In Europe from 1977 to 1981, he performed, directed, taught, and formed the international theatre collective, “The Tribe”, which presented interactive works at a variety of therapeutic institutions and was featured at Le Festival Mondial du Theatre in Nancy, France. Other festivals, which presented Mr. Mitler’s work, include: The Koln Festival, Vienna Festwochen, The International Festival of Fools, The Gaukler Festival of Mime, The International Festival of Mimes and Pantomimes (Poland), and The Theatre of Nations.
Matt Mitler was initially trained in Humanistic and Existential Psychology, and Group Process before embarking on a lifelong exploration of theatre. He personally considers his therapeutic study with such notables as R.D. Laing and Carl Rogers to be equal to his theatrical study with Jerzy Grotowski and The Polish Theatre Laboratory. Combining these two pursuits, he began to lead workshops in a variety of settings including Hutchings Psychiatric Center (NY); The National Theatre School of Sweden; and the graduate school of The University of Psychology of Warsaw, where, in 1980, his essay, "Art and Therapy" was published in the anthology, New Directions in Psychotherapy.
He appeared on numerous television programs and starred in over a dozen independent motion pictures, including horror films such as The Mutilator (1985), Deadtime Stories (1986), Breeders (1986) and Basket Case 2 (1990), before creating his own film projects, such as the award winning Shakespearean parody, MacBeth, King of Scoutland. His first film feature, Cracking Up, (producer, Director, Writer, Editor and actor), garnered a number of awards; including “Best Film” in The Venice International Film Festival Critic’s Week and the “People’s Choice Award” in The New York Underground Film Festival. Participating in the festival circuit brought him back to Europe for the first time in fifteen years, where he had the good fortune to be sponsored by The Children's Cancer Fund of Sweden to train an ensemble of actors in clowning and therapeutic technique and lead seminars in creativity and healing at the Umea School of Medicine.
Today, Mr. Mitler‘s primary focus is on Theatre Group Dzieci, which he founded in 1997. The company balances work on performance with work of Service, and is committed to art as a path for transformation. He and Dzieci are profiled in Working on the Inside: The Spiritual Life Through the Eyes of Actors by Retta Blaney, and are included in the current edition of The Encyclopedia of Religion.
Mr. Mitler designed and directed more than 70 theatrical productions; among them, his own adaptation of Nathaniel West’s Miss Lonely Hearts for the 29th Street Repertory Theatre; the critically acclaimed musical Sofrito, featuring The Latin Legends All Stars, for the New Victory Theater; and the apocalyptic epic Dirty Money (also co-author) for Teatr Am Turm in Frankfurt, Germany. He has also staged the works of dozens of solo artists and ensembles at a variety of NYC venues including The Samuel Beckett Theatre, LaMama ETC, and The Joseph Papp Public Theater.
