Tag: Dungeon Crawl

Ending the year with a bang!

I’m coming to the end of my time writing a videogame with Tin Man Games; it’s not yet been officially announced, so I can’t talk about it in specifics, but it’s been a great project to work on. My experience with branching narratives and game design has been super useful, but I’ve also learned a lot about scripting dialogue for games, and particularly some of the considerations of working in VR. I’m hoping to talk about it a lot more in future, once the word is out!

But the end of that project means space for new ones, and there are lots! I’ll soon be launching the Terry Pratchett book club podcast Pratchat with Elizabeth Flux. We’ve been talking about this for ages so it’s great to finally be making it happen! Watch out for a special announcement in the next week on that score.

I’m also getting back on the stage after too long away from performance. First up, you can catch me in a reunion show with my old sketch group, the Anarchist Guild Social Committee, on Sunday, October 15, to help farewell the Bella Union bar at Melbourne Trades Hall.

The Bella Union has been home to so many of my shows and events over the years – including Dungeon Crawl, Splendid Chaps, the launch of both seasons of Night Terrace, and many more – and like the rest of Melbourne’s artists I’ll miss it terribly. But if we can’t hang on to it, we can at least send it off in style! So join us for a collection of classic sketches, plus a few new ones – including some written by yours truly – in a few weeks’ time.

Speaking of Dungeon Crawl…the official PAX Australia schedule hasn’t yet been finalised, but I can announce that the classic improvised Dungeons & Dragons comedy show will return for a one-off performance at the expo on the Friday evening (October 27)!

I’ve seen the amazing community that has developed among PAX attendees and volunteers with the support of the local organising team over the last few years, and I am excited to bring them an evening of ridiculous, dice-fuelled improvised comedy. We have a stellar line-up of players, with Elly Squires, Bri Williams and Jordan Raskopoulos forming our adventuring party, and some very exciting potential special guests currently in negotiation. Watch this space for more news!

To finish off the year, also returning after a long absence…it’s The Terminativity! Yes, the much-talked-about comedy musical returns, and once again you can experience the Christmas joy of an unstoppable killing machine from the future going back in time to kill Mary before Jesus is born. I’m super excited to be part of this revival of a cult hit, and to be joining an amazing cast of returning and new performers. Tickets are on sale now, and if the original seasons are anything to judge by, I wouldn’t wait to book your tickets if you want to come along…

There’s more I want to tell you, but for various reasons, I can’t – not just yet! But let’s just say there’s more in store for 2018. But let’s finish off 2017 on a high first, shall we?

Set phasers to “Laugh”…?

So said the Melbourne International Comedy Festival iPhone app. It seems they truly have embraced the way of the geek – if not entirely successfully.

Anyway, the Man in the Lab Coat will be out and about a lot this year, and while a new solo science show is still a little way off – there is one in the making, I promise! – there’s no shortage of opportunities to see me be funny.

The biggest news is that the Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour is back and bigger than ever! For the first time we have international tour guides, not six but nine performances, and no Ben McKenzie. Yes, it’s true, I am producing but not performing this year, but that just means someone else will be writing new dinosaur jokes for your edification! As well as the tour, there’s also Melbourne Museum Lunchtime Comedy, a Saturday lunchtime series science and history based comedy from some of the smartest stars of the Comedy Festival. The whole thing’s so big now that it deserves its own web site – so I’ve given it one. Head over to museumcomedy.com to find out who’s on when and where!

The main reason I won’t be doing jokes about dinosaurs is because I’ll be too busy doing jokes about dragons. Yes, the sell-out, literally underground hit of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, +1 Sword, returns for another season at Caz Reitops Dirty Secrets in Collingwood. If you’ve ever wondered what Dungeons & Dragons is all about, now’s your chance to wield a wand and swing a sword and learn everything you never knew you could know about the world’s first and most popular fantasy role-playing game. And if that’s not enough, for three nights only you can watch some of your favourite comedians from around the festival go on the archetypal monster-killing, treasure collecting adventure in the improvised show, Dungeon Crawl. You can find out lots more about the show over at my production company web site, Shaolin Punk.

Plus, I’ll be doing a few guest spots around the festival, including the comedy festival special edition of Political Asylum and the second Annual General Meeting of my old sketchtastic friends, the Anarchist Guild Social Committee. Details in the new and improved gigs list to the right, and on the [intlink id=”186″ type=”page”]Where and When?[/intlink] page.

So yeah – it’s a big festival for the Man. And there’s more news to come, so stay tuned!