Clear Day You Can See Forever'' (Workshop)…Ensemble… New York City Center…2001 * ''Synthesis Dance Project''…Ensemble…NYC…2000 * ''TheMantis Project''...Trio of Three performer...

Symphony Space Symphony Space, founded by Isaiah Sheffer and Allan Miller, is a multi-disciplinary performing arts organization at 2537 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Performances take place in the 760-seat Peter Jay Sharp Theatre (also called Pe ...

, NYC...2000 * ''Pat and Debby Boone Show''… Ensemble…Branson, MO…1999 * ''Andy Williams Show''…Ensemble…Branson, MO…1998 * ''

…Principal Dancer…Chicago, IL…1997–1999 (Three Seasons) * ''

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...

''…Ensemble Dancer…Chicago, IL…1997 * ''Hercules Spectacular''…Ensemble… Chicago Theatre…1997

Film/Television

* The Affair (TV series)

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

...

Choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

...2017 *

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'' is an American romantic musical comedy-drama television series that premiered on October 12, 2015, on The CW and ran for four seasons, ending on April 5, 2019. The series was created, written, and directed by Rachel Bloo ...

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

...

Actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

...2016 * Broad City

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

...

...2016 * Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

...

...2015 * ''Kickin It'' Disney XD...

...2011 * ''Billy Glimmer'' ( Ben Stiller Project)...

...2010 * ''The Real Housewives Parody Movie''

Executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

Writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

...2010 * ''Children's Hospital''

....2010 * ''Harrison Bergeron''

…

…2007 * ''Twinkle Time'' (

Television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

)…

…2007 * ''Michael Poppins'' (

)...Tambourine Man...2007 * ''Queerspiracy''…Justin Davies…2006 * ''Cold Case''…Kit Kat Boy…2006 * ''Jackass Number Two''…Dancer…2006 * ''Earth To America''…Performer…2005 * ''Feet Afire''…Chad La Rosa…2005 * ''Mona Lisa Smile''…Dancer…2002 * ''All My Children''...Featured...2001

Writings

Shaffer authored his first book, So You Want To Be A Dancer, March 9, 2015. On March 29, 2015 he launched So You Want To Be A Dancer at Broadway Dance Center and continued on a nationwide tour, teaching and promoting his book which was a Number 1 New Release in the Performing Arts category on Amazon.com. Matthew is also one of fifty contributing authors of the book, The I'Mpossible Project: Reengaging With Life, Creating a New You, an inspirational book which highlights topics including, empowerment,

suicide prevention Suicide prevention is a collection of efforts to reduce the risk of suicide. Suicide is often preventable, and the efforts to prevent it may occur at the individual, relationship, community, and society level. Suicide is a serious public health ...

, and

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

themes; released by Skookum Hill Publishing on January 13, 2016. On September 10, 2019 Shaffer releases his sophomore book Dancing Out of the Closet, a collection of comedically true stories about his life as an performer living "in" and eventually "out" of the closet.

Published works

* * * Amazon
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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaffer, Matthew American male musical theatre actors American male film actors 1978 births Living people People from Fremont County, Colorado Actors from Orange County, California Male actors from California Orange County School of the Arts alumni