MATTHEW R. WILSON is a freelance actor, director, instructor, and choreographer of physical comedy and stage combat. He has worked throughout Europe and North America and is Artistic Director of Faction of Fools Theatre Company in Washington, DC. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Shakespeare Theatre Company's Academy for Classical Acting at The George Washington University and is a Ph.D. student in Renaissance Theatre History at the University of Maryland, College Park.

As an ACTOR he is a proud member of the professional labor unions for stage and screen: Actors' Equity Association, Screen Actors' Guild, and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. He has performed at such New York City venues as John Houseman Theatre Center, Cherry Lane Theatre, 45 Bleecker, Tribeca Playhouse, HERE Arts Center, La Mama ETC, Producer's Club, The Belt, Red Room, Teatro La Tea, One Arm Red, and New York Comedy Club. Regional credits include the Kennedy Center, Folger Theatre, New England Shakespeare Festival, Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, Nashville Shakespeare Festival, Clarence Brown Theatre, and the Celebration Barn Theatre, as well as numerous US and International tours. Matt's extensive Shakespeare credits include directing Troilus & Cressida, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Pericles: Prince of Tyre and performing Hamlet, Malvolio, Romeo, Benedick, Sir Andrew Aguecheeck, Autolycus, and Touchstone.

As a FIGHT DIRECTOR, Matt has killed people with swords, knives, pikes, guns, ropes, clubs, bathtubs, and shovels and has died many times himself. Choreography credits include Macbeth, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, The Fifth Musketeer, and Life is a Dream. He has taught and assisted at Stage Combat conferences across North America and holds the rank of "Advanced Actor/Combatant" with proficiency in all weapons and multiple individual awards from the Society of American Fight Directors.

As a COMMEDIA DELL' ARTE SPECIALIST, he has collaborated internationally as co-creator/performer on countless new works including his own The Great One-man Commedia Epic, which he has performed in New York, Italy, the UK, and across the States. He served from 2004 to 2009 as an instructor at Antonio Fava's Stage Internazionale di Commedia dell'Arte in Reggio-Emilia, Italy.
As well as working as a Commedia consultant and choreographer for other companies, Matt is the Founding Artistic Director of Faction of Fools Theatre Company, DC's only theatre company devoted specifically to Commedia dell'Arte.

In addition to working as a THEATRE INSTRUCTOR in Italy, Matt has been an Adjunct Professor of Acting at George Washington University, George Mason University, and Virginia Intermont College. He has also served as a guest lecturer/artist at Georgetown, NYU, Columbia, the Academy for Classical Acting, and numerous other colleges, high schools, and theatre festivals (including the Southeastern Theatre Conference, International Thespians Festival, and numerous State Thespian festivals). In the DC area, Matt is a frequent Teaching-Artist for the Folger Shakespeare Library and Shakespeare Theatre Company.

In addition to his current Ph.D. studies and the M.F.A. from the Academy for Classical Acting, Matt holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Columbia University and Master of Divinity from Emmanuel School of Religion and has studied at the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University. He is a fan of the Washington Redskins.