D&D and improvisational comedy already share much of their respective DNA: colorful characters, unscripted scenes, and a shared, communal approach to storytelling. In this way, it seems only natural that the two would inevitably combine. Although actual plays often have a comedic bent (Dimension20 perhaps chief amongst them), Twenty-Sided Tavern has endeavoured to take it to the next level. The off-Broadway show presents a D&D adventure in which the audience are active participants, choosing the performers’ characters, making some decisions for them, and deciding the trials or monsters they’ll face, all done through their phones. The show is never the same twice.
It certainly seems ambitious, and no effort has been spared in the spectacle, from the set-design to the interactivity to the incorporation of Wizards of the Coast licensed materials (this is an official D&D show). With that in mind, I enlisted Felicia Day ahead of her run on Twenty-Sided Tavern as a guest performer earlier this year to talk through what makes it such an alluring project to be a part of.
