Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1530033
96 SAG-AFTRA | Fall/Winter 2024 | sagaftra.org of a given session can be anything. So it's no wonder a lot of actors have found roleplaying games to be a great way to unwind with their fellow performers and practice their craft in a setting outside of the constraints of the job. "We, as actors, spend so much time in-between gigs. There are elements that you need to keep yourself alight and on fire and inspired, and I just think roleplaying games, if played with the spirit of an artist, can be a salve for those treacherous times," said SAG-AFTRA member Matthew Lillard. Matthew Lillard as BEADLE 6th Level Rogue / 3rd Level Wizard Dwarf Lillard is not only a regular player, he also executive produced 20 episodes of a program for Amazon Freevee and Plex titled Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill! It brings together a group of performers, including some well-known faces such as Seth Green, Skeet Ulrich and Deborah Ann Woll, for one-shot sessions of Dungeons & Dragons in which everyone's character is guaranteed to die by the end. The benefits of tabletop roleplaying are as varied as those who play them, but scientists are working to back it up with hard data. Researchers in the UK are examining roleplaying games' uses as a tool in therapy, helping military veterans overcome combat trauma, or in creating a safe environment for autistic young people to reduce social isolation and increase social engagement, language skills and creative thinking. You can read more about it at game-therapy.co.uk. Some incarcerated people use the game as a self-help tool, going to great lengths to play, even when game staples such as maps and dice are banned, as the games provide a mental escape and way for inmates to take control, if only in an imaginary world. It's a different kind of escape for actors. "I think the most beneficial aspect for any actor or artist, in whatever capacity, has nothing to do with the skills learned around the table. It has everything to do with the time spent around the table with the other people. It's such an individual journey. And if you surround yourself with other artists, you have this fellowship that makes the journey worth taking," Lillard said. "I play a game right now with four of the biggest showrunners in Hollywood, and half of the night is spent catching up, talking about the strike, talking about writers rooms, talking about what Todd Stashwick dungeon masters a game in his "Nerd Lair." TODD S TA SHWICK