Matthias Aleksander Ryan

Degree

Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with emphases in theatre, creative writing, dance and nonprofit management

Future Plans

Become the owner and operator of a successful, fully transgender-staffed theatre company and continue community development and advocacy for transgender individuals

Honored Faculty

Taryn Birdsall, lecturer in poetry, Department of Theatre, Film and Creative Writing

Matthias Aleksander Ryan is known as a multi-hyphenate artist and innovator. His work in creative writing has been published multiple times in “The Sun” magazine, and he has performed at Treefort’s Storyfort each year since 2022. He specializes in poetry, combining elements of ekphrasis and creative non-fiction/memoir into his work. He spent his early years of college as a competitive slam poet, routinely winning local and regional Boise slams. His work focuses on the body, grief and religious trauma. He has also been working as the audio visual lead for Student Union Event Services, and has served in ASBSU as a financial board officer and as a representative for the Inclusive Excellence Student Council. He was also a member and advocate for the MLK Living Legacy Committee.

As a dancer and theatre artist, Aleksander Ryan has featured his choreography in multiple Boise State dance showcases. He has been involved deeply in the theatre department, playing the role of Nibs/Detective in Tracy Sunderland’s “Lost Girl,” and serving as the stage manager for Tracy Sunderland’s “They Promised Her the Moon.” He also played the role of Paris in Pulitzer Prize Winner Rajiv Jospeh’s “Horoscope,” a play in development performed at the Boise Contemporary Theatre and the Argyros in Ketchum, Idaho.

The most impactful experience of his theatrical career was a fellowship he served in Washington D.C. at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. This fellowship allowed him to develop “Metamorphosis,” a fully transgender-staffed theatre company, while winning the Charlene Gordon Arts Impact award from the College of Fellows of the American Theatre.

Aleksander Ryan is from Salt Lake City, Utah, but has lived in Boise for eight years.

Scholarships and Awards

Boise State Foundation Honors Scholarship, Robert and Brenda Atkinson Honors Scholarship Fund, Theatre Festival Scholarship and the Fred Norman Memorial Scholarship for the Arts