H-F offers several clubs that tend to students aspirations, hobbies and likes; one being the theater program. Senior Sullivan Matthys, is one of the many beloved talents here in said program. 

Becoming a part of the world of theater came as a surprise to him, and yet he is now on his fourth year in the program. From his first show being Mamma Mia to his most recent performance in the production Monster Songs, Matthys has gained a lot of experience over the past few years.

He talks about his introduction to the activity. 

“When I was a freshman I tried out for soccer and didn’t make the team, which led me to try out for theater. I wasn’t going to try out because I thought I wasn’t going to make it because normally freshmen don’t make it for shows. I ended up making the show which was Mamma Mia, I believe. It was a fun experience that opened the door to the theater for me.” 

Theater is not just an extracurricular for Matthys, but rather a second family to him and an outlet for self expression.

“I think [my favorite part is] the community and the people in it. It’s a very welcoming place that allows me to express myself. And also just being around people that like the same things as me, like acting and singing, as well.” 

Though being in theatrics isn’t something Matthys foresees or plans to do in his future, he has several takeaways from being in the fine arts that he plans to carry with him on his way out of high school.

“I’m not particularly looking to go into theater in college, but it [theater] has helped me a lot with finding a community and learning to work with the people. Also [helped with] with being adaptive to situations when something doesn’t go as planned and finding ways to combat that to make something good out of it.” 

That same sense of community that Matthys speaks about is one of the main factors contributing to his enjoyment in being involved in the program, and something that he will miss as he ventures out to do new things further down the road.

Though his future doesn’t lie in performing, it’s safe to say that Matthys is a pinnacle of the theater program here at H-F and an admirable performer.