By Abigail Vannatta, Staff Writer
A group of Newman alumni and staff have found a new stage for storytelling — a podcast built around the beloved tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons.
University Relations writer Matthew Clark, who graduated from Newman in 2022 and studied English and theater, began “The Floating Tavern” podcast in 2025 after being inspired by other actual-play D&D podcasts and web series.
“I found myself awestruck by Dungeon Masters like Brennan Lee Mulligan in Dimension 20 and of course Matt Mercer in Critical Role,” Clark said. “I did my research, ordered the mics and mixer, gathered 13 of my nerdiest, most dramatic friends and sat down to play D&D for all to hear.”
In Dungeons & Dragons, players control individual characters while the Dungeon Master narrates the world, with dice rolls determining the outcomes of each character’s actions. In “The Floating Tavern,” this gameplay is recorded with each player improvising as their character, building a long-running story that continues each episode.
The group of 13 friends includes eight other Newman alumni: Brenden Schwartz ‘22, Daniel Knolla ‘22, Marie Moore ‘22, Daniel Cubias ‘25, Corbin Molina ‘25, Minh Nguyen ‘24, Allison Tollefson ‘22 and another Newman staff member, Austin Schwartz ‘23, who also graduated with degrees in English and theater.
“Over this summer, Matthew made a plan and reached out to me to be a cast member since he knew I played D&D and am an improvisor and actor,” Schwartz said. “Almost all of us come from a theatre background and did shows together at Newman.”
Schwartz now works as the Technical Director for the Arts & Humanities department at Newman and has played a role in producing the bi-weekly episodes for “The Floating Tavern.”
“I’ve helped Matthew with some ideas or technical components, but we all have. In one aspect we all created it together because that’s the nature of D&D — it’s a collaborative game where the story unfolds naturally in real time,” he said.
Into the tavern
Clark serves as Dungeon Master, guiding the story and voicing a wide range of characters — from a wise treant to a curious “catfrog.”
“The main plot revolves around a multidimensional tavern called The Infinite Chalice, which hosts an adventurer's guild and attracts many unique and heroic patrons,” Clark said. “Each and every one of the cast members has come up with an entirely unique character that blends in such an interesting way with all the others.”
Another character is Topher of the Mystic Swamp, a young hobgoblin druid, played by Brendon Schwartz. He’s a favorite for Clark’s niece, Kynzie Weishaar, who made the first official fan art for “The Floating Tavern.”
“It has been a blast,” Schwartz said. “I love getting to play the game, especially for my friends. Not only am I getting to act for fun, but for the entertainment of others and as an actor, that’s what I enjoy — performing.”
For Clark, it’s about the story.
“I strongly believe that storytelling is humanity's greatest power. It's why I studied English and theatre. It's why I still write to this day. It's why I play Dungeons and Dragons. It's important to me that the philosophy of storytelling is at the heart of anything I do,” he said.
This is why they now close each episode with a mantra, Clark said: “Be bold, tell stories, and may you always be the master of your fate.”
Already 11 episodes in, “The Floating Tavern” is released every other Friday and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music. Listeners can also follow the show on Instagram at @thejourneymannerds and TikTok at @journeyman.nerds for behind-the-scenes content and highlights.
PHOTO: Courtesy
