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The arcane world of popular fantasy tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is explored each month by local actors in high-spirited, entertaining sessions in front of live audiences.
Created by Dunedin actor/producer Rosella Hart, under the umbrella of her Curiouser & Curiouser company, the live “Downtime Activities” D&D sessions were debuted during April’s Dunedin Fringe Festival and proved so popular that they have continued on a monthly basis.
Led by dungeon master (DM) Ashley Stewart, local professional actors Mark Neilson, Matt Wilson and Hart herself are joined by guest performers and musician Maddy Parkins-Craig for the fully improvised events, which are hosted by the Dunedin Gasworks Museum.
The next live public Downtime Activities D&D session will be held this Sunday, July 26, 6pm-9pm at the Gasworks Museum fitting shop, with guest performer Ben Heaps and guest musician Zac Nichols.
Funded through the Dunedin City Council Professional Theatre Fund and with support from Stage South, the live D&D sessions attract a growing audience of fans and are recorded and released as a podcast at www.downtimeactivities.nz
Hart said the Downtime Activities project aimed to find new ways of creating sustainable professional creative work in Dunedin while building audiences and connections across communities.
Each month brought a different combination of performers and creatives together.
“I am interested in seeing where this can grow — I suspect there are a lot of gamers and tabletop role-playing game fans in Dunedin who could be interested in this,” Hart said.
“And for others, it’s a good chance to learn how to play by watching us forget the basic rules and how to do maths good when enemies abound.”
A professional actor with decades of experience, Hart discovered the world of D&D about eight years ago, and has been developing her skills as a player ever since.
“I have listened to many hundreds of hours of podcasts of people playing D&D, and that has really helped me to become a better player.”
She sees the Downtime Activities D&D sessions as a way to help foster the broad range of talent available in Dunedin — such as actors and local artists commissioned to create original poster artwork.
“There is a lot of potential for growth.”
Created in the 1970s as a purely tabletop game, D&D has become a hugely popular online phenomenon in the past 10-15 years, with famous players receiving millions of views online and live games selling out stadiums in the United States.
“There is a whole community online around watching people play D&D and creating art and other content around it, which is really cool,” Hart said.
As a professional performer, Hart has been looking for ways to adapt and thrive in the face of ongoing challenges for theatre practitioners, particularly in Dunedin.
“And I can see that D&D is an increasingly popular modern art form that is something that everyone can participate in.
“Once you learn how to play, you can set up games for yourself and your friends and just get into it.
“So, hopefully, we will be able to inspire people who come along and experience our D&D, or watch them online, to give it a go themselves.
“Plus, it’s just heaps of fun.”
- The next Downtime Activities live D&D event will be held on Sunday, July 26, 6pm-9pm, at the Dunedin Gasworks Museum, 20 Braemar St, South Dunedin. Entry $20. Suitable for people aged 14 years and over (adult themes and swearing), casual vibe, BYO dinner or snacks.
brenda.harwood@thestar.co.nz