Slam poet Matt Zambrano performs “Cool” at the Mercury Cafe, above.

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At the DCPA: The SantaLand Diaries (also with Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company), The Liar, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, A Christmas Carol. Other Theatres: Peter and the Starcatcher, Scapin, Loves Labours Lost, Richard II, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Utah Shakespeare Festival); The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Curious Theater); tRUNks-A Live Comic Book!, Love and Potatoes (Buntport Theater). New York Credits: Broken Box Mime Theater, The Story Pirates, Accomplice: The Show! TV/Film: “The People Vs. George Lucas.” Special Awards/Training: MFA, National Theatre Conservatory; BFA, University of Colorado. National Poetry Slam Semi-Finalist

MEET MATT ZAMBRANO
Touchstone in As You Like It

• Hometown: Denver
• High School: Wheat Ridge
• College: Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder
  
• Training: Masters of Fine Arts from the DCPA’s National Theatre Conservatory
  
• What was the role that changed your life? When I was a senior in college, I had the opportunity to play Jem in To Kill a Mockingbird. It had always been one of my favorite books, and the director (Todd Coulter) was somehow able to find the right cast and make it not a play, but a community experience. I think that year there were maybe two African-American actors in the theater program, and so he had to go out and actively recruit students to be in the show. In a strange and tangible way, it made the story we were telling even more important. I knew from that point on that I wanted to act for the rest of my life.
• Why are you an actor? I don’t know what else I would do. In other jobs I feel out of place; like an owl in a spacesuit. I feel am most myself when I am on-stage, whether it’s doing improv comedy, dramatic plays, mime, spoken-word or slam poetry…I’m most comfortable when I’m performing.
  
• What would you be doing for a career if you weren’t an actor? I’ve always known that if I weren’t an actor, I’d be a teacher. I currently work as a teaching artist in New York with several groups including Disney Theatrical and The Story Pirates, and that work is truly meaningful and fulfilling. I think teaching is one of the most noble professions, and I wouldn’t be surprised if someday I ended up in a classroom.
• Ideal scene partner: I would want to do True West with Mark Ruffalo, and we’d flip a coin every night to see who plays which character. No explanation necessary.
• Why does As You Like It matter? It is a beautiful play, and one of Shakespeare’s best when it comes to word play. In Rosalind, he’s created a heroine who is both the smartest person in the world, and the most endearing. To me, it’s a play about finding oneself amid the noise and confusion of our everyday lives. All of the characters leave their lives in the court (some volunteer, some are volun-told!). But without exception, they all find their true selves somewhere in the forest of Arden.
• What do you hope the audience gets out of As You Like It? I think the audience will have a similar experience as the characters: Leaving behind the hustle and bustle of the 9-to-5, away from cell-phones and Facebook; they can sit back and lose themselves in one of the most beautiful stories ever told.
  
• Finish this sentence: “All I want is … “ to lead a good life, without regret, in the company of those I love, respect and admire. Oh, and for Carl Sagan to come back and take me to dinner at Casa Bonita. … And a lightsaber.


Matt Zambrano visited students at Denver’s La Academia school to talk about writing. Photo by John Moore.

More ‘Meet the Cast’ profiles:
Adeoye, the Cheshire Cat in Lookingglass Alice
Molly Brennan, the Red Queen in Lookingglass Alice
Maurice Jones, Orlando in As You Like It
Geoffrey Kent, Actor, Assistant Director and Fight Director in As You Like It
Samuel Taylor, the White Knight in Lookingglass Alice


As You Like It: Ticket information

• By William Shakespeare
  
• Sept. 25-Nov. 1
• DCPA Theatre Company
• Space Theatre
• 303-893-4100 or BUY ONLINE

Previous NewsCenter coverage of As You Like It:
As You Like It begins rehearsals: ‘Literally, watch it bloom’
Shakespeare’s largest female role might surprise you: It’s Rosalind
Casting announced for Theatre Company’s fall shows
DCPA Theatre Company giddily going down rabbit hole in 2015-16
Official show page