BIO
Matt Fotis is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Albright College where he teaches improvisation, acting, and writing for performance. He received his PhD in Theatre from the University of Missouri, where he was a Raymond White Dissertation Fellow. He holds a Master of Arts from Illinois State University where he received the James L. Fisher Outstanding Thesis Award from the College of Fine Arts, and a BA from Monmouth College.
He is the author of four books about comedy: Fifty Key Improv Performers; Long Form Improvisation and American Comedy: The Harold, which garnered him The Dr. Henry P. and M. Page Laughlin Distinguished Faculty Award for Research; Satire & The State: Sketch Comedy and the Presidency; and the co-author of The Comedy Improv Handbook. His work has appeared in Theatre Journal, Theatre Topics, The Journal of American Drama & Theatre, Theatre/Practice, The Encyclopedia of Humor Studies, The Encyclopedia of American Studies, McSweeney’s, InsideHigherEd, and MLB.com.
He is also an award-winning playwright, whose work has been produced or developed at such places as The Lark, The Playwrights’ Center, The Kennedy Center, The Great Plains Theatre Conference, Emerging Artists Theatre, MATC Dramatists Play Lab and many others. His plays have won The Mark Twain Prize for Comic Playwriting, UCM’s Theatre for Young Audiences National Playwriting Competition, and the Sonoma County Repertory Theatre’s New Play Competition. Check out some of his work via The New Play Exchange.
He is also the co-founder and co-executive producer of Fotis & Fotis Comedy, which hosts events, trainings, and produces The First Thursday Comedy Series. The series features four original improv shows in rotation, along with the Berks County favorite, A Very Berks Holiday.
Books
2024
Fifty Key Improv Performers highlights the history, development, and impact of improvisational theatre by analyzing not just key performers, but institutions, training centers, and movements to demonstrate the ways improv has shaped contemporary performance both onstage and onscreen.
2020
Satire & The State explores how sketch comedy has shaped the way Americans view the presidency and themselves. Numerous sketch comedy portrayals of presidents have seeped into the American consciousness. This book analyzes these sketches and many others, illustrating how comedy is at the heart of the health and function of American democracy.
2016
A one-stop resource for both improv teachers and students, covering improv history, theory, maxims, exercises, games, and structures. You will learn the necessary skills and techniques needed to become a successful improviser, and develop a basic understanding of the history of improvisation and its major influences, structures, and theories. This book also addresses issues associated with being a college improviser – like auditions, rehearsals, performances, and the dynamics of improv groups.
2014
Long form scenic improv began with the Harold. The comic philosophy of this form started an era of comedy marked by support, trust, and collaboration. This book tells the story of the Harold, beginning with the development of improv theatre, through the tensions and evolutions that led to its creation at iO, and to its use in contemporary filmmaking.
Current & Recent Projects
The Revolutionists
I recently directed a production of Lauren Gunderson's fabulous play about America that happens to be set during The French Revolution. Our Albright College production received numerous accolades from KCACTF!!
Fotis & Fotis Comedy
Along with my wife Jeanette, F&F runs The First Thursday Comedy series, a rotating series of 4 improv shows the first Thursday of every month. We also run the Almost Friday Comedy Series each summer and produce the holiday comedy show "A Very Berks Holiday." We additionally host events, run improv trainings, and perform throughout Southeastern PA.
Hooray for Fascism!
An original sketch comedy revue that I directed at Albright College, which opened the weekend before the 2024 election. Like The Revolutionists, our production received many accolades from KCACTF!
PROFESSIONAL APPROACH
As an artist/scholar/teacher my work is driven by three core principles: curiosity, collaboration, and comedy.
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In the classroom, I use the three c's extensively. I work to ignite students curiosity and to build essential skills in collaboration, all while fostering a fun, safe, and creative classroom environment. I see my primary job as helping students: 1) realize they have something to say; 2) reminding them it is worthy of being heard; and 3) figuring out the best way to say it.
One of the reasons I love improvisational theatre is because it relies on curiosity and collaboration. To create spontaneously, you must collaborate with your scene partner(s) and be willing to explore. Curiosity and collaboration are non-negotiable in improvisation. People who are curious and collaborative also tend to be very funny. It’s about more than laughing and having a good time, though I will come clean and admit that I enjoy laughing.
Comedy is one of the best ways to open a dialogue about issues important to society. Comedy can bridge gaps and bring people together, so I routinely find myself drawn to comedy and producing comedy because I feel it is vital to our society and is at the core of being human…I mean, how many funny deer, wasps, or trees have you met? I’ll concede there are some funny trees.
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