Through June 3rd at The Bartell Theater in Madison, Wisconsin, Of Dice and Men is a play about a group of decidedly non-stereotypical Dungeons & Dragons players and lifelong friends.

Humor, brutal honesty and the good-natured kidding of people who know each other far too well culminate in an unforgettable evening that will make you laugh and think – and do so in a way that celebrates the power of gaming to bring people together, never once apologizing for it.

AdventureFight, which debuted this past Tuesday at JJ’s Bohemia in Chattanooga, is a live comedic roleplaying event with audience participation. The people rolling dice on-stage are actors but the game is unrehearsed. Also, audience members can volunteer to play various NPCs. Admission is $5 or free for those wearing medieval fantasy costumes.

Improvised Dungeons & Dragons shows are running in Edmonton, Atlanta, and Denver. This one has audience members rolling dice and challenging those on-stage to act their way through the adventure in-character.

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Playing now at the Adelaide Fringe festival is Blank Tiles, a theater production about a world champion Scrabble player suffering from memory loss.

Scrabble World Champion, Austin Michaels (played by Dylan Cole) knew over 200,000 words. Then he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Since then Austin has been in a race against time to document his memories, his greatest achievements, before they fade from his mind and the world forever. Once the toast of the board game world, Austin’s life was full of bottomless champagne and endless parties. But now it’s Nescafe and doctor’s appointments as he spends his time searching for the right words.

Let Austin tell you his story… If he can remember…

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As reported by Variety, Hasbro and Araca Group are partnering on a series of live stage projects based on the toy and game company’s properties. Though still several years out, the first will be Monopoly the Musical, which the companies intend as a Broadway production exploring the world of Monopoly (rather than people playing the game).

After Monopoly the Musical, Araca will look at other Hasbro properties to serve as the basis for theater in a range of markets, including Broadway, amusement parks, cruise ships, school productions, and community theater.

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For London Fashion Week, designer Markus Lupfer took inspiration from Luchador: Mexican Wrestling Dice, embroidering masked figures on bomber jackets, party-wear, and light dresses.

Taking place at the Carroll Mansion in Baltimore is Planchette, an experiential theater production about the fictional Maxwell Fink, parapsychologist and Ouija board researcher. The Ouija board was invented in Baltimore and features prominently in the performance, which “was inspired by turn-of-the-century ‘phantasmagorical’ rituals designed to lift the veil and contact the other side.”

As part of the ArtPrize exhibition in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Andy Malone is showing the Rebellion Chess Set, his representation of the 1967 Detroit riots. The pieces in the set are gear-driven woodworks. And rather than being divided between black and white, all are two-tone with politicians the kings, media the queens, and the public the pawns.

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Ars Nova theater in New York is hosting Game Play, a series of short dramas based on well-known board games. The show, which runs January 29th-February 8th, features all eleven plays each night:

• Taboo
• Settlers of Catan
• Risk
• Snakes & Ladders
• Candyland
• Scattergories
• Pictionary
• Guess Who?
• Life
• Mousetrap
• Sorry!

[via Broadway World]

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