Meet Matthew Harskowitch, a sophomore at Derry Area High School, whose passion for theater and film knows no bounds. With dreams of becoming a director, Matthew’s journey in the world of storytelling is already off to an incredible start.
“I think film is the best medium for telling stories because it’s production design, acting, sometimes singing, writing, or filming,” Harskowitch passionately expresses. “It’s like all of these amazing art forms brought together into one unifying thing.”
Matthew’s achievements within the theater scene are impressive. He’s now in his second year participating in the All Class Play, building on his experience in last year’s musical, “The Sound of Music.” But his talent extends beyond the school stage.
Outside of Derry Area, Matthew is a member of the Westmoreland Performance Arts Center, where he performed in the musical “Heathers.” What makes this accomplishment even more remarkable is that he was awarded a scholarship for the program, thanks to some valuable recommendations.
“I think it was Mrs. Smeltzer and Aiden Yates who told them that I would be a good candidate for a scholarship,” Harskowitch recalls. “I was on stage, and they called my name for the scholarship; it was a very cool experience.”
But that’s not all that Matthew has up his sleeve. He’s also a content creator on YouTube, operating under the name M.T.H Productions. On his channel, he unleashes his creativity by portraying a variety of comedic characters in amusing video skits. It all began after a math class incident that inspired his first character, Joe Matthew Schmoe.
“In math class, we were trying to do funny British accents, and it was really bad; mine did not sound British at all. So I said, okay, this will be a fun character,” Harskowitch explains. “My character’s name was Joe Mathew Schmoe, because Joe Schmoe was a character in a math problem.”
Matthew launched his YouTube channel in 2019, but his dream of becoming a director was born long before. At the tender age of 3, after watching “Finding Nemo,” he was captivated by the magic of the film and set his sights on directing.
“I’ve known that I wanted to be a director since I was 3 years old,” Harskowitch shares. “I saw the movie ‘Finding Nemo’ for the first time, and as I was watching it, something just happened in my brain that said, I want to do this. I want to make movies.”
In his spare time, you’ll find Matthew engrossed in script books, with his latest read being the screenplay for “Asteroid City” by one of his favorite producers, Wes Anderson. Matthew is also venturing into writing by crafting his very own screenplay, one that delves into the history of Derry borough and township.
“I realized that a lot of people really don’t know about the history of Derry,” Matthew explains. “I feel like the people that live here just think it’s always been kind of boring. I’ve never really believed that, so I’ve been doing a lot of research about Derry’s history for the screenplay.”
Matthew Harskowitch is undoubtedly a rising star in the world of theater and film, and who knows where his boundless creativity and passion will take him next.
