Write Act Welcomes Visiting Company

DungeonMaster

“DUNGEONMASTER is the most fun you will ever have at the theater....”

- Fred Nuccio, LERNER PAPER

Enter a world where nothing is at it seems.  Enter the world of DungeonMaster.
First show at Write Act Theatre is May 14th, 7pm
Tickets, $10 ($2 off if you come in costume)
2nd and 4th Sundays every month!

www.the-dungeonmaster.com

Director  Bruce A. Young

Assistant Director Mike Axelse

The acting ensemble: Bruce A. Young, Mike Axelsen, Spenser Coates, Michael T. Coleman, Gregory Crafts, Elizabeth DeWet, Mindy Fortune, Buddy Daniels Friedman, Christopher Gauntt, Anne Mesa, Legion Myers, and Angela Roberts.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

DUNGEONMASTER is a representation of the world of fantasy role-playing games.  In these games, players each have a fictitious character that they create with various dice rolls and their own imagination.  The players then all sit around a table, while a storyteller/referee (aka, the “dungeon master”) talks them through an adventure scenario of his own devising.  These scenarios pit the players against all sorts of mythical monsters, creatures, and people with whom they can interact.

            In DUNGEONMASTER this concept is applied to the stage.  Each week, a scenario is written which provides the framework for an adventure in the land of ATOLL.  Audience members who wish to participate submit their names at the beginning of the evening and anxiously wait as six names are chosen at random.  These lucky few are given costumes, weapons (foam, of course), and the use of 10 magic spells that allow them to accomplish anything – but must be evoked through a rhymed couplet of their own devising.  They are then given a mission or quest to complete, and use their wits and physical prowess to succeed and save the day…or at least have fun trying.  Meanwhile the rest of the audience can cheer for the heroes.  Or the monsters. 

An ensemble company of actors provides the living backdrop for the show.  The skills require to perform in this format are many:  stage combat, dance, singing, mime, rapid costume changes and, of course, improvisation are just a few of the talents allowed to shine on any given night.  Lights, special effects, music, sound, laser optics and more, all combine with the ensemble to ensure a complete evening’s entertainment.

Created by Bruce A. Young in 1981 at the Organic Theater Company in Chicago, DUNGEONMASTER had a four year run and earned rave reviews performing for more than 30,000 people through over 200 episodes.  Revived again in 2001 by Bruce and then executive producer (and former cast member), Billy Campbell (The Rocketeer, “Once and Again”), it has enjoyed an equally long run in both Santa Monica, at the Magicopolis Theater, and more recently at the Whitmore Lindley Theatre Complex in North Hollywood. Now, the show is moving to their new home at the Write Act Repertory Theatre in Hollywood.

            DUNGEONMASTER is not something you can prepare for – you don’t know who will be (voluntarily) chosen to be on stage, and if you are on stage, you don’t know what’s going to happen.  And you’ll never know who will show up as part of the DUNGEONMASTER ensemble:  Clancy Brown (Shawshank Redemption, Carnivale), Tim Russ (Star Trek: Voyager), Garett Maggart (The Sentinel), and Bill Campbell are just a few of the celebrities who graced our stage.

******

“What fun it must have been to get this determinedly adventurous project launched.  This has the potential for a terrific theatrical experience, full of surprises and a seldom encountered spontaneity.”

            - Rick Kogan, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

“It is difficult to explain the charm of the arbitrary switches in the plot resulting from audience and leader [Guide] choices, but it works...”

            - Morry Roth, VARIETY

            “DUNGEONMASTER is the most fun you will ever have at the theater.  The packed house loves this theater game, and there is no reason why you won’t too.  It’s the biggest entertainment bargain in town.”

- Fred Nuccio, LERNER PAPER

“Volatile chemistry keeps this participatory theater both bewildering for virgin players and addictive for everyone else.  Anything can happen and for that, you get a hell of a unique experience.”

- Lawrence Bommer, GAY LIFE

“DUNGEONMASTER isn’t nearly as erotic as ROCKY HORROR, but it’s every bit as elaborate and obsessive.  And a lot more creative.  When you think about it, DM is an awfully sophisticated game.  I found myself amused and interested.”

- Anthony Adler, READER

“DUNGEONMASTER seems destined for a long life.”

- Tom Valeo, DAILY HERALD

“Sitting in the theater, watching the action evolve in DUNGEONMASTER is rather like being in the middle of a live comic book.”

- Janice Minton, DAILY CALUMET