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Matt Denney

Photo of Matt Denney
Assistant Professor of Practice, Live and Screened Performance

Live and Screened Performance

Slonaker House, Room 107

520-621-4555

Matt Denney (he/him) is a mixed race Filipino-American Educator and Intimacy Director. A previous High School Drama Teacher, he joined the College of Fine Arts as the Recruiter for the arts in 2023, and now serves as an Assistant Professor in Live & Screened Performance. His work with drama education, recruitment, and college student development has been seen by many organizations such as the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, Association for the Study of Higher Education, and the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Matt was also recently named in American Theatre Magazine as one of the 6 Theatreworkers to know in Arizona

He currently is studying for his PhD in Higher Education emphasizing in “Theatre for Social Change” at the University of Arizona. He also co-founded the organization Consent Creatives of Arizona which works to build better and more ethical rehearsal rooms and filming sets and has received grants from the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona and the Confluencecenter for Creative Inquiry. His current research projects focus on Ethics of Care in Asian-American communities through Arts-Based Research Methods and Performance.

He is deeply passionate about Equity, BIPOC Representation & Liberation, Community-Engagement in the Arts, and Ethical Recruitment Strategies. Outside of work, he enjoys tacos from Tacos Apson, Banh Mi from Banhdicted, and Red Bean Brioche Donuts from his favorite coffee shop: HeeMee. He is also a fan of comic books, R&B Music, Anime, RomComs, and bike-riding. He has an open-door policy and would love to share space with anyone who has the time and energy. His office is in Drama 113 for whomever would like to stop by! Matt additionally serves as the Advisor for Laya A Capella: University of Arizona’s first South Asian fusion a cappella group

Maraming Salamat (Thank you very much!)

Website: mattdenney.net

Educational Background

  1. Bachelors of Arts: Secondary Education, emphasis in Theatre, English, and English as a Second Language (University of Nevada, Reno)
  2. Masters of Science in Education: Higher Education & Leadership (University of Wisconsin-Whitewater)
  3. Doctorate of Philosophy: Higher Education, researching Theatre for Social Change (University of Arizona, current)

Publications

  1. “Am I halo-halo?” Finding the Filipino-American Restorying Framework Through Consent
  2. From Untapped to Exploited: The Myriad Assets of Undocu/DACAmented Latina/o/x Students in the Midwest