Bio
Matthew Grenier is a Technical Director, designer, and fabricator with specializations in scenery, rigging, stage machinery, lighting, props, and sound. Currently, Matt is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Scenic Technology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before he returned to school, Matt served 10 years as the Assistant Technical Director for the SUNY Oneonta Theatre Department, where he helped operate the venues, taught students the ‘ins and outs’ of technical theatre, and designed for productions.
Between his full-time pursuits and nearly 20 years of freelance work, Matt has contributed to hundreds of productions including one-off touring acts, plays, musicals, dance, and other special events. As the Technical Director for the Chenango Arts Council for 9 years, he supported acts including Michael Winslow, Ailey II, Koresh Dance Company, Babes in Toyland, Altar Boyz, Barrage, Jason Bishop, Forbidden Broadway, and The Peking Acrobats.
Artistically, Matt thrives as a lighting designer for theatre and dance. Notable designs include Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Aida, Mary Poppins, Clybourne Park, Carousel, Colony Collapse, Romeo and Juliet, The Exception and the Rule, and The Wolves, which received the honor of “Distinguished Production of a Play” at the KCACTF Region 1 Festival in 2020. Matt has also been a longtime designer for the Perkins School of the Arts, Phoenix Project Dance Theatre, and the Fokine Ballet Company.
While he has created his share of fulfilling scenic designs, Matt tends to focus on scenery construction, rigging, and engineering. Notable technical projects include a stage elevator for Life’s a Dream, an electric revolve drive for Carousel, flight rigging for 9 to 5 The Musical, and a Phantom of the Opera chandelier which later appeared on the A&E television series Shipping Wars.
A child of a military family, Matt grew up in New York, England, Maryland, and Florida before returning to upstate New York where he joined a local community theatre. Interested in all things technical, Matt spent his middle and high school years learning and practicing under the mentorship of theatre artist Martin W. Kappel. Eventually, he attended Binghamton University for Mechanical Engineering and technical theatre. In his spare time, Matt enjoys outdoor pursuits such as hiking, backpacking, skiing, snowshoeing, bicycling, and kayaking.
