MUSICIAN
Marketer
CREATIVE
I’ve never been interested in doing just one thing.
I write songs, help companies tell better stories, build creative projects, and occasionally turn bad ideas into good ones. The common thread in all of it is creativity. Not as an artistic personality type, but as a way of thinking and solving problems.
THE SHORT STORY
It started with improv. In 2004 I joined Smarty Pants Theater Company and spent my college years at Miami University touring the country, performing, teaching, and occasionally appearing in commercials. After graduation, I moved to Chicago to keep going — studying at iO, The Annoyance Theatre, and completing the Second City Conservatory program.
What started as a love of comedy turned into something deeper: an education in how people communicate, collaborate, and create under pressure. Along the way, I started writing songs and playing in bands. I also started building a career in marketing — working with startups, technology companies, nonprofits, and Fortune 500 brands, helping them explain complex ideas, launch products, and tell better stories.
For a long time, all of it felt like separate interests. Music over here. Improv over there. Marketing somewhere in the middle. Eventually I realized they were all asking the same question: How do people communicate, create, and solve problems?
Storymind grew out of that question.
Timeline
2004
Improv comedy
Joined Smarty Pants Theater Company, toured the country performing and teaching improv, appeared in commercials.
2008
Chicago comedy scene
Studied at iO, The Annoyance Theatre, and completed the Second City Conservatory. Started writing songs seriously.
2010
Marketing career
Worked with startups, tech companies, nonprofits, and Fortune 500 brands helping them tell better stories and launch products.
2014
The High Watts
Formed the band Matt Derda & the High Watts, writing, recording, and releasing original music.
Now
Storymind
Connecting the dots between improv, music, marketing, and creative thinking into something useful for other people.
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MUSIC
I've been writing and playing seriously since my Chicago years, and it has never felt optional. Right now I'm playing with Matt Derda & the High Watts — making the kind of music that sits somewhere between heartfelt and loud. Songs are where I put the things that don't fit anywhere else. If you want to know what I'm actually like, start there.
WHAT IS STORYMIND?
The most creative people I've met aren't necessarily artists. They're problem solvers. They're curious. They're willing to sit with bad ideas long enough to find the good ones hiding inside them.
After 20+ years in improv, music, and marketing, I kept noticing the same patterns showing up everywhere. Storymind is my attempt to collect those patterns and share them — exercises, workshops, and ideas for anyone who wants to think more creatively and get better at solving problems.
EXERCISES
Prompts and creative reps for getting unstuck.
WORKSHOPS
Interactive sessions for teams, communication, and collaboration.
IDEAS
Essays and observations about creativity, problem solving, and better questions.
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