Return of the Dragon Smashers

A madcap night of Dungeons and Dragons themed interactive theatre, featuring devised work, improvisation and heavy audience interaction. Following a collection of five main characters, all former adventurers who have reunited after 2 years of growth, self discovery and off-screen hijinks, who compete among themselves to see who remains the best adventurer. Held at R Bar pirate themed bar on Lower Cuba street, the event promises to be an immersive and interactive experience. Costumes and theme dress is encouraged.

'Return of the Dragon Smashers' is a devised/improv experience set within the world of Dungeons and Dragons. The show encourages viewers to engage with the story, world and characters, without necessarily requiring them to be familiar with the content. Our crowdfunding intention aims to cover the primary costs of costume, makeup, props and publicity as properly creating these colourful characters is the preparation priority for this performance.

Our team is made up of several newcomers to the independent theatre scene but with no less experience in theatre and backstage production. 

The cast is made up of:

•  Tiaki Sharp - Director, who also has several acting diplomas under his belt and is a third year Victoria student
• Sophie Jackson - Producer, Costumer and Project Lead, a second year Victoria University student with several years experience in costume creation and acting.
• Jonny O'Drowski - A seasoned actor completing his Masters degree at Toi Whakaari
• Rebecca Weatherly - Another experienced actor and third year Victoria student
• Nathan King, a highly accomplished actor with a successful record producing his own work. 

As well as our cast we have a small crew: 

• Axel Wentworth - Stage Manager, A Toi Whakaari second year.
• Alice Simpson - Lighting technician. A highly experienced lighting technician and veteran of the Wellington Fringe and performance scene 
• Sienna Rogers - Social media and marketing manager, who holds a diploma from SIT in Marketing and leadership in management.

The primary focus of our funding requests is to ensure we can bring our fantastic central characters to life to the highest possible quality, ensuring that we don't allow tacky costuming or stop-gap solutions to break the illusion of immersion we require for the best performance possible.  Additionally, as a newcomer to the Wellington theatre scene, we have to promote ourselves as much as possible to ensure our present and future success. A breakdown of our funding priorities would be:

- Costume fabric

- Props and Prosthetics

- Paints and colour

- Advertising and promotional resources

The project itself is a love letter to the Dungeons and Dragons franchise as well as to fans of the material who love to engage with all facets of the franchise. However, we also ensure that those without prior knowledge or experience can have just as enjoyable an experience without feeling left behind by the content or presentation. We present the tropes and recognisable aspects without bogging down the audience with heavy lore-rich context. You don't have to memorise the stat block of a beholder to enjoy this show, so long as you can see the funny potential of a Dwarf, an Elf and a Human walking into a bar.

With a cast and crew of enthusiastic fans, we aim to deliver a performance experience that delights a casual audience while also satisfying the demands of a much more dedicated franchise viewer base.

The spirit of Dungeons and Dragons, though it pervades through all types of media, lies in the game and the fun within which promotes an escape from reality. It is an unfortuante fact of life is that we cannot always be who or what we want to be, but what this game promotes is the opportunity to be someone else who CAN be what you wish to be, in a world that transcends our own. While we cannot change reality to give people that same gift, what we can do is offer an escape. 

The second you step inside the venue, we bring you to our world, full of laughter, emotion, chaos, and most importantly, fun. If only for a couple of hours, we hope that we can satisfy any who come to embrace fantasy and fun.