SHOW DAY! - Twine Game

ARTIST STATEMENT:

I picked my obsession with musical theatre to center my game around. I have experienced being in the cast, crew, and band of high school/community theatre productions. I have also been an under-prepared understudy. The chaos, politics, and improvisation it takes to make a show run on an amateur level is nothing short of a miracle and is the result of many “little” choices by “little” team players. I want to take reader-players of all ages into the chaos of the high school production, and evoke a universal feeling of relatability, and possibly even nostalgia. My structure is inspired by Bandersnatch, in that my game has multiple endings (that include opportunities to start over and make a different choice), and steer the player in a certain direction, while still giving them free will. I did playtest the game with some friends, and their main suggestions had to do with narrative elements and tidbits about musical theatre to include. I chose West Side Story as the IP that they are adapting within the game because of my personal connection to it. I adore the music of Steven Sondheim and was particularly obsessed with this musical when I was a teenager. It also was the IP I wrote about in one of my entrance essays that ultimately secured my spot in the BMS.