Dimension 20 and Worlds Beyond Number‘s Erika Ishii is the latest Dungeons & Dragons celebrity to contribute their actual play and improv prowess to The Twenty-Sided Tavern‘s increasingly impressive Wild Magic Table.
The Escapist caught up with Ishii directly after their off-Broadway debut to discuss the staged adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons, flexing their literal and figurative actual play muscles as The Warrior, and what it means to follow in the legacy of immersive theater icon David S. Pumpkins.
The Escapist: I had the opportunity to talk to Felicia Day and Travis McElroy before they came to The Twenty-Sided Tavern, but that was before they arrived here and I’m getting the chance to talk to you right off the heels of your first performance. So, how was that experience coming in, and what did the rehearsal process look like?
Erika Ishii: The rehearsal process was so well run! I think they planned a little extra time because there are so many movements, so many moving parts. There’s so much to take in at one time.
However, Aabria [Iyengar] and I have discussed that it feels like actual play people were built in a lab for this. The idea of: “Okay, here is a character. Go!”
I mean, you have certain beats…it’s such an interesting concept, because it has to be planned so precisely but, within that, there is so much that is left up to your improvisational chops. Which is both terrifying and also means you can kind of slot in pretty easily.
It’s one of the greatest honors of my life to be on an off-Broadway stage with seasoned performers because I have somewhat relevant experience in my field. These performers have my utmost respect and admiration, and I feel so grateful that I got to come in and do a couple of rehearsals and just feel so safe and supported and “yes anded”.
Between that rehearsal process and the show tonight were there things that still managed to take you by surprise during the performance itself?
The beautiful thing about this show is that something can be a surprise, but nothing feels scary. I don’t know what the Big Bad Evil Guy’s gonna be, I don’t know the character’s relationships to each other, I don’t even know which of the three characters I’ll play that evening, but nothing feels like an unpleasant surprise. We all have to continue to think on our feet, but it is just in the most joyful, playful way.
Those three characters you touched on are all under the umbrella of The Warrior. How does it feel to be coming into The Twenty-Sided Tavern as The Warrior?
Well, I was quite flattered. Especially when there’s Maddie [Murphy] with the muscles.
I think that [all] the guests have been perfectly put into each role that they were meant for!
You touched on talking to Aabria, but have you talked to any of the other past guest stars of The Twenty-Sided Tavern? Have they passed on any advice or wisdom before you came in?
I got to do my rehearsals with Aabria’s rehearsals, and then she went directly into her shows. I got to see her shows, I got to see some of Felicia’s shows, and Travis texted me some words of encouragement.
All of them said: “It is a very physical show, be prepared for that. Actually…you’re probably pretty prepared for that, you work out a lot.” Which was very kind. They all said that it’s a lot of energy, but all of them said: “You’re gonna have the best time!”
Okay, so not to pull up social media receipts, but you did Tweet that David S. Pumpkins is the most famous example of immersive theater. After tonight, do you still stand by that?
I would say that [he] is the most prominent example of immersive theater, so far.
Truly, I think that [The Twenty-Sided Tavern] is on the cutting edge in many respects. It has the feeling of playing Dungeons & Dragons and being a part of a D&D group, even for the people who are part of the audience.
A lot of D&D friends of mine have come to the show who have never gone to see a Broadway play, and a lot of Broadway people that I know have come to this show who have never played D&D, and all of them had the same takeaway of: “Wow, this is such a fun adventure, and I felt so much a part of it.” Which, is the same feeling you might take away from being in a haunted elevator with David S. Pumpkins.
But, in this case, I would love to see this show anywhere else in the world. I think there’s so many places other than just New York or Chicago or now Sydney that would love to see it. I think it would fire up so many young imaginations. If I had seen this when I was little, I think that it would have really, truly changed my life.
Do you think it would’ve been the thing that had jumpstarted getting you into D&D if you had seen this at a young age?
Yes. I would have absolutely gone home and I would have started playing games. Even if I didn’t have a book, even if I didn’t understand anything about lore or dice rolls or mechanics, it will still encourage me to go home and play pretend with my friends. To tell stories collaboratively.
And I was very lucky that I came onto that earlier on, too. I mean, I started playing D&D in high school. So, it’s been, what is it? Almost 20 years now, maybe?
I just think the idea of getting to be involved in a grand adventure is so thrilling.
What do you think makes the theater a special setting to expose people to the game?
This could be a contentious opinion, but I feel like it, in some ways, elevates and legitimizes it. I have family who couldn’t tell you what an actual play was or what Dropout was, but are like: “Oh, I’d love to see an off-Broadway show that you’re in!”
It makes it more accessible for an audience that wouldn’t think [Dungeons & Dragons] is for them – but it is! It really, truly is for everyone. I think that anything that makes something more accessible to people is really wonderful.
I want to talk to you about your personal history with D&D. Of the characters you’ve played or the actual play campaigns you’ve played in, is there one that you would love to see as a Broadway show?
[Laughs] Oh my goodness!
I truly think that [Dimension 20] Burrow’s End could be an A24 film or a horror thriller musical. I would love to see that!
Aabria has this truly cinematic and deep, evocative way of building her worlds and her stories that would mesh really well with theater or with high art films.
I wanted to talk about Worlds Beyond Number a little bit because it’s truly so phenomenal. One of the things I’ve loved about the show is getting to see you step behind the GM screen for multiple arcs. How did it feel to make that leap into running some stories?
It’s terrifying because I’m literally filling the shoes of the biggest names in the game. But, at the same time, those people who are the best in the world at this are on the other side of the screen wanting me to succeed and being able to take everything I say and “yes and” the hell out of it until we have a chicken with a cloaca gun.
The better the people you’re working with, the easier it is for you. I am, by nature, very critical of my own talents. But even I am willing to look at something like Worlds Beyond Number and say: “Yeah, we really are doing it like nobody else.”
I cannot believe that I get to tell stories that move people beyond just the people that I love and tell them with.
Now that you’ve had that experience running some games, have you been bitten by the bug to run more stories? Are there any goals in terms of a system you’d love to run or a story you’d love to tell?
Oh, absolutely! The dream for Worlds Beyond Number is that each of us gets a turn to really entrench everybody in our world and our narrative.
This [current] chapter is the end of this book for The Wizard, The Witch, and The Wild One, then we’ll move onto Aabria’s sci-fi world. I’m so thrilled to really get to live in that universe that she creates.
And yeah, I’m already starting to think about what it is that I want to do. What story do I want to tell? What world do I want to live in for a couple of years with these absolutely phenomenal storytellers?
Do you have any thoughts at the moment you could tease or are you still thinking about it?
It’s really hard, because sometimes I’ll think of [something] and think: “That’s a bit. That is a five episode bit.”
It’s so interesting because I did get into all of this to tell the stories that I want to see in the world. In a lot of ways, no story is 100% new. I think that certain stories deserve to have more light shone on them, and I have to figure out what I can say or do that’s worthy of that.
I wanted to ask about another TTRPG you’re involved in, Critical Role. Are you aware of how much paranoia you’ve sown in the fanbase about Yu?
See, that was the ultimate dream as a very fluid personality actor. It’s the idea that you could be anyone.
In fantasy worlds, the idea of being a shapeshifter was both so exciting to me and kinda frightening. Because, when you can be anybody, who are you? And there’s a lot of different threads that I’d really love to explore with Changelings, or in science fiction they have all kinds of shapeshifters, and then in Japanese mythology the shapeshifting foxes, the Kitsune. It’s always fascinated me since I was little. So, to find a character, and kind of a sinister character, that has those traits was so much fun.
And Matt [Mercer] and I got to discuss beforehand what this might mean for the meta of the game. Would [the party] always be looking over their shoulder?
One thing that I wanted to ask that I had the chance to ask both Felicia and Travis was that if you could play or run a TTRPG game in the world of any Broadway show, which would you choose?
My god! That’s a really good question. [Pauses]
There are no wrong answers.
So, I’m a huge fan of The Play That Goes Wrong and The Goes Wrong Show. I ended up getting to meet up with those people because they have a D&D podcast called Hell or High Rollers. I would love to run Roll for Shoes in that world.
Cause there’s the different, the meta of the characters. You have the arrogant blowhard [architype], and the straight-man director trying to keep everything together. I love the idea of, especially since things just keep going wrong and it escalates and people get more and more outlandish as the show goes on, the idea of something like Roll for Shoes that escalates in wackiness with that universe.
That’s a great answer.
Thank you!
Felicia and Travis both said Cats, by the way.
Damn, that’s also real good. That’s a fever dream of an idea!
Is there anything else you want to add about The Twenty-Sided Tavern before I let you go to celebrate for the evening?
These performers are so incredibly generous and welcoming and supportive. And as a fan of immersive theater, musicals, and stage plays and tabletop games this was the dream. I cannot believe that they let me be part of this.
And I hope that more people have the opportunity to take part in this, both on stage and in the audience.
Erika Ishii lets chaos reign in The Twenty-Sided Tavern for a limited run from December 5 through 17. Tickets to their shows and all future enchanted engagements at New York City’s Stage 42 can be found on the off-Broadway show’s official website.
Published: Dec 9, 2024 07:56 am