Matthew Payne

Having begun his theatrical education at Malaspina College, Matthew Payne graduated with a BFA from the University of Victoria’s Department of Theatre in 1993 with a comprehensive specialization. He has also completed director’s master class with training with Martha Henry, Peter Hinton, and Josette Bushnell-Mingo.

Matthew Payne is one of the founding members and currently the Artistic Producer of Theatre SKAM. Matthew is the “M” in SKAM, which also included alumnus Amiel Gladstone as the “A”. In 2007, he worked to transform Theatre SKAM’s mandate from an ad-hoc, project-based company into one with year-round operations.

As a writer, he has created the plays The Lab, Cariboo Buckaroo (in which he performs) and My Memory’s Not So Good. Payne directed the company’s Smalltown: A Pickup Musical. He has also acted as many characters in the company’s 18-year-long history. Some roles include Louis in Louis and Dave as well as Hamlet and Macbeth in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged).

He previously worked as an instructor for the Kate Rubin Theatre and Drama Studio and ArtsReach, and is currently also an improvisation instructor at the Victoria Academy of Dramatic Arts, and teaches at Kaleidoscope Theatre School. In 2017, TheatreSKAM took over the managment of Kate Rubin Theatre School and the theatre company now runs the drama school as SKAM Studios.