Matt Mitler
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Matt Mitler (born May 27, 1955) is an American actor and director known for his work directing over 80 theatrical productions in the U.S. and Europe, and directing and starring in the independent feature film Cracking Up. He is also director of the Dzieci Theatre, founded in 1997.


Training

Matt Mitler initially trained in Humanistic and Existential Psychology, and Group Process before becoming involved with theatre. He studied with
Jerzy Grotowski Jerzy Marian Grotowski (; 11 August 1933 – 14 January 1999) was a Polish theatre director and theorist whose innovative approaches to acting, training and theatrical production have significantly influenced theatre today. He is considered one ...
and
Eugenio Barba Eugenio Barba (born 29 October 1936) is an Italian author and theatre director based in Denmark. He is the founder of the Odin Theatre and the International School of Theatre Anthropology, both located in Holstebro, Denmark. Biography Barba w ...
in theatre;
Carl Rogers Carl Ransom Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an American psychologist who was one of the founders of humanistic psychology and was known especially for his person-centered psychotherapy. Rogers is widely considered one of the f ...
and R. D. Laing in psychotherapy; and
Jean Houston Jean Houston (born 10 May 1937) is an American author involved in the human potential movement. Along with her husband, Robert Masters, she co-founded the Foundation for Mind Research. Biography Early life and education Houston was born in New ...
,
Ram Dass Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019), also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and writer. His best-selling 1971 book '' Be Here Now'', which has been d ...
, Elizabeth Cogburn, and Michel de Salzmann in more esoteric disciplines.


Directing and Teaching

From 1977 to 2005, Mitler led non-verbal, physically-oriented therapeutic workshops in a variety of settings including Hutchings Psychiatric Center (NY); The Association for Humanistic Psychology; The National Theatre School of Sweden; New Brunswick and Union Theological Seminaries; The Institute for Clergy Excellence; The Heart of the Healer Foundation; The Parliament for the World's Religions; and the graduate school of The University of Psychology of Warsaw, where his essay, ''Art and Therapy'' was published in the anthology, New Directions in Psychotherapy. He performed, directed, taught, and formed the international theatre collective ''The Tribe'' in Amsterdam, which presented interactive works at a variety of therapeutic institutions and was featured at Le Festival Mondial du Theatre in Nancy, France. Other festivals which presented Mitler’s work include: The Koln Festival, Vienna Festwochen, The International Festival of Fools, The Gaukler Festival of Mime, The International Festival of Mimes and Pantomimes (Poland), and The Theatre of Nations. Mitler has designed and directed more than 80 theatrical productions; among them, his own adaptation of Nathaniel West’s ''Miss Lonely Hearts'' for the 29th Street Repertory Theatre; the critically acclaimed musical ''Sofrito'', featuring The Latin Legends All Stars, for the New Victory Theater; and the apocalyptic epic ''Dirty Money'' (also co-author) for Teatr Am Turm in Frankfurt, Germany. He has also staged the works of dozens of solo artists and ensembles at a variety of NYC venues including The Samuel Beckett Theatre, LaMama ETC, and The Joseph Papp Public Theatre.


Performance and Film

Mitler has been a stand-up comic, a mime, a celebrity impersonator, a voice artist, and a therapist. He appeared on numerous television programs and starred in over a dozen Grade Z motion pictures in the 80s before creating his own film projects. His first film feature, ''Cracking Up'', (producer, director, writer, editor and actor), garnered a number of awards; including ''Best Film'' in The Venice International Film Festival Critic’s Week and the ''People’s Choice Award'' in The New York Underground Film Festival.


Selected works

* ''La Census!'' (2020) Promotional video for the City of New York – writer, director, designer
''Kaufman's Holiday/Sunday Night Noir'' on iTunes (2017) A literary podcast written and voiced by Matt Mitler
* ''If Not Now'' (2001) Animal rescue documentary - Writer, Producer, Director * ''National Hugging Center'' (1997) Ray Wonder music video (Sweden) - Writer, Producer, Director * ''Cracking Up'' (1995) Independent feature film about a self-destructive comic - Writer, Producer, Director, Editor, Actor * ''Macbeth, King of Scoutland'' (1993) A feature video parody of Macbeth - Producer, Director, Editor, Adaptation, Actor * ''Les Enfants Miserables'' (1992) Cult video - Producer, Director, Editor, Actor * ''Kid Scarface'' (1991), ''Dick and Jane drop Acid and Die'' (1991), ''I Was a Teenage Bride of Christ'' (1992) - Cult videos - Producer, Director, Actor, Editor


Select Publications

* ''A Note on Process: Theatre Group Dzieci'' (2013) An essay in the anthology, ''The Coming Interspiritual Age'' * ''A Human Sacrifice: Art and the Art of Theatre Group Dzieci'' (2006) Essay in the journal, ''Infinite Sensitivity'' * ''The Encyclopedia of Religion'' (1993) Profile on Mitler and Dzieci Theatre under ''Performance Theatre'' * ''The Word Made Flesh'' (2004) Essay in the journal, ''Kosmos'' * ''The Movie of the Month Club'' (2003) Essay in the anthology, ''Captured: A Lower East Side Film & Video History'', edited by Clayton Patterson * ''Art and Therapy'' (1981) Essay in ''New Directions in Psychotherapy'' - University of Warsaw Press


Bibliography




Dzieci/Mitler profile in Ecumenica, a journal of theatre and performance. In Volume 2.1, Spring 2009

Dzieci profiled in Scene, The Quarterly Journal of the International Schools Theatre Association 2009-10 December Issue 2

Matt Mitler – Theater, Transformation & The Pursuit Of Truth: The OwnStream Podcast Ep#4

Mitler interview with Guy Hoffman for Gurdjieff Internet Guide

Mitler/Dzieci profile in Working on the Inside: The Spiritual Life Through the Eyes of Actors
*
Cracking Up on IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitler, Matt 1955 births Living people American male film actors American male voice actors