If I was born with a super-power, it’s to brainstorm wildly creative ideas and concepts by collaborating with others. There are infinite ways to tell a story and I love shifting perspective and focus to find the target for the kind of project each of my clients and collaborators are looking for.
I wrote a detective story called “Lagoon” for a playwriting class and directed everyone else in the class to perform it and played the lead, emulating the style of 1940’s Phillip Marlowe. That was in second grade and I’ve wanted to do nothing else since.
I’ve been an actor, director, writer, and teacher, working in New York, London, Los Angeles, and places in between. I’ve taught acting classes in middle schools, youth filmmaking classes in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and have been a personal writing coach for clients for many years.
I’ve written and directed for stage and screen including “Blackboxing” and “Angel’s Flight” at the Hollywood Fringe (both of which won “Best Cabaret”), “Poker Night” which won “Best Comedy Short” at the Culver City Film Festival, and “Romeo and Juliet In Hell” which was nominated for four awards (including Best Director) at the 2019 LA Valley Theater Awards. Currently, my film “Advent” (with Michael Onofri) is in development at LBI. You can still see my “Loan Falcon” commercial online and on TV.
I love working with writers because I have looked at story through varied lenses and never fail to get excited when finding a way to bring a story to life. Everyone’s needs are different, everyone’s story is different, and everyone’s process is different – and I love to facilitate that.
I did the BFA thing at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (Playwright’s Horizons), got a Certificate in Shakespeare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and am a graduate and former Associate Producer at Director’s Lab West.
“Raiders of the Lost Ark” is the greatest movie of all time, and if I can’t be on a Disney Cruise, I want to be on set.
Matt in the Media
Fanbase Press Interviews Matt Ritchey on the Upcoming Launch of the Production, ‘SHPIDER!’
SHOUTOUT LA – What was your thought process behind starting your own business?
REVIEWS
SHPIDER!
Written and Directed by Matt Ritchey
“SHPIDER! is without a doubt, the meta-absurdist, hi-camp hilarity, small theater stand-out success of the season. (Did I give you enough adjectives? Here’s a few more.) And it’s an absolute amazement by no stretch of the imagination. This B-movie creature feature world premiere play is full-frontal, writer/director Matt Ritchey at his best.”
– Tracey Paleo, Broadway World
“With jokes flying fast as machine gun bullets, they score more bull’s eyes than an Olympic marksman. Eventually, the absurdity builds until it hits that magical critical mass where everything becomes funny no matter how silly it is.”
– Steve Biodrowski, Hollywood Gothique
BLACKBOXING
Written and Performed by Matt Ritchey
WINNER – “Best Cabaret/Variety” Hollywood Fringe Festival 2019
WINNER – “Standout Song Award” Hollywood Fringe Festival 2019
WINNER – “TPP Trope Buster Award” Hollywood Fringe Festival 2019
WINNER – “Encore Producer’s Award” Hollywood Fringe Festival 2019
“Blackboxing is both a side-splitting takedown of Fringe and one man shows, and the fulfillment of every stage manager’s worst nightmare (and fondest dreams). I left in actual pain from laughing so much and so hard over 45 minutes.”
– Brett Moore, Fringe reviewer
“This is just beautiful work on so many levels. It’s hilarious and cutting and will send any theatre student all the way back to their first day in college where we were all, essentially, Travis. It both honors and ‘sees’ the stage manager [can I get a ‘hell yes!’], takes solid aim at the very festival it is featured in and surprises you with its capacity to plumb emotional depths.”
– Christine Deitner, The Theater Times
“Long-time Fringe veteran Matt Ritchey has mounted his best show ever, a show that would sweep the Tony’s if it was on Broadway.” – Bob Leggett, LA Music Critic
ANGEL’S FLIGHT
Written and Directed by Matt Ritchey
WINNER – “Best Cabaret/Variety” Hollywood Fringe Festival 2017
NOMINATED – Rogue Shakespeare “Best Director” Award
STAGE RAW RECOMMENDED!
“Right off the bat you know you’re in for a good time and it never stops. Matt Ritchey deserves a lot of credit for this, as his clear and precise direction is evident in every cracking scene. The talent is great across the board and the production values are high.”
– Hollywood Fringe review ANGEL’S FLIGHT
“Directing: There is a sharp skipper behind the scenes of this show and it makes a tremendous difference. This particular script could have very quickly become a mess and the fact that it does not is a testament to the skill of the director. Scenes flow well and quickly and easily. The space is very well used. The story makes sense spatially and time-wise. It all feels very clearly under the control and guidance of someone who knows what they are trying to create and the tones, style and substance all work in the same vein very well together.”
– Hollywood Fringe review ANGEL’S FLIGHT
“Playwright Matt Ritchey and Benjamin Schwartz’s sweet and utterly insubstantial film noir spoof provides just the sorbet to clear your palate before the next “important” show. In truth, Ritchey and Schwartz’s comedy is feather light and breeze slight —but the production boasts some good gags and, with the involvement of the Cherry Poppins Burlesque dance troupe, some delightful and quite ambitious dance interludes by a chorus of sultry dancers.” –
Tracey Paleo, GIA ON THE MOVE
ROMEO AND JULIET IN HELL
Written and Directed by Matt Ritchey
NOMINATED – “Best Director,” “Best Ensemble,” 2020 Valley Theatre Awards
“Romeo and Juliet in Hell sets out to amuse and surprise, and does so delightfully. Playwright Matt Ritchey has deftly raided Shakespeare and modern theatre, from Stoppard to Lloyd-Webber, for this delightful pastiche. If I ran a Shakespeare company (ahem, King’s Men, Porters of Hellsgate, Shakespeare by the Sea), I’d lock up the rights to this as an annual fundraiser.”
– Mark Hein, Theater Ghost
“Who knew Hell could be so funny? Probably the most fun you will ever have in Hell.”
– Theatre Gothique
“Matt Ritchey’s knee-slapper of a comedy places the Bard’s star-crossed lovers in the infernal domain for some devilish punishment and an hour plus of solid fun and laughs.”
– Lovell Estelle III, STAGE RAW
“This is definitely not the Shakespeare you studied in high school. It is a lot better.”
– Mary Montoro, All About The Stage
NEVERMORE
Written and Directed by Matt Ritchey
“Playwright / Director Matt Ritchey pays homage to Poe’s style, effecting planned tension or a feeling of discomfort which adds to the mood. With many clever twists and turns, Nevermore will keep you guessing and second-guessing through the final curtain.”
– Ethan Silver, RIVETING RIFFS
“This is what theater should be.”
– OFF THE MAT
“What makes this wonderful play work so smoothly and is always on point are the characters and the marvelous writing. Ritchey’s writing flows without missing any beats.
Ritchey has the touch of putting our fears out in the open and see what the hell happens.”
-Danny Margolies, SHOWMAG – NEVERMORE
“Blurring the line twixt his text and life, the play unfolds like forgotten lore. It isn’t merely a waltz through Poe’s work – it functions on a couple levels with its mystery and character work while also featuring ample use of Poe’s motifs, elements, characters and iconography to excite and draw in the author’s more hardcore fans. And while its roots dig deep into the collected works of Poe, it still retains a level of accessibility for those not fully versed in his life and stories.”
– Stewart Smith, TYLER MORNING TELEGRAPH – NEVERMORE
PURE CINEMA
Directed by Matt Ritchey
“Matt Ritchey directs with a sure hand. The set and art direction by Ritchey, are at the top end of what could be expected at the fast-moving Fringe. Especially impressive are the black-and-white elements, including the phone and a Psycho-referencing owl perched above Hitchcock’s desk. This is a class act, a show made with love and talent to honor two deserving filmmakers. Pure Cinema is a master class in authenticity.” – The Larchmont Buzz
“Director Matt Ritchey has accomplished a mythical feat in wrangling this hydra of a play.” – Gia on the Move
“Beautifully staged and a wonderful show.” -Hollywood Fringe review
“With amazing acting from all three performers and top notch directing from Ritchey, this piece soars as one of those few shows over an hour that are completely worth it! The beautiful simplicity of the stage/set design adds to the classic feel of the piece.” – Hollywood Fringe review