Interview: Erika Ishii on DUNGEONS & DRAGONS THE TWENTY-SIDED TAVERN

Dungeons & Dragons The Twenty-Sided Tavern is an interactive show in which the audience plays a game of Dungeons & Dragons along with the cast members on stage, making choices that determine the path that the show takes and where each of the characters will end up. The show is an official D&D show, set in the Forgotten Realms and “sporting a whole host of D&D lore, mechanics and easter eggs.”

Recently, we had the chance to chat with Erika Ishii, who will be taking on the role of The Warrior from 5 to 17 December. We discussed how they first got started in both theatre and Dungeons & Dragons, what it is like to be joining a show like this one and why this is truly a show for everyone, including those who have never played Dungeons & Dragons before!

So how did you first get started in the world of acting?

Oh, that starts when I was but a baby! My parents were below-the-line workers, a film editor and a camera assistant. They saw that I was an incredibly rambunctious child, so they thought I might enjoy acting, so I did the whole child star thing! [Laughs] I did an episode of Full House when I was little, I booked a lot of commercials, I did local theatre. I was very, very fortunate to have parents that were in the industry and also appreciated what to do with the child with excess energy!

And what drew you into the world of Dungeons & Dragons?

I think that the idea of being a rambunctious, over-imaginative child and tabletop games go hand in hand. I had a friend in sophomore year of high school hand me the Player’s Handbook, 3.0, and say, “I think you'd really, really like this game.” Neither of us wanted to run Dungeons & Dragons because we were both big theatre kids, but we kept building characters. We’d make character after character after character in the back of our English class. And it wasn't until a year or two later that I found a friend who would run a game. It all started at just the right age for me, where I knew how to play a little better with others and collaboratively tell stories and where I had zero worries about what was cool or not because, as we know, back then it wasn't cool!

What made you want to be a part of Dungeons & Dragons The Twenty-Sided Tavern?

I am a huge fan of immersive theatre, Broadway and obviously Dungeons & Dragons, and my manager . . . I can't remember if he reached out to them or they found each other, but the opportunity came up, and it's terrifying! This is my off-Broadway debut and I'm working with a lot of seasoned theatre performers. I have a theatre background, but it's been many years, and I've never done D&D live physically with an audience. And I actually don't consider myself an improviser, but so much of that is just improv, short-form games. I was so honoured because, at some point, I took classes. I was at the Strasberg Institute, the “Method School” - please include my little hand pinches in the text of this! [Laughs] But at some point you have to decide, as an actor, do I pursue theatre seriously and move to New York, or do I go the Hollywood route? I actually ended up choosing neither - I decided to make internet content! I love theatre so much, but I am not really a singer, and so I would be at a distinctive disadvantage here in the cutthroat triple threats of New York City. So the chance to come in and do the thing that happens to be exactly in my wheelhouse was a huge honour.

How was your first performance in the show?

It was so much fun! I was nervous, but it was never about, “Would we have fun? Would the audience have fun? Would these people have my back?” That was always absolutely dead set, sure at ease. I was like, “Gosh, I hope I don't mess this up or pee my pants!” And none of those things happened, so it was, I would say, a great success!

So what is it like playing Dungeons & Dragons in different environments, like a recorded show, like Dimension 20 versus live like The Twenty-Sided Tavern?

I'm lucky that I came from the world of Twitch streaming, where you'd be live in front of many eyeballs for three or four hours, so you would have to always be on in a certain way. In Dimension 20, they actually end up cutting very little, other than the math. But, yeah, like running around and I back-squatted a castmate . . . I love being in my body and being able to run amok. I love the interactive aspects of it. So those were all things that were just such a joy to be layered onto a live performance.

And so your role is The Warrior in Twenty-Sided Tavern. How did you go about creating this character?

It's really cool because there are three characters that you can choose from, or this one archetype of “The Warrior.” So you give the audience a little soupçon of information about each of them, and then they vote and find out what they've chosen. Last night, I said, “A big guy, a fraternity brethren or a pirate puss!” So it's exciting because these are three characters - two of them have been played before in vastly different ways by prior Warriors -  and one of them I got to “day-butt” - as we said - last night. They really gave me the freedom to play around with them. We get a stat block and cards with our move sets, but other than that, it's up to our interpretation. It’s really thrilling to get a chance to build each of these characters. And who knows, I have two whole weeks. I might change them up a little bit more as time goes on!

What was the rehearsal process like for a show that's so heavily dependent on audience choices?

I'm not gonna lie - it was so slick! It can be very difficult. The rehearsal process is a lot of finding the energy, finding the tone, as much as it is about memorising lines. And for mine, I was able to just slot right in, because everybody else knew their parts and knew how to support somebody on the fly. We'd practice different scenarios. And truly, every show is different. We don't know the different permutations of the actions, locations and characters. Every evening has different running jokes, or a different big, bad, evil guy at the end. So, in some ways, because it's so dependent upon the whims of chaos, I was right at home.

And what advice would you have for those coming into the show who have never played Dungeons & Dragons before? 

I love that, because I have friends from the D&D world who are coming to see this but have never seen a Broadway show! Some people came from the West Coast because they are big D&D fans or Dimension 20 fans, and this is their first time getting to see a Broadway show and be in New York. And then, on the other hand, I have friends that work in Broadway productions that don't necessarily know or play D&D, but came to this and were thrilled because it's so playful! While it is “of the theatre,” it is something a little different in a way that they enjoy. You don't really need to know the lore of Dungeons & Dragons. You don't really need to know the mechanics as much. There's little explanations, but more importantly than that, it's more about celebrating being part of an adventure. If you let yourself get swept up in being part of an adventure, being part of a team, you really don't need to know anything about Dungeons & Dragons!

Do you have a favourite character you've ever played in Dungeons & Dragons?

That's so difficult because every time I play a new character, and I'm really inside of it and shaping a world with my friends, that's my favourite character! Ame from my podcast, Worlds Beyond Number, our story, “The Wizard, the Witch, and the Wild One,” is very, very dear to me because Brennan Lee Mulligan and I were able to shape her and then also shape the world based on her character, her and my life experiences and our shared love of mythology. There's so many things that are very dear to me about that character. But again, I'm playing her right now. So who knows? Maybe the next one will come along and I'll fall in love with that one as well.

What would be your drink of choice at the Twenty-Sided Tavern?

Oh, man! I'm definitely a whiskey guy. But the whole idea of a tavern is the friendship and camaraderie - the stories are the focus and the drinks are the afterthought, the thing that you buy in order to have the innkeep not kick you out! It's nice and chilly out, so I'd say a hot cider!

And finally, how would you describe the show in one word?

Playful!

Dungeons & Dragons The Twenty-Sided Tavern runs at Stage 42. Erika Ishii will be performing from 5 to 17 December.

Photo Credit: Bronwen Sharp