Announcing the development production of Tabletop The Musical
MB Stage Productions announces the final workshop of Tabletop The Musical, returning this November for three weeks only!
LOS ANGELES, (September 20th, 2023) Tabletop The Musical, book and music by Chad Sundman and book and lyrics by Race Benaglio, returns to the stage November 3rd, 2023. Rolling initiative alongside MB Stage Productions once more, they reunite with creative producers Jared Tyrel Pixler, Katie Lynn Mapel, and David Evan Stolworthy. What is creative producing without multiclassing? Katie Lynn Mapel flexes her proficiency in casting, David Evan Stolworthy dons his dramaturgical red pen, and Jared Tyrel Pixler partners with (staged!) combatant Marc Leclerc to create fights that would leave barbarians blushing. Joining the MB Stage Productions party is dance choreographer with true bardic inspiration, Kelsey Sundman! Opening November 3rd and running through November 19th, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at The Actors Company in the Let Live Theater (916 N Formosa Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046). Tickets on sale now!
A love letter to TTRPGs, Tabletop The Musical is a heartwarming, dungeon-delving good time – reminding ourselves that we don’t have to live in a world of fantasy to find the life we are searching for.
Every week, Eric and his friends gather at the local game shop to play their favorite tabletop roleplaying game. It’s the start of a fresh campaign and the party is ready to roll initiative until a new player joins the fray. It isn’t long before the party is forced to face their own critical failures and find support in one another before dark forces destroy more than the land of Vaelrun. In its final workshop stages, Tabletop The Musical addresses the importance of being true to oneself, the toxicity of gatekeeping culture, and the necessity for fantasy when reality deals a fatal blow.
Tabletop The Musical
Book and Music by Chad Sundman
Book and Lyrics by Race Benaglio
LOCATION:
The Actors Company: Let Live Theater
916 N Formosa Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046
DATES:
Friday November 3, 2023, 8:00 PM
Saturday November 4, 2023, 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM
Sunday November 5, 2023, 6:00 PM
Friday November 10, 2023, 8:00 PM
Saturday November 11, 2023, 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM
Sunday November 12, 2023, 6:00 PM
Friday November 17, 2023, 8:00 PM
Saturday November 18, 2023, 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM
Sunday November 19, 2023, 6:00 PM
TICKETS:
Tickets available at mbstage.com/tickets
$25-$50, limited PWYC tickets.
CAST:
Brock Birkner as Eric
Skylar Gaines as Luke
Nyx Ciel as Ken
Mayila Jones as Valerie
Juliet Johnson as Sarah
Antonio Vaghi as Brandon
Ember Everett as Aubrey
Maddie Wurth as Emily
Kristen Pickrell as Lyla & U/S Aubrey
Raleigh Tyler as Mayor & Dance Captain
Nikki Marie as Korrow
Linda Bard as Ensemble & U/S Valerie
Zoe Preall as Ensemble & U/S Lyla
Emily Grace Garguilo as Ensemble
Kristen Espinosa as Ensemble
Leilu Wasielewski as Ensemble
PRODUCTION TEAM:
Creative Producer/Director: Race Benaglio
Creative Producer/Casting Director: Katie Lynn Mapel
Creative Producer/Fight Coordinator: Jared Pixler
Creative Producer/Dramaturg: David Evan Stolworthy
Creative Producer/Music Director: Chad Sundman
Stage Manager: Jesse Fiene
Production Manager: Alysia Cruz
Assistant Stage Manager: Sarah Ruttan
Dance Choreographer: Kelsey Sundman
Fight Director & Choreographer: Marc Leclerc
Lighting Designer: Lacey Shaw
Costume Designer: Max Mericle
Costumer: Julie Sundman
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION:
Tabletop The Musical is a love letter to a historically misunderstood pastime, presented in a medium that has touched people for generations. It’s a show about Tabletop RPGs, an activity that brings people together in a way that nothing else can by allowing people to create, laugh, love, cry, and experiment with life in a safe and comfortable environment.
Tabletop The Musical has been in development for over 8 years, evolving from 5 friends reading a one-act play in Chad’s game room, through several staged readings, cabarets, and an encore-winning run at Fringe Festival 2019. The reception and support so far have been incredible, reaching beyond friends and family to actors, writers, and producers all over Los Angeles to participate in read-throughs, talk-back sessions, dramaturgical discussions, harmony workshops and countless other forms of inspirational help. Over 100 people have been involved in the process thus far, dedicating their time, emotions, ideas, and money to get Tabletop The Musical to where it is today.
We’re proud of the newest version of the show, and we want to share it with as many people as possible. To that end, Chad and Race have teamed up with MB Stage Productions to self-produce the show. We are excited to have you witness a wonderful story with an important message and a touch of dice-rolling chaos.
After this workshop we hope to bring Tabletop The Musical to you in a full production format. Thank you for your support!
ABOUT MB STAGE PRODUCTIONS:
MB Stage Productions, LLC specializes in nerdy, experimental theatre. With a foundation in interactivity and nerd aesthetics, MB Stage Productions strives to be on the leading edge of theatre. MB Stage achieved success with their 2015 Hollywood Fringe production of THE VIDEO GAMES, an audience-interactive parody of the Hunger Games book series and the Super Smash Bros game franchise. The production company has participated in the Hollywood Fringe Festival every year since 2014 with a focus on workshopping nerdy and queer productions ranging from TTRPG musicals to coming-of-age autofictions. This year, MB Stage will be workshopping two productions with trans-centric stories and a sapphic supernatural one-act. In addition, MB Stage Productions will enter its eighth year of running a performing arts and youth summer camp in conjunction with Edutainment Arts and the Torrance YMCA. MB Stage has two theatre divisions: Nerdy Theatre, a division for all things interactive, immersive, and experimental, and Nerds Gone Deep Theatre, a nerdy take on serious, hard-hitting issues and themes.
CONNECT WITH MB STAGE PRODUCTIONS:
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Katie Lynn Mapel (Creative Producer; she/they) has been a creative producer, casting director, and designer with MB Stage Productions since its inception in 2013. She is a graduate of AMDA: The College and Conservatory for the Performing Arts with a BFA in Musical Theatre and a certificate in Makeup Artistry from EI, School of Professional Makeup.
Selected previous producing and casting credits with MB Stage include: THE VIDEO GAMES (Los Angeles, Fringe Festival, and convention touring casts), THE STUDY, Winter is Coming: A Musical Parody, Ghosts Can’t Pay Rent, The Year That Carrie Fisher Died, and Boom, Headshot! A Geek Tragedy.
Jared Tyrel Pixler (Creative Producer; he/him) has directed and produced several award-winning productions across Southern California and in New York, Off-Broadway. Jared is a graduate of The California Institute for the Arts (CalArts), earning an MFA in Theater/Creative Producing, and holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from AMDA.
He is a passionate theater arts educator and has spent the last seven years working with the Torrance YMCA to build an arts-centric summer camp program. His graduate thesis Finding Value in the Arts guides him to focus on arts education, outreach, and accessibility. His chief interest is and will always be Nerdy Theatre and choice-driven narrative storytelling. In his spare time, he plays video games, enjoys frequent trips to Disneyland, travels, and visits his family.
Producing credits: Nightwalk at the Chinese Garden (CalArts, CNP), The George Project (CalArts, CNP), To Remember a Friend (Video Game, CalArts), MB Stage Productions’ THE VIDEO GAMES, Winter is Coming: A Musical Parody, THE STUDY, Tabletop The Musical, etc.
Directing credits: Tabletop: The Musical, THE VIDEO GAMES, THE STUDY, Winter is Coming: A Musical Parody, Just One Moment, Revenge Song (Geffen Theatre, Assistant Director), Boom, Headshot! A Geek Tragedy, etc.
David Evan Stolworthy (Creative Producer; he/him) David Evan Stolworthy (He/Him/His) has been a creative producer, resident playwright, and dramaturg with MB Stage Productions, LLC since his world premiere production of Roommates: The College Guide to Sharing Your Closet in 2014. Since joining MB Stage Productions, David has written and produced several award-winning productions all across Southern California and in New York, Off-Broadway (THE VIDEO GAMES).
Producing credits include: THE VIDEO GAMES (LA/NYC), Winter is Coming: A Musical Parody, THE STUDY, Tabletop: The Musical, Ghosts Can’t Pay Rent, Boom, Headshot! A Geek Tragedy, The Year That Carrie Fisher Died, etc. Writing credits include: Roommates: The College Guide to Sharing Your Closet, Just One Moment, THE VIDEO GAMES, THE STUDY, Winter is Coming: A Musical Parody (Book), etc.
David is a graduate of AMDA: The College and Conservatory for the Performing Arts (‘14), earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting. He is currently pursuing a Creative Writing MFA with concentrations in Performativity and Writing and Its Publics at the California Institute of the Arts (Class of ‘24).