From his first role as Vixen in a first-grade production of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Matt Omasta’s life has centered around the performing arts.
Even as a child, he recognized how the arts could connect people and build community.
“It’s the idea that the world is malleable, that we can make creative choices that influence the people around us,” he said. “Early on, I could feel the sense of community and the ability to shape the world through art.”
Omasta went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Drama at Ithaca College in upstate New York before working as a performer and talent coordinator for Walt Disney Entertainment in Orlando, Florida. After a few years, however, he realized his interest in arts education and in studying how the arts influence the human experience.
“I valued everything about my experiences in the arts,” he said. “They shaped me and brought me joy and helped me understand the world. I wanted to share that with others.
“We often say that the arts change lives. Most of my research looks at if and how that’s the case.”
He earned a Master of Arts in Theatre Education from Emerson College in Boston and a Ph.D. in Theatre from Arizona State University, where he focused on theater education and theater for young audiences. Omasta then held faculty appointments at Utah State University and Miami University (Ohio) where he grew his leadership career, recently serving as the chair and artistic director of the Department of Theatre.
This summer, Omasta joined VCUarts as chair of the newly merged Department of Theatre and Dance which oversees both the theatre and the dance and choreography programs.
Throughout his academic career, Omasta has continued to work as an artist and researcher, partnering with companies like Imagination Stage in Maryland, Seattle Children’s Theater, Childsplay Theatre Company in Arizona, and the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre Conservatory. Omasta is particularly interested in how the performing arts engage with the human experience.
For example, his dissertation studied how middle school students responded to a particular issue after seeing it presented in a performance. At Seattle Children’s Theater and Imagination Stage, he conducted impact assessments to evaluate the outcomes of their programs.
Omasta’s research questions often intersect with his teaching. He encourages students to set goals for their work and assess whether and how they’re reaching them.
“I want our students to be reflective artists who consider the impacts of their work. I want them to have the tools to improve their practice and better achieve their goals, whatever those might be.”
He also hopes to introduce students to the multitude of career possibilities in the performing arts.
“Students often come out of high school thinking they want to be a performer, or perhaps a sense of working on the technical side of things. ” Omasta said. “Those are wonderful and attainable options, and we encourage people to pursue them. I also want to broaden their horizons and introduce careers they may not have been exposed to in high school—from dramaturgy to teaching artistry. Seeing people discover a new interest has always been exciting to me.”
Whichever pathway they choose, he said the skills performing artists develop—such as collaboration and storytelling—are more important than ever. At VCUarts, Omasta hopes to build on the existing culture of innovation and foster students in their growth as artists, scholars and citizens.
That preparation, he explains, becomes even more important as the job market itself keeps changing.
“There’s a false narrative that there are no jobs in the arts. We’re in a time where we don’t know what lies ahead, and we want people who are able to think broadly about the future. And live performances are very well positioned in the age of AI.”
“The fact that VCUarts is opening the CoStar Center for Arts and Innovation shows a marked investment in the arts at a time when not all institutions are making those investments. VCU is demonstrating that it’s aware of the role that arts are going to play in the future.”
