Matthew Freas

Matthew was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. His father was in the Navy, mother a nurse and until Matthew was twelve years old they frequently moved from place to place all around the globe. Matthew's father retired from active service in 1996 and moved his family to his childhood home of Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania a suburb of Pittsburgh. Matthew embraced a passion for fine arts from a very early age. He started by playing the trumpet in concert and marching band then added chorus and private dance lessons, with a strong emphasis on Tap. While attending Mount Lebanon High school he took every advantage to craft the numerous Arts the school offered such as, Theater, Tech-Theater, Dance, Vocal training, and Television productions. He was cast in lead roles in the after school musicals beginning with "South Pacific", "Lil Abner" and finally playing the "King" in the "King and I". His proudest accomplishment came when he was entered into the schools Evening Theater Company gaining him International Thespian Society membership where he played the role of "Gandalf"in the "Hobbit". In addition to his love of the arts, Matthew is a very outspoken activist for human rights and gun control laws. On 9'11 his father was reactivated into the Navel service. He left for war, and was kept away for the duration of Matthew's schooling. This sparked his anti-war activism resulting in him joining Amnesty International and political protest groups. He also began his studies in politics, law, and joined forensics. Meanwhile, the "Matthew Sheppard" incident which occurred in 1998 where a young gay man was stoned to death in Colorado was back in the news because of the movie about Sheppard and the hate crime laws. Matthew and other concerned Mount Lebanon students questioned the schools policy on prejudice, harassment and gay bashing. The school at the time had a weak outdated response on harassment and very little education on Homosexuality as it applies to a teen or how to prevent hate crimes. Eager to change and educate the hateful views of students and very few staff, Matthew was asked along with a few other brave students to create one of the first GSA(Gay Straight Alliance) in the country. It was fought by the school at first but the joyful outcry from the students won in the end and it opened Matthew up to the world. Along with excellent education from high school in the arts, and the new passion for activism, broke any fear of stage fright or social awkwardness. After high school Matthew attended two years of community college majoring in Fine arts.He then changed paths and obtained a degree in Medical assisting because he initially wanted to be a field medic and help the troops in the long on going war, but he failed the entrance physical. He then chose to work in skilled nursing. He gave five years but he still found himself wanting to be on stage in his off time. He did so by playing murder mystery dinner theater and various roles in local theater troops. In 2007 Matthew responded to a casting call for "Graduation" and was cast as a student. Very soon after his first film project he went back to school to continue learning the craft. His next chance came in 2012 winning extra work in "The Dark Knight Rises" which was shot in Pittsburgh. Due to health reasons Matthew took a break from acting but in 2014 he came back strong with stage work and background work in films. He continues to pursue his passion for the arts and still aides activists.