Joseph Ronald Serafini (born January 22, 1998) is an American actor. He plays Seb Matthew-Smith in the

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

series '' High School Musical: The Musical: The Series''.

Early life and education

Serafini is from

Bethel Park, Pennsylvania Bethel Park (officially the Municipality of Bethel Park) is a borough with home rule status in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a suburb within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, located approximately south of Pittsburgh. Th ...

, a suburb of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. He was a longtime performer at the Pittsburgh CLO Academy (

Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (Pittsburgh CLO) is a nonprofit professional theater company based in the Cultural District of Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Despite its name, the organization presents musical theatre classics rather tha ...

), where he performed with their "Mini Stars" touring vocal group and earned a Gene Kelly Award scholarship. He graduated from

Bethel Park High School Bethel Park High School, also called BPHS, is a four-year, comprehensive high school located in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, with an enrollment of 1,391 students in grades 9–12 for the 2018–2019 school year. Its curr ...

in 2016. He graduated from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 2020.

Career

During his time with the

(CLO), he performed in several productions including ''A Musical Christmas Carol'', ''

Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'', often known simply as ''Peter Pan'', is a work by J. M. Barrie, in the form of a 1904 play and a 1911 novel titled ''Peter and Wendy''. Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous ...

'', ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before opening in the W ...

'', ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'', ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'', ''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

'', and ''

Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, revised considerably by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madc ...

''. He currently teaches master classes there. Outside of the CLO, his stage roles include ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical theatre, musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns a confidence trick, con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and ...

'' concert at Kennedy Center Concert Hall in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

and ''The Burnt Part Boys'' with the Bald Theatre Company. He won a Level II Theatre Award at National

YoungArts YoungArts (previously National YoungArts Foundation and National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, or NFAA) is an American charity established in 1981 by Lin and Ted Arison to help nurture emerging high-school artists. The foundation is b ...

Week in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. Serafini has starred in children's series '' Scientastic!'' He began starring in the recurring role Seb Matthew-Smith in

series '' High School Musical: The Musical: The Series'' in 2019. That December, it was announced he would be promoted to series regular for season 2. Serafini appeared in a guest role in the third season. On September 23, 2022, he and

Andrew Barth Feldman Andrew Barth Feldman (born May 7, 2002) is an American actor and singer. He began his acting career in musical theater by participating in local productions as a child. Feldman won a Jimmy Award for his high school's production of the musical ''C ...

released "In My Head", a duet written by songwriters Daniel Mertzlufft and Jacob Ryan Smith about the budding romance between two young men.

Personal life

In 2020, Serafini stated that he is "bisexual, if I have to give a label." Since late 2019 he has been in a relationship with fellow ''High School Musical: The Musical: The Series'' actor Frankie Rodriguez, who plays his character's love interest on the show.

Stage

Filmography

Discography

All song credits adapted from

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

and

Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Extended plays

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Serafini, Joe 1998 births 21st-century American male actors American male musical theatre actors LGBTQ people from Pennsylvania Living people Male actors from Pennsylvania People from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni American bisexual male actors