Matthew Phillip Burkholder, 43, of Fargo, ND, died on Thursday, December 27, 2012 at Sanford Health, Fargo.

He was born on August 24, 1969 in Bismarck, ND to Keith and Vel Rae (Neeb) Burkholder. From a young age he was a performer, working puppets and doing movies with his friends. His first performance was as a cabbage in Farmer Jones’ garden. He performed in many shows at both Agassiz Junior High and Fargo South High. He was a member of Pizzazz at Fargo South. He attended DePaul University in Chicago for one year, after which he came back to Fargo to attend NDSU.

After a few years, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where he was cast as Jesus in “Jesus Christ Superstar” after only a week in Boston. After being in many plays in Boston, he decided to move to New York City. He attended Simon Productions, and was in many Off-Broadway productions. He worked at Warner Brothers and Bergdorf Goodman before coming back to Fargo to finish his BFA in Theatre at NDSU. He became an ensemble member at Theatre B, starring in plays and directing many of the shows. He completed his MFA in Directing in 2011 at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. He was chosen in his last year at the University as the Outstanding Student in Theatre.

In the summers, he taught at Trollwood Performing Arts School and directed Second Stage at Theatre B. Last year, he taught a class at Minnesota State University Moorhead, and filled in at Concordia College for a maternity leave.

Matthew is survived by his parents, Keith and Vel Rae Burkholder, and many other family and friends.