Griffin Matthews & Matt Gould
Award-Winning Musical/Talk
Griffin Matthews and Matt Gould, the young creators of Invisible Thread, present a concert of songs and stories from their new musical, winner of the 2012 and 2014 Richard Rogers Award for Musical Theater. Invisible Thread takes place in 2005 Uganda when Matthews arrives as a volunteer from New York City to help build a…
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Full Bio
Griffin Matthews and Matt Gould, the young creators of Invisible Thread, present a concert of songs and stories from their new musical, winner of the 2012 and 2014 Richard Rogers Award for Musical Theater.
Invisible Thread takes place in 2005 Uganda when Matthews arrives as a volunteer from New York City to help build a village school and escape his church’s probing into his sexuality. But when he falls into a complicated relationship with a group of destitute, orphaned teenagers, he becomes obsessed with a mission that will change his and their lives forever. Told through personal accounts of triumph and tragedy against the backdrop of heart thumping Afro-pop music, Invisible Thread tackles the question: is changing the world even possible?
The show had its world premiere at the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University in 2015 and is headed for Broadway in 2016 under the direction of Tony winner Diane Paulus.
This inspiring concert version of the show has been performed at the Eccles Center in Park City Utah, Boston University, Harvard University, Martha’s Vineyard (Vineyard Arts Project), Rattlestick Theater (F*!@cking Good Plays Festival), The TCG Conference (San Diego), The Apollo Theater (NYC), Berklee College of Music, and The ASCAP Foundation/Disney Musical Theatre Workshop hosted by Stephen Schwartz. Griffin and Gould were also the keynote speakers at The 2014 Midwest Arts Conference in Minneapolis.
In addition to Invisible Thread, Griffin, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama, and Gould, a graduate of The Boston University College of Fine Arts, have performed, spoken, and led master classes internationally. Their work has been performed in Uganda, The Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Japan, Jazz at Lincoln Center (NYC), The Warner Theater (Washington D. C.), The Saban Theatre (LA), Symphony Space (NYC), Huntington Theatre Company (Boston) and TEDx Wall Street.
The two are currently working on a commission of an autobiographical piece about their same sex, mixed race, interfaith family for Los Angeles’s premier theater company, Center Theater Group. Their greatest joy continues to be watching the students of their aid organization, UgandaProject, rise above their circumstances and be the first members of their families to graduate high school and college. Learn about all their amazing stories in the unique, one of a kind program, Invisible Thread.
Testimonials
Ernie was perfect for our Elders Conference at Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, Michigan. We will definitely be using PDA again!
LITTLE RIVER BAND OF OTTAWA INDIANS
Our speaker was great and the crowd enjoyed her! She was very engaging. Thank you again PDA for the great list of suggestions!
MEDTRONIC
Everything went great! and our speaker was wonderful! Thank you so much for all your help PDA! Looking forward to the next one.
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI – KANSAS CITY
I hope that this message finds you well. We had a phenomenal time with Atsuko this past Thursday. We wanted to just let you know how amazing she was. All those that were in attendance thoroughly enjoyed her and had nothing but amazing things to say about her. Thank you for working with us to make sure this happened!
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!
SALT LAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Dear PDA Group, Thank you so much for your hard work in scheduling our speaker! From the moment we reached out to you the first time, you worked with us on all details and logistics and kept us up-to-date on the progress. Thank you for all your hard work on making our event such a success! We couldn't have done it without you and your team!
SAP COMPANY
Thank you again, Dr. Kimbrough, for a great presentation, our attendees are still talking about it!
CAMPUS LABS
Dr. Henry Lee's presentation was entertaining, insightful and wise. I, and everyone at Pfizer, especially appreciate the remarks you directed about following your passion and preparing yourself to excel. Thank you, everyone, at PDA for helping to make this happen!
PFIZER
The event was successful! I received many messages expressing how awesome, outstanding and inspiring Ms. Webb-Christburg's speech was."
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL BREAKFAST, BOSTON, MLK SPEAKER
Everything went well. Atsuko was very easy to work with and the students enjoyed her performance! Thank you again for your recommendation and I hope to work with you again in the future!
CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Dr. Novello left this morning after a very successful event on our campus! Thank you PDA Group for your help from the first phone to the last you were with us every step of the way.
GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Jordan Carlos was very very entertaining! A majority of students who answered the event survey indicated they really enjoyed Jordan and definitely will bring him back!
WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can't wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.
FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY
It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Thank you, Peter, for all your help, you'll be happy to know that the event went incredibly well! Aneesa Ferreira was by far one of the best speakers we've ever had!
FURMAN UNIVERSITY
Topics
Based on their musical “Invisible Thread”, the keynote presentation will be backed by the beat of Afro-pop tunes, transporting audiences with Matthews to 2005 in Uganda with an unexpecting group of teenagers who he sets out to teach and learn from. This volunteer trip has led Matthews and Gould, also a volunteer with experience overseas, to the UgandaProject, an organization run by the pair which helps students in the African country to graduate high school and college.
Building Community Through Diversity: Global Lens
Videos
Witness Uganda: Matt Gould at TEDxWallStreet
Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews of Witness Uganda on Al Jazeera America
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