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Jon Matteson

Hey, it’s me, Jon. If you’ve seen my work with Starkid, Dropout, or my own projects like We’re All Gonna Die, this is where I’ll be sharing what’s next — the shows, the chaos, and maybe even the occasional moment of clarity. I’ll be writing about the work I’ve done, what I’m trying to do, and how it all falls apart and comes back together again. If you stick around, we might even see it all happen in my lifetime.

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To be Cringe is to be Free

I can't wait to see this choreo at The Apollo this summer! “ The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying. — Stephen Pressfield, The War of Art Creating Something Messy It's ok to create something that is imperfect. In a recent livestream this weekend, someone said something that really resonated with me. "To be Cringe is to be Free." I almost want this tattooed on me. I don't know why we're all so obsessed with not being cringe....

Happy New Year! Happy New Year GIF by Vinnie Camilleri Happy New Year Everyone! Apologies for the delay over the holidays — I’ve been working hard on some new projects I’m very excited about!!! George Primavera and I wrapped up Season 1 of We’re All Gonna Die with SMOSH, and what’s especially exciting is that we’ve been asked to develop four more shows for them next fall at much larger venues! We need to wait until next fall for these shows because I’ll be at the West End doing The Guy Who...

It's ok to relax Resting Hedgehog Seriously Now, I know I need to take a dose of my own medicine here, but sometimes I forget why Goku is the strongest. Why is Goku the strongest? Goku rests. That's why. Yes, he also has magic Senzu Beans that instantly restore him to health, a hyperbolic time changer that freezes time while he trains, and he is part of a seemingly immortal alien warrior race that gets stronger after every battle, but you get the point. (This paragraph was Richie-coded.) I...

Surprise! Hello everyone! Happy Saturday! When we ran the Kickstarter for The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals: Reprised, I set a big goal: if we reached 10,000 backers, I'd give away an item that was very personal to me, - one of the two original Wigglys that I own that were from the original production of Black Friday. We got so close - (9,578 backers!), and even though we didn't quite hit that goal, as a thank you to all of you, and because we're heading towards Black Friday, I want to make...

BIG BEAR: The Insatiable Joy of Lightning in a Bottle BIG BEAR was exactly what I want to experience when I am cast in a play. The play is honest and striking and leaves you with this knowledge that you are reading and experiencing something that will resonate for decades. Very seldom do I read a play where every line and piece of dialogue feels grounded in reality and in the relationships between the characters. This is one of those plays. I say this a lot to my friends, strangers, anyone I...

REALM I have known George Primavera for a couple of years now. I met him over the pandemic, and I knew right away - I needed to work with this man. I saw him DM on Hero Club, and listened to their incredible podcast, and I knew when it came to running a DND campaign, he was second-to-none. Luckily for me, he invited me over to his apartment once a month to play DND with some of his friends (which really was the escape I needed in the middle of a pandemic, getting laid off, and a lot more...

Paul's Thoughts and Jon's Headcanons The Digital Ticket is OUT! When I started this rendition of Jon Matteson's Perfect Newsletter - Issue #2 please share this with your friends I didn't know when exactly the digital ticket would be released! I'm so pleased with the way it looks! I'm really grateful that Nick and Lauren and the team took the time to make this show look and sound and FEEL as good as it felt onstage. This - truly - is my favorite show to do, and I hope I get to do it again one...

Issue #1 GOTCHA! Good Morning or Evening to All! Some of you have been waiting for a while for my newsletter to begin and here it is! I have been juggling a lot and actively trying to transition into a comprehensive creative life, and I'm almost there.I had meant to start this newsletter while I was rehearsing The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals: Reprised! — so I figured a great subject for my first newsletter would be talking about the show, specifically each member of the cast and why they all...