Matthew-Lee Erlbach
Director of Government Affairs, Public Policy and Communication
HOMETOWN: CHICAGO, IL
[HE/HIM/HIS]
Matthew-Lee is a writer, actor, and labor activist from Chicago and New York. He has written for We Are the Champions and Gypsy (Netflix), Masters of Sex (Showtime), and for WWE, Nickelodeon, and MTV.
As a playwright, his latest play The Doppelgänger (An International Farce), starring Rainn Wilson and directed by Tina Landau premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, where he is currently developing a new play with Artistic Director Anna D. Shapiro.
He has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Laurents/Hatcher Foundation, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, Puffin Foundation, was a member of Ars Nova's Play Group, MVMNT Theatre’s Play Group, and is a HUMANITAS New Voices recipient. He also works with various homeless organizations and Habitat for Humanity.
More about Matthew.
What does being an #ArtsHero mean to me?
“This organization is a testament to the urgent need for an amplified voice that is interdisciplinary, interregional, and intersectional. 5.1 million Arts Workers generating $877 billion through over 675,000 small businesses is not an accident: it is physical and intellectual labor. And this is a labor movement."
'We are rewriting the story and scale of who Arts Workers are, what Arts Workers are, and where Arts Workers are. And we require nothing less than a dedicated Department and cabinet-level position in our government along with the short- and long-term investment that will revive our nation from this economic darkness. There is no American economic recovery without a robust Arts Economy recovery. What this organization means to me, simply, is that if we act united in purpose and principle, change is afoot.”