Only you can answer that. Try again, hypothetical reader.

Who are you?

Good question. As the title of the site would indicate, I’m D. Matthew Beyer, a Chicago-based wearer of many hats including writer, assistant director, actor, deviser, improviser, amateur chef, and game journalist. The “D” stands for Drew, not Doctor. At least for now. A few fun facts about me: my favorite game is Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, my favorite author is Neil Gaiman, I’m pretty good at tarot, and my nickname growing up was (and sometimes still is) “Swamp Chicken.”

If you’re interested, I can explain me to you in this 45 minute oral history, courtesy of Yasmin Zacaria Mitchel.

Do you have a more “official” bio?

D. Matthew Beyer is a Chicago-based playwright, deviser, improviser, and spooky boy originally from Katy, Texas. His work stems from a fascination with the literary, fantastic, and macabre, specifically tackling the question of how to bring the rich tradition of genre fiction to the stage. His play Down the Rocky Road and All the Way to Bedlam was recently produced at the Theatre School at DePaul University, directed by Shade Murray. Other plays include Carnivores…?, The Midnight Litany, and Clockwork Children or The Rhetoric of Suicide. His plays have been produced at Gorilla Tango, the Wulfden, the Arc Theatre, and MPAACT, and have been read as part of the Greenhouse Theatre’s Trellis Readings. As a founding member of The Horror! ensemble, he has been integral to the devising and performance of every iteration of that immersive piece. Most recently, he co-created and performed in an improv show, Pirate Night at the Playground!, alongside longtime friend and collaborator Dan Sonenberg. He will complete his BFA in Playwriting and BA in English Literature from DePaul University in June of 2017.

What do you stand for as an artist?

My writing synthesizes geek culture, capital-L literature, and the macabre & fantastic & occult in an ongoing crusade to translate the rich traditions of genre fiction to the stage. I seek to animate a literature of metaphor, where mental illness illuminates, repressed memories haunt, and machines illustrate  the paradoxes of humanity. I steal indiscriminately from goth,  punk and popular culture, the writings of those long-dead, my friends at game night, and everyone in between to craft scenes whose incisive humor and compelling dialogue replicate the magic of make-believe before your very eyes. I want to punch you in the soul by lying my way into telling some kind of truth.