Magic Lagoon

In Philadelphia, Matthew directed two exceptional artists, facilitators, and friends in the creation of a powerful show called Magic Lagoon. This production dove deep into the complex waters of relationships across class, race, and genders. Dwight Dunston & Karen Orrick courageously explored the past, present, and future experiences of Black men and white women born in the US, delving into the profound racial legacies of slavery and the impact of patriarchy and sexism.

🎭 Magic Lagoon Show Details
- Monday, September 11th, 8-9pm
- Thursday, September 21st, 5-6pm
- Monday, September 25th, 8-9pm *Invited Encore
- Saturday, September 30th, 6:30-7:30pm

Location: Fidget Space, 1714 North Mascher Street, Philadelphia, PA

Tickets: Pay what you can

Audiences who witnessed the sold out show left with a mix of emotions – laughter, reflection, and a sense of lightness – all thanks to the performers' unwavering honesty. It serves as a reminder that there's always a vast ocean of life waiting to be explored.

Magic Lagoon was in Cannonball Festival and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival.

Song Bridge

You were a child, and that child is still in you. Without looking at the past and forgiving little you, there’s no way future you can get past the past.

After years of working as a teacher, organizer, and facilitator, Matthew Armstead is pushed inward to show themself the care and accept the support they show others. Through poetry, movement, and song, Matthew embodies a chorus of voices. Black people don’t have to be perfect. Queer fam don’t have to perform to be cool. We all just get to be. Yes and…you get to forgive yourself.

Song Bridge is a compassionate journey about learning to sing again. Travel across time together toward collective healing. If you’d like to experience Song Bridge with your group let me know.

“Armstead shares their journey from a place of deep healing, joy, and wholeness. The artist deliberately gives audience members the agency to take care of themselves, gently guiding them to make space for their own healing… Armstead’s piece is deeply personal and autobiographical, yet universal.” - The Broad Street Review

I Find Strength in My Vulnerability

The visual and musical mosaic project “I Find Strength in My Vulnerability” was a result of Genderfunk Philly’s Resident Artist Program, in which Matthew was a resident artist.

Throughout December 2021, Genderfunk Philly revealed the fruits of the Resident Artist Project, an initiative inviting 9 Black trans and non-binary artists to create on their own terms. There were no rules around the “outcomes” of the Resident Artist Project, and each artist will share something unique to their artistic practice. Each artist was asked to spend around 20 hours on a project of their choosing and to prioritize the process, not the outcome.

To see Matthew’s entire series, visit @mla_format_

Thank you to the Gender Justice Fund and their Trans Resilience Fund for supporting this work.


Myth Seeds (2021)

Explore new mythologies that bind us across the span of Earthen existence.
Get rooted with us. Giggle with us. Be transported to cosmological futures.

MYTH SEEDS is an online, melanin dripped theatrical experience.
Beam up with us.

Matthew Armstead, Mo Burroughs, Irna Landrum, Heidi Maria Lopez, and Rhetta Morgan are the bewitching midwives guiding you through this passage.

A green sprout emerging between tan rocks.

Online Training for Artist Facilitators

Artistic practices can strengthen people's ability to access new ideas, make challenging discussions more engaging, and add fun to work. Whether you are a professional artist or you doodle in the margins, this online course will help you:

  • Explore how arts tools can be used in facilitation and

  • Identify new ways to add more art to your facilitation.

In each session, you will practice using different art forms and identify places you can integrate arts into upcoming meetings and trainings. 

This course has three 90 minute modules.

Module 1: Unleashing visual imagination
Module 2: Shifting rooms with songs 
Module 3: Movement as communication

The registration fee is $20. Connect for access this recorded course.

Bright colored squiggled lines on a blue backdrop, border the text "Online Training for Artist Facilitator."

Under the Veil: A cabaret game night (2019)

In a world that can be so full of artifice, how do we invite others under our veils?  When we allow others in, what magic can happen and what change is possible? Come join us and discover through a shared meal, unique performances, and game play what we might achieve when we say yes to being seen.  

Under the Veil was the launch event for Succulent Synthesis. This cabaret game night gathered people from the Philadelphia region together to enjoy performances, play games, and have a delicious meal.

The evening included

  • A delicious farm to table dinner, catered by 1149 Cooperative 

  • Fresh fruit-based drinks and mocktails

  • Interactive game play designed and facilitated by Jeffrey Evans

  • Cabaret performances by Matthew Armstead, Michaela Moore, and David Underwood

  • The chance to celebrate this world and our place in it together.

Light Designer & Production Manager: Amanda Jensen
Sound Designer: Toby Pettit


2052: Five Weeks Closer (2017)

In this 45 minute show, audiences go through a portal into a world without oppression. They are met by people who sing and reflect a different way of being. As audiences enter different rooms, they like the characters become freed.

Project forward, out of the current moment. And remember we can create the futures we imagine.

2052: Five Weeks Closer was created based on the question, "If all the oppressions on you were gone, how would you arrive?" In the days surrounding the 2017 presidential inauguration, when folks were bracing for what lay ahead, this ensemble took five weeks and stretched into a vision about what is possible. This was an immersive piece invited audiences of all ages to live into wholeness as they experience three visions of a world without oppression.

Created and Performed by Matthew Armstead, Mo Burroughs, Ociele Hawkins, and Rhetta Morgan
Directed by Matthew Armstead

It was performed in January 2017 to packed crowds at the Community Education Center in Philadelphia.