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A warm welcome to

Matt Schwabauer and

congratulations

by Lauren Speirs on his first production

he Naples Players’ very own Captain von Trapp, aka
Matt Schwabauer, moved to Naples from Atlanta
Tjust after Hurricane Ian. He works as a carpenter at
our neighboring Gulfshore Playhouse and is delighted to be
onstage at TNP simultaneously! “Before moving, I researched
different theaters in the area because I knew I wanted to work
on both sides of the stage if I could. I have been paid to act in
the past but I was up for volunteering - it was important to me
to have something I could plug into right away.”
Atlanta to Naples might seem like a big move, but Matt has
experienced his share of moving around! “I’m a bit of a nomad.
I grew up as a Navy brat - my dad was a Navy Chaplain and
we moved around a lot. At one point, we lived in Italy for three
years. As an adult, I kept moving and getting blown around by
the wind. My friends joke that I’ve lived many lives!”
No stranger to theatre, Matt started appearing on stage as
th
young as 8 grade. “I was in my first one act that year. During
my freshman year of high school, ironically, The Sound of Music
was the first musical I was ever in - I played Friedrich. It feels
fitting to get to play Captain von Trapp after so many years of
doing that. I genuinely love the show, it’s one of my favorites.”
Matt continued studying theatre in high school and college.
“I was at my first high school for two years and then we moved
again, so I was in a different high school in a different state the
last two years. That was one of the more difficult moves. I had
a strong trajectory at the first school, but the second one was
great and I integrated really well. After that, I got my BA in
performance and creative writing at Hope College in Michigan.
From there, I took a long hiatus for four years. Once I came
back, I got into doing Shakespeare and all that good stuff.”
Matt worked at Gordon College in Massachusetts as a A Christmas Carol, the Musical at The Naples Players
technical director and production manager. “I was a team of one December, 2022
and I had to really pull from the skills I learned in school. Even
though I avoided tech as much as possible in my undergrad,
this job turned out to be the dream job I really wanted. I had All of us at The Naples Players are grateful to each and every
all of these students their freshman year and I would give them one of our volunteers - from our longtime regulars to our newbies!
a questionnaire asking for their interests and what they wanted Matt explains that he was welcomed from the moment he set foot
to learn, etc. Some would initially say that they only wanted to in the theatre. “The audition process was a well-oiled machine
participate in front of house, and then later on they became a and I felt so secure. I had the usual nerves come in but it was easy
star carpenter. All of it put together was what really fueled my to brush aside because the atmosphere was really comfortable. I
passion; getting to invest in people but also getting to make wanted to be somewhere that was putting on really high-caliber
great art.” work and somewhere I could stretch myself artistically.”
Just before moving to Naples, Matt had returned to theatre A warm welcome to Matt and congratulations on your
again after a six-year hiatus. “I did community theatre in first production in TNP’s Blackburn Hall. All of our staff and
Atlanta and was in On Golden Pond and it felt natural to be volunteers love to get new volunteers into the mix!
back on stage. When I got here, people at work told me to If you’re new to the area or just new to volunteering at TNP,
audition for TNP. Even in my research before arriving don’t hesitate to join the fun. Test your skills at the next
in Naples, TNP seemed like the most legit community audition or contact Pamela Larkin Caruso today at
theatre in the area.” 239.434.7340 ext.104 to find out what other opportunities
there are backstage and front of house!

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