ABOUT THE GREAT RABBIT

I am a storyteller. I give form and voice to stories crying out to be heard and experienced. And I help other storytellers do the same.

Stories throw light into dark corners. They create mystery. They reveal magic. And storytelling is primal — as primal as the fires people have long gathered around to tell them. Through stories we entertain, teach, and inspire each other. 

The Great Rabbit is the alter ego of Matt Steele. I started creating stories as a kid. My earliest tales involved Fruit Cocktail — a white Snowshoe Rabbit that only I could see. I got serious about storytelling at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where I snagged a BFA in Film.

Everything I do — and everything I’m interested in doing — involves storytelling. Some stories I tell are grounded in harsh realities, while others are created in the theater of the mind.  My work in the film industry led me to become a copywriter who works with social impact creative agencies to help nonprofits, foundations, and social enterprises tell their impact stories.

STORIES IN WORDS & PICTURES

Run Rabbit Run

When I’m not helping social impact organizations tell their stories, I pursue storytelling through running tabletop roleplaying games (RPGs), a hobby I picked up in Jr. High, waaay back in the late 1970s as a way of telling stories with my friends. 

I run games online and in person, at game conventions, and in games stores. I’m a big believer in the personal practice of Kaizen.  Based on a Japanese word, the practice is a philosophy of continuous improvement. I’m always looking to improve my skills as a Game Master (GM) and I love helping fellow GMs improve theirs.

I put on seminars and workshops at game conventions aimed at sharing my decades of experience with GMs and Players interested in improving the experiences at their game tables.

I Am Your Host…

One of the things I’m best known for is organizing and hosting a horror-themed boutique gamer gathering I call the Dead of Winter Horror Invitational. Held in a haunted gold rush era hotel in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, this event brings together some of the best horror RPG GMs and Players I know from across the SF Bay area and beyond. Taking place between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Dead of Winter (as it is lovingly called), has been taking place since 2009.

Other thematic place-specific gatherings are in the works. Check back here for details.

If Dead of Winter sounds like your cup of tea, contact me. Note that one requirement to be invited is that we play in an RPG together.

The Great Rabbit Proudly Presents…

I put on seminars and workshops at game conventions aimed at sharing my decades of experience with GMs and Players interested in improving their gaming experiences. I draw on over 40 years of experience running multi-year campaigns, limited series, and 1-shots. I bring this perspective to my presentations in the hopes of sparing GMs and Players from some painful experiences and with the hope of creating more joy at game tables everywhere.

As a working copywriter, filmmaker, and GM, I bring a different perspective to the art and craft of GMing. My advice is practical nuts and bolts stuff that you can use right away. I don’t limit myself to a specific genre, setting, or system. I’m always trying out new games.

On the Serious Side

I work with Cosmic, a social impact creative agency as a copywriter. Together, we empower social impact organizations to catalyze real world change by helping them nail their impact story, build brand awareness, and inspire action. 

As you might have guessed, I’m deeply involved in helping nonprofits, foundations, and social enterprises tell their impact stories. I believe in the power of story to help create a more just and equitable world. Click the links below to see some of our work.

  • Arts Council Santa Cruz County

    The resulting visual brand system, updated messaging, website, and digital and physical collateral showcases the organization as one centered on equity and community.

  • Constructive Dialogue Institute

    The CDI leadership team recognized that their evolution had led them to a point where they needed a complete rebrand from top to bottom — including all of their messaging and website copy.

  • MYNT

    Mynt is a sustainable construction consultant and general contractor that’s building the new energy future. We updated their branding and messaging to reflect their current market position and the new business model they created.

ABOUT MATT STEELE

2020s

Moving my in-person gaming online, like so many others during the Pandemic, I eventually returned to conventions, gained a financially unhealthy fascination with gaming-related Kickstarters and dice, and presented my first seminar to help GMs write adventure descriptions designed to attract Players ready to play the style of game the GM wants to run.

2010s

My copywriting business grew and in 2015, I pivoted along with creative agency Cosmic to specialize in content creation for social impact organizations. 

I finally made it to Gen Con, North America’s biggest game convention in 2017. I’ve attended every year since. There I met the team at Monte Cook Games and subsequently joined their Asset Team, where I run and promote their games at game conventions and stores. 2019 saw the 10th Dead of Winter Horror Invitational.

2000s

I relocated to the seaside town of Santa Cruz, CA where The Lost Boys movie was filmed. I became a fixture at SF Bay area game conventions and became an in-demand GM at game stores as well.

I pitched screenplays in L.A. & stayed connected to gamer friends. In 2008, I started freelancing as a website copywriter and writer and producer of videos for graphic designers agencies. In 2009 I created the Dead of Winter Horror Invitational, a boutique gaming event held in a haunted and historic hotel.

1990s

During the early 90’s I worked nearly full time while attending film school at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Not much time left for gaming (I did squeeze in some), but I was learning another storytelling craft. I gravitated toward screenwriting and directing and was invited to screen one of my short films at the Director’s Guild.

After graduation, I worked on low-budget feature films, continued screenwriting, learned creative writing from award-winning poet Cathy Colman, and spent a year on the road in the US and Canada in an ancient RV.

1970s - 1980s

Born in the wilds of Wyoming, my family moved to Montana and then North Dakota for my high school days. With the nearest game store over 100 miles away, I gamed with college students who tried everything that came out. A Star Trek geek who is more of a fan of sci-fi than fantasy, the first games I ran were the original black box Traveller and Gamma World. 

When I moved to California’s central coast in ‘82, I joined a gaming group that dove deeply into Call of Cthulhu, where I learned to love character arcs. Now close to game conventions, I leapt fully in, even creating and running LARPs before the term existed. A move to L.A. connected me with more gamers and games.

Notes From
The Great Rabbit

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