Pippin

Fortunate enough to be born in the Bay Area, Matt made CMT his home away from home at the age of 14 and is always thrilled to return. If you’d like to hear more about how much Matt loves and values CMT, please ask! Just bring a comfortable chair and clear the rest of your day. As much as Matt loves to talk about CMT and theater, he loathes writing about himself. Enjoy! 

With the lessons learned from CMT and Archbishop Mitty, Matt continued to study musical theater at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. During his time at CCM he studied Viewpoint and Suzuki training with the SITI Company. He returned to CCM to teach those training forms for the latter half of his undergraduate education. To this day, Matt considers teaching one of his greatest joys – there is no better way to learn than to teach! After graduating, Matt moved to New York and was lucky enough to star in many new works, premiers, tours and experimental projects. Matt spent several years at sea playing wizards, crabs, kings, candlesticks, and many, many puppets. He toured the country with Les Miserables up until March 2020 and then decided to take a much-earned break from theater and going outside all together. After ‘the thing’ was mostly over, Matt returned to theater by directing Urinetown at CMT in 2022. It was the perfect way to rekindle his love for the art form and considers the cast of that show to be his personal life savers. After several months as a snowman and a brief stint as a deranged candy factory owner, he retired to return to the directing chair. With Pippin, Matt hopes to continue his investigation of collaborative theater building. Hopefully creating a fabulous show while enriching the lives of these young folk. They are bold, brilliant, fearless, beautiful humans who have so much to share with this community and the world.  

Those who know the magic of theater know just how fragile it is. Despite a global pandemic, we return stronger than before. Proving to children and humans of all ages that theater is essential. Matt is beyond grateful for CMT, his fellow production team, the parents and the cast of Pippin for trusting him with any of their time and energy. Thank you for supporting theater and for being human. 

Shannon Self (Pippin Choreographer). For the past 25+ years, Shannon’s CMT  directing/choreography credits and collaborations have included: Cinderella, 13, Descendants, Starlight Express, Joseph, Anything Goes, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Crazy for You, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Ragtime, Mary Poppins, Jekyll & Hyde, Disney’s Tarzan, Aida, Barnum, Singin’ in the Rain, Disney’s When You Wish, The Who’sTommy, West Side Story, Leader of the Pack, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Chess, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Miss Saigon. Shannon’s regional performing credits include: A Chorus Line (Cassie, Val, Sheila); Chicago (Roxie Hart); White Christmas (Judy); Ragtime (Evelyn Nesbitt); Beauty and the Beast (Babette, Silly Girl, Carpet); The King and I (Anna); Chess (The Arbiter); Seven Brides (Martha); The Full Monty (Pam), Disney’s When You Wish (Cinderella), Something Rotten, and Mamma Mia. Shannon is a proud CMT alumna and Mainstage mom, the Performing Arts teacher at ACDS, and has a BA in Theater and Dance from Santa Clara University. 

MICHAEL McGUSHIN is a composer, conductor and pianist based in Santa Cruz County. He is

the conductor of the UCSC Chamber Singers. He served for roughly three decades as the

coach/accompanist for the music department at UCSC, retiring from this position in 2021. He is

a frequent performer as pianist with various ensembles and soloists in the Monterey and San

Francisco Bay areas. His long association with Cabrillo Stage, serving as one of the music

directors for their productions, has included musical preparation and performance on the shows

Rent , The Addams Family , Urinetown , The Last 5 Years, Cabaret , and The Music Man along

with numerous others, most recently 2023’s production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame .

Michael was the vocal director for West Valley Light Opera’s production of Something Rotten

(2022), and has recently worked as the music director and vocal director for Watsonville High

School’s productions of Little Shop of Horrors and Alice by Heart. Michael’s compositions have

been featured in recent seasons with New Music Works (Santa Cruz), Ensemble Monterey, the

San Francisco Choral Artists and the San Francisco Bach Choir. Though the premiere is

currently delayed, his opera The Nightingale (with a libretto by Lee and Lincoln Taiz) is slated for

performance in the near future by UCSC’s Opera Theater.