Meet Matthew Quinn of Los Angeles, CA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Quinn.

Hi Matthew, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My love of theater started back at New Trier High School outside Chicago. That is where I discovered improv, story theater, and the excitement of collaborative creation. Those early experiences shaped how I see performance: fluid, responsive, and rooted in community. Later, at NYU’s Gallatin Division, I produced my first Off Broadway show, Don Nigro’s “Seascape with Sharks and Dancer,” at the Jean Cocteau Theatre. That project showed me that I was drawn as much to producing, logistics, and supporting artists as I was to performance itself. It set the foundation for everything that followed.
I eventually moved to San Francisco California and started Combined Artform with my partner, Bertha Rodriguez. We built our first major venue, Off Market Theaters in San Francisco, a three theater and art gallery complex that I developed from scratch. When we moved to Los Angeles in 2007, Combined Artform expanded into Theater Asylum, which eventually became a core part of Hollywood’s independent theater landscape. Over the last twenty five years, we have produced, co-produced, presented, booked, or hosted more than 1500 productions across Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Edinburgh, and other cities.
My relationship with the Hollywood Fringe Festival is one of the defining arcs of my career. I was the first registered venue, served on the inaugural advisory committee, and helped create early cultural pillars like Office Hours, the How to Produce workshops, participant lanyards, the Asylum Promotion Program, and the first Best of Hollywood Fringe programs that later became the Hollywood Encore Producers’ Award. Those programs extended more than 800 shows and helped productions move on to larger theaters and New York opportunities. Supporting artists as they grow, tour, and transition to the next level is still one of the most rewarding parts of my work.
From that experience emerged new festival models, including HITFEST, which Bertha and I launched in partnership with Hudson Theatres, Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre, and other collaborators. HITFEST gives top festival shows a curated midweek platform over nine months, helping them stay visible, reach industry, and keep developing. It has been exciting to build something flexible, scalable, and artist centered that expands beyond the traditional June festival window.
I have also worked internationally, including scouting at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. My first year there was 2019, and returning in 2023 reaffirmed how powerful that global community is. I treat Edinburgh as part scouting trip, part research mission, and part opportunity to strengthen the network of artists and festivals that feed work into Los Angeles. This international connection continues through my role as West Coast scout and series coordinator for the International Fringe Encore Series at SoHo Playhouse, where I help bring shows from Hollywood, Edinburgh, Adelaide, and other festivals to Off Broadway. Some of the shows I have helped shepherd include “The Day I Became Black,” “Gil Scott Heron Bluesology,” “Wounded,” “Abortion Weekend,” “Made in America,” and “The Movement You Need.” I handle everything from scouting to logistics, contracts, visas, and the day to day support that artists need to make the jump to New York.
In recent years, my work has expanded into digital producing, social media strategy, and online performance. During the pandemic I helped produce livestream programs including the online edition of “Latina Christmas Special” with Sharon Gless. I rebuilt and expanded SoHo Playhouse’s online presence, implemented influencer programs, and grew their platforms organically. I also managed digital content and social media for the San Diego International Fringe Festival, increasing engagement by thirty percent in one season.
Today, Combined Artform + Asylum continues to support artists, venues, festivals, and small businesses in both creative and operational ways. We produce festivals like HITFEST and 30 Minutes or Less Festival, consult on festival strategy, help design systems, and create opportunities for work to extend, tour, or transition into digital and film formats.
Right now, I am especially excited about the 30 Minutes or Less Festival. It captures the same spirit that hooked me back at New Trier: immediacy, creativity, and storytelling without barriers. The short form format makes the festival accessible for performers at every stage of their career, and just as accessible for audiences who want to experience bold new work without the weight of traditional theater structures. It also creates a natural bridge between stage and film. Short pieces lend themselves to digital adaptation, pilot development, and quick experimental filmmaking. The festival feels like an open door for many different types of artists, and building that kind of space is exactly why I love this work.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. Live theater has always been challenging, and the pandemic made everything harder. Venues closed, companies disappeared, and audience habits changed in ways we are still adjusting to. Running multi venue spaces meant navigating rising costs, lease pressures, staffing shortages, and the emotional weight of supporting hundreds of artists through unstable times. There were years when we were fighting to keep theaters open or juggling so many productions that we were just trying to make it all work. Even now, rebuilding stability in a post pandemic landscape takes constant creativity, flexibility, and a willingness to rethink how the model works.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I work at the intersection of producing, venue management, festival creation, and artist development. For more than twenty five years I have built multi venue theaters, created festivals, scouted internationally, and helped shepherd independent shows into longer runs, tours, and Off Broadway opportunities. I specialize in designing systems that make it easier for artists to succeed, whether that is scheduling, audience flow, backstage logistics, marketing frameworks, or festival models like the Hollywood Encore Producers’ Award, HITFEST, or the 30 Minutes or Less Festival. A lot of my work happens behind the scenes, but the impact shows up in how many productions get extended, how many artists return, and how many shows make the leap to the next level.
My love of innovation has always been a major part of my work. It was in San Francisco back in 2002, following the dot-com era, we created Tilted Frame, the first technology based improv company in the country. Long before remote collaboration was part of our daily lives, we were connecting actors in two different cities, performing live through early broadband video tools and experimenting with split screens, real time feeds, and hybrid digital/theatrical formats. Tilted Frame became a proving ground for new models, new tools, and new ways to produce live performance—an early expression of my ongoing interest in inventing events, structures, and systems that push theater forward. That commitment to innovation continues to shape how I build festivals, how I advise artists, and how I design production ecosystems that can evolve with the times.
I am probably best known for my long history with the Hollywood Fringe Festival. I was the first registered venue, helped build early structures like Office Hours and the How to Produce workshops, and created programs that eventually extended more than 800 shows over a decade. I am also known for scouting and booking for the International Fringe Encore Series at SoHo Playhouse, where I help bring shows from Hollywood, Edinburgh, Adelaide, and other festivals to New York. What sets me apart is that I genuinely love the mechanics of producing. I enjoy creating the systems and pathways that allow artists to focus on their work, and I understand both the creative and operational sides of theater in a way that lets me bridge communities and build long term relationships.
What I am most proud of is creating opportunities that did not exist before. Helping save venues from closure, building artist centered programs, connecting Los Angeles shows to Off Broadway, and developing festivals that support both local and touring artists are the achievements that matter most to me. Independent theater has always been where new stories start, and I take pride in being someone who helps open the door, build the infrastructure, and keep the ecosystem moving forward.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
What I like best about Los Angeles is the creative energy and the mix of people who live and work here. This city has an incredible range of artists from every background, discipline, and perspective. There is always someone making something new, whether it is in a small black box, a storefront gallery, a backyard performance space, or a major venue. LA also has a generous and collaborative spirit in its theater communities. At their best, people here support each other, share resources, and lift each other up. The potential here is enormous, and being able to help shape that ecosystem has been one of the most rewarding parts of my career.

What I like least is how hard the city can be for small theaters and independent artists. Rising costs, inconsistent funding, and the loss of performance spaces have made it increasingly difficult for companies to stay open and for new work to survive. The city has the talent and the imagination, but the infrastructure has not kept up, and that creates real challenges for anyone trying to build or maintain cultural spaces. Even so, I stay hopeful. Every year I see artists fighting to keep creating, and I believe Los Angeles can continue to grow into an even stronger and more supportive arts city if we keep investing in the people and the places that make it special.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.combineartformasylum.com / www.30minutesorlessfestival.com
• Instagram: @combinedartformasylum
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/combinedartformasylum
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewvquinn/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CombinedArtformAsylum
• Other: https://www.30minutesorlessfestival.com

Image Credits
Picture of me at podium – Matt Kamimura

All others – Combined Artform