Emily S. Whitten: Promote Your Awesome Friends Week!
Or at least, that’s what I’ve decided this week will be, here in my column. And it’s my column, so as Loki would say (and I am fond of quoting), “I do what I want!” Mwahaha!
Seriously, though – I have a lot of fantastically talented friends, and it just so happens that two of them are currently involved in fun Kickstarters that I think are deserving of attention. So without further ado, here they are:
1) Stage Production of Terry Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters:
Anybody who knows me probably knows that I’m a huge fan of Terry Pratchett and his Discworld series. What you might not know (even if you’re a Discworld fan) is that over nineteen of Terry’s books have been adapted to the stage since 1991 by the Audie Award-winning voice actor and Discworld collaborator Stephen Briggs, who has also voiced a large number of the Discworld audiobooks. Stephen regularly stages Discworld plays with the Studio Theatre Club [http://www.studiotheatreclub.com/LastProduction.html ] in Oxford, UK to popular acclaim; and his adaptations have been used around the world to stage Pratchett’s works.
Despite this, there seems to be a sad lack of Discworld in theater in the United States, at least in my observation. But worry not! My friend Kevin O’Shea of the excellent geeky Made of Fail podcast and productions is seeking to remedy that with a group of other dedicated Discworld and theater folks. They are striving to produce the stage adaptation of Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters from Thursday to Sunday during the last two weeks of July this year, at the Side Project Theatre in Chicago (just off the CTA Red Line; the Jarvis station between Loyola and Northwestern Universities).
Aside from knowing first-hand about Kevin’s passion for Discworld, dedication to geek projects, and overall reliability, I’ve looked at the project’s Kickstarter page, and it seems like a fun and solidly constructed project to me, with some cool donation rewards (I want a hand-knitted model of Discworld!). I think it’s worth backing, for any Discworld fans who want to see more Discworld theater in the U.S., and particularly for those who might be able to actually make it to the play if (when!) it hits Chicago in July. As of this writing, the project has received approximately 72% of the $5,000 they will need in pledges to reach their goal and stage the production. That’s pretty darned good, but they only have until April 10 to raise the other 28%. So if there are any Discworld fans out there who haven’t given yet but want to support this great project, now’s the time!
The Turtle Moves!
2) CineManiac: Horror Edition:
Ben Fisher is a funny guy. I’ve already positively reviewed some of his humorous writing in comics, and since then, we’ve become friends, and I’ve learned first-hand just how zany and occasionally…twisted his humor can be. (And, full disclosure, we are currently working on an un-related-to-this-topic project, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere). I’ve also learned that he’s a huge gaming geek, as well as a horror fan and aficionado of storytelling tropes; so when he told me he’d designed an interactive, humorous card game you play while watching horror films, I wasn’t surprised. I was excited, though, particularly after seeing that the talented Mike Henderson was going to be doing the art for the cards. Mike’s got a great style for the dramatic, the ominous, and the terrifying. (He’s also got a slightly twisted sense of humor.) Who better to do the art for a funny game about horror movies and horror movie tropes?
The basic game itself looks simple enough to play without distracting unduly from the enjoyment of watching the movie (and like it will add to that enjoyment for anyone with a sense of humor who knows horror movies); and the addition of “curse cards” to the basic mechanic of gameplay makes it sound like a whole lot of fun. As the Kickstarter says:
“But at the center of its little black heart, CineManiac is a party game. And what’s a party game without the ability to humiliate your competition? Curse cards force your opponents to reenact scenes, impersonate horror icons, and otherwise do your dastardly bidding!”
… Yeah, I’d play that game.
The Kickstarter has some great donation rewards for those of us who have a weakness for collecting original art or exclusives, like the signed original art from the card of your choice, or exclusive limited edition bonus cards. And, as it turns out, the project is also doing a giveaway contest through April 8th at the Tabletop Gaming News site, so you can also head on over there and enter if you want to, for the chance to win inclusion of your likeness in the art for one of the cards, or, for runners-up, an autographed print of art from the game.
This Kickstarter still has 28 days to go, but it needs a lot of love to reach its goal, so if you think it sounds awesome, as I do, go check it out (and watch the fun trailer!) and consider pledging here.
I’d love to see both of these projects make it to their final goals. If you would too…go pledge!
And until next time: Servo Lectio!
TUESDAY AFTERNOON: Michael Davis
WEDNESDAY MORNING: Mike Gold
