Freshman year at Rowan University, I sat beside my friend, Kerry, and played a few chords for him.

 

“Kerry, I’m going to write a musical, these chords are going to be the opening, and you’re going to direct it. Sound good?”

 

His response: “Sure, Matt."

 

When I set my mind to something, and I really, truly want it, I make it happen. Those chords became the opening of "A Mechanical Life," the opening number of Trigger Warning: A Melancholy Musical. After 3 years, two workshops, countless nights up writing and composing, collaboration with talented artists (many of whom have become my greatest of friends), and people who have touched this show with their hearts and spirits, Trigger Warning was the first student-written original musical to ever premiere at Rowan University. For that, I am proud.

 

The show is an exploration of grief, coping, and the romanticizing of the dead—all through the lens of a common high school. As a writer, I've always found myself drawn to the young- and new-adult experience, but also find that it's often trivialized in popular media. So, like Trigger Warning, a lot of my work depicts the genuine experience of young adults, treating them like real people with problems relatable to all ages.