Matthew Glassman (He/Him/His) is a writer, actor and director and has been working with Double Edge since 2000. He makes not so obvious connections between the realms of theatre, nature and the environment — and other sectors, such as social movements, local culture and politics. Glassman co-created and performed as Shadow in Leonora, la maga y la maestra and co-created The Grand Parade, Double Edge’s Garden of Intimacy and Desire Cycle (2003-09) and many Summer Spectacles in leading acting roles. Glassman also co-created The Ashfield Town Spectacle, including the Town Meeting (an art and democracy project) and Figures. He has written Double Edge summer spectacles Shahrazad, a Tale of Love and Magic and Once a Blue Moon – Cada Luna Azul.
As a director, Glassman has worked on Double Edge’s 2019 Summer Spectacle I am the Baron, inspired by The Travels and Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen by Rudolf Raspe. He also directed Total Verruckt!, a solo performance created and performed by Joanna Caplan which has toured in the US and Canada, and The Oven, a monologue by Ilan Stavans. In 2014, Glassman initiated Double Edge’s Art & Survival Biennial. This national convening hosted at The Farm gathers artists, activists, and change-makers from around the country for a 2-day reflection on the inner workings of artistic practice and its impact on culture and movement building. Glassman also initiated Double Edge’s Harvest Campaign.
Glassman has given lectures, led workshops, and directed residencies at Columbia College Chicago, Emerson College, UMASS Amherst, NYU, Columbia University, Boston University, University of Georgia, MIT, Trinity College, College of the Atlantic, The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and many others. He has presented at numerous conferences including most recently Common Field Convening, Creative Commons Conference, Radically Rural Convening, and the Next Gen Rural Summit.Glassman currently serves on the board of directors for Art of the Rural, is a Community Advisor for the Community Foundation of Western Mass, and has served on the board of the Network of Ensemble Theaters, Howlround’s National Advisory Council, and as a repeated grant panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts. He has been published in TDR and Howlround, awarded the Mary Lyons Spirit of Adventure Award for Education, and has been a nominee for the Doris Duke Artist Impact Award, US Artist Award, and the 2019 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities.
