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[0:00] Tori Bullard: We would like to acknowledge the Thorowell people of the Eora Nation and the Warundari people of the Kulin Nation.

[0:06] Tori Bullard: We pay respect to the traditional custodians of this land on which we work, live and record, and strive to continue in the tradition of Australia's first storytellers.

[0:15] Tori Bullard: We acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded.

[0:17] Tori Bullard: Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.

[0:26] Tori Bullard: Alright everyone. So today we've got William Kasper from Twenty-Sided Tavern coming in with his bedtime story.

[0:34] Tori Bullard: So Will, have you got a little stage mishap or a bedtime story for us?

[0:38] William Kasper: Oh yeah. Um just relax, lay back and listen to my voice.

[0:48] William Kasper: No, um look, I don't know. I I don't know if this is, you know, bedtime stories to me are meant to be relaxing, and this is all anxiety inducing. Um but my job as Dungeon Master involves playing lots of different characters.

[1:05] William Kasper: Uh I play every supporting role in the show. And the difference between my characters and the main characters is that all of mine get named by the audience.

[1:16] William Kasper: I find a volunteer, they name the character. Uh and the amount of nightmare situations that come from people naming my characters really mean names.

[1:31] William Kasper: And so one of them, one of the shows, this was, oh god, it was a nightmare. So I come in as this wizard.

[1:39] William Kasper: This all-powerful, like two hundred year old wizard who's needing people to join him on his quest. And I, you know, I go up to the front and I pick an audience member and I go, oh, this person's name is what?

[1:53] William Kasper: And this person just goes, they freak out and they just go, Magic.

[1:57] William Kasper: So the name of my wizard was Magic.

[2:00] Tori Bullard: Oh.

[2:01] William Kasper: Do you know? Do you want to know what a really common word that a wizard says?

[2:05] Tori Bullard: Oh, is it magic?

[2:07] William Kasper: Magic.

[2:08] William Kasper: So it was Magic talking about magic. And so for this whole scene, I was Magic talking about magic, and I disappear in a puff of magic, and there's magic, and it was just awful.

[2:19] William Kasper: And I mean the audience loved it because they'd love to see me in pain.

[2:23] Tori Bullard: Oh yeah.

[2:24] William Kasper: Um, and then we get to a couple scenes later, where we have to name another character.

[2:32] William Kasper: This character is another wizard. And the name I got for them was Spells.

[2:39] Tori Bullard: Oh no.

[2:40] William Kasper: And then I have to do one of the only scripted monologues in the whole show.

[2:46] William Kasper: Which is a monologue about my wizard and the other wizard.

[2:51] William Kasper: Magic and Spells.

[2:52] William Kasper: So I did a full two-minute monologue talking about Magic and Spells, performing Magic and Spells that affected the lives of Magic and Spells.

[3:00] William Kasper: And it was Magic and Spells and Spells and Magic.

[3:03] William Kasper: And I had a full connection on stage. I lost half of my lines, which all give cues for the lighting team.

[3:11] William Kasper: And so I had to like go back on the monologue and redo lines just so they could get the cues out.

[3:18] William Kasper: And I just collapsed, like I just, I, I, and it was just a whole audience of people losing their minds watching them break the Dungeon Master about 30 minutes into the show.

[3:31] Tori Bullard: Oh wow, that's not very far written.

[3:33] William Kasper: That's not very far written.

[3:34] William Kasper: Not far in.

[3:36] William Kasper: And I was just like, oh god, the amount of lines I, in that monologue in particular.

[3:41] William Kasper: If I get a, if I get a rough name for that monologue, it can be awful.

[3:45] William Kasper: The other day.

[3:48] William Kasper: The other day we had all my bedtime stories just about this monologue.

[3:53] William Kasper: It's the bane of my existence.

[3:56] William Kasper: And the other day we got another name for this wiz, for this other wizard.

[4:00] William Kasper: And it was Powerful Wizard the Fifth, but in that name there were seven apostrophes.

[4:09] Tori Bullard: Oh.

[4:09] William Kasper: That was a specific we got from the audience.

[4:12] William Kasper: So it was our before, is it the, if your full monologue just lagging like I was on a Zoom call.

[4:21] Tori Bullard: Um, that is cruel.

[4:24] William Kasper: That is cruel.

[4:25] William Kasper: Um, so my bedtime story is about really mean audience members making my life really hard.

[4:35] William Kasper: It's the only scripted monologue in the show. Like it's the only monologue that I have to do the same every night, and there's like 12 projections going on behind me that I have to give cues for.

[4:47] William Kasper: I can't improvise this monologue.

[4:49] Tori Bullard: Oh no.

[4:50] William Kasper: So when I have to talk about Magic and Spells 27 times, and then the lighting team doesn't know if I'm giving them a cue or a name.

[4:58] William Kasper: Like they don't know what's going on either.

[5:01] William Kasper: So the moral of the story is when you go see Dungeons and Dragons for 257, give Will really hard names or Robin the Third of it.

[5:12] Tori Bullard: That also is.

[5:13] William Kasper: Or Robert III.

[5:14] Tori Bullard: Thank you, Tobin.

[5:15] Tori Bullard: I love it.

[5:15] William Kasper: I love it.

[5:17] William Kasper: I mean, look, it keeps me on my toes.

[5:20] Tori Bullard: Yeah, yeah.

[5:21] William Kasper: Can't have it easy.

[5:22] Tori Bullard: Can't have it easy with this show.

[5:24] William Kasper: Yeah.

[5:25] William Kasper: The players don't give me enough hell.

[5:27] William Kasper: I need the audience to give me hell too.

[5:29] Tori Bullard: I love it.

[5:30] Tori Bullard: Well, thank you very much for that bedtime story.

[5:32] Tori Bullard: That was brilliant.

[5:34] Tori Bullard: Um good night. May the night take your wonderful dreams.

[5:38] Tori Bullard: Have a good night, everyone, and we'll see you next time.

[5:41] William Kasper: Mother.