Mathew J. LeFebvre Announced as New Chair

The Department of Theatre Arts & Dance and the College of Liberal Arts is proud to announce new Department Chair, Mathew J. LeFebvre. LeFebvre has been a faculty member within the theatre program for over 20 years and brings professional and institutional experience. Beyond his academic experience, LeFebvre is an active costume and scenic designer within the Twin Cities and nationally. He will serve as Theatre Arts & Dance chair effective immediately. 

Mathew J. LeFebvre has been designing costumes for theatrical productions since 1987. He was born and raised in Minnesota. Like a character from a 1930’s musical, he grew up on a farm, but longed for a life in the Theatre.  Although performing was his first love, he made a transition to design while in college at the University of Minnesota-Morris in the mid 1980s. He studied Costume Design for a year at UC Irvine, but unsure that costume design was indeed the right path, took some time off from his studies, but continued to work with a number of small theatre companies in Minneapolis.  He eventually received his MFA from The University of Minnesota. He joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota in 1997, and designed his first production at the Guthrie Theater in 1998, a production of The Importance of Being Earnest starring Barbara Bryne and Rainn Wilson, directed by Joe Dowling.

A member of United Scenic Artists Local 829, Mathew J. LeFebvre's New York credits include costume designs for Two Trains Running (directed by Lou Bellamy) for Signature Theatre, Bach at Leipzig (directed by Pam MacKinnon) for New York Theatre Workshop, and The Spy and Romeo and Juliet for the Acting Company. Regional credits include The Arizona Theatre Company, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Cleveland Playhouse, The Old Globe, Indiana Repertory Theatre, The Geffen Playhouse, The Arkansas Rep, American Players Theater, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, The Kennedy Center, Arizona Opera, Trinity Rep, Opera de Montreal, and The Resident Ensemble Players (Delaware Rep).  For The Milwaukee Rep he designed a number of productions including A Flea In Her Ear, Tartuffe, and Cyrano de Bergerac and for the Kansas City Rep including Jitney, A Raisin in the Sun, and Radio Golf.   He has designed over 20 productions for the Guthrie Theater including A Christmas Carol, The Music Man, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Night of The Iguana, Pride and Prejudice, Sweeney Todd, Wintertime (scenery and costumes).  He has designed more than 15 productions for Penumbra Theatre Company including For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow was Enuf, The Wiz (co-produced by The Children's Theatre Company), Jitney, Dutchman/The Owl Answers, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Ballad of Emmett Till, A Raisin In The Sun, Fences, Get Ready, Two Trains Running, I Wish You Love, and Gem of the Ocean (scenery and costumes).  Other Minnesota credits include The Children’s Theatre Company, The Jungle Theater, Mixed Blood Theatre, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, and the Minnesota Opera. For the University he designed for several productions produced on the Minnesota Centennial Showboat, including scenery and costumes for the finale production of Under The Gaslight.

He was featured on the Twin Cities Public Television series Minnesota Originals

Honors and recognitions include a TDF Irene Sharaff Award, An Ivey Award, a McKnight Theatre Artist Fellowship, and a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Minnesota - Morris.