Dungeons and dragons and… a choir?

East Kildonan

A local choir is bringing a magical campaign to life, providing audiences with a unique, immersive experience.

On May 9 and 10, the Incantatem Singers will present Bardic Inspiration: A D&D A Cappella Musical, which the company of singers describes as “an imaginative and hilarious fusion of tabletop adventure and live choral performance.”

Written by choir member Mike Penner, Bardic Inspiration tells the story of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign from beginning to end.

“We’ve been wanting to do a D&D-themed show for quite a while,” said Kyle Neufeld, Incantatem board chair and a founding member of the choir, which performs selections from a wide array of fandoms at its concerts.

“We knew we wanted it to be a bigger, more ambitious show, so we had to wait for the time when we had the energy and time to do that.”

“The dungeon master wants to impress a girl, so he goes all out in bringing full sound effects and acting into the game,” explained musical director Sara Jane Schmidt. “It is a little more ambitious. It’s more integrated, the script and music. We’ve done a lot of rehearsing with choir and actors, and some of the choir members are doing some live action role-playing. Things are happening all the time. It’s like full body choir.”

Neufeld has been playing Dungeons & Dragons since 2020 and is a dungeon master herself.

“What I love about D&D is that it’s collaborative storytelling,” she said. “The dungeon master creates the setting and gives the players the problems and obstacles. The players work together to overcome those obstacles. Through that, we tell a story together.”

Her group, which meets regularly, recently wrapped a three-year campaign.

“Over those three years, I played one character,” Neufeld said. “She went through an incredible story arc that I got to experience alongside her. There are other things about the game that other people will prefer or stand out, but for me it’s very much the creating a world, creating a character and telling a story with my friends. And also, I get to cast some spells!”

While Bardic Inspiration is fully centred in D&D lore, you don’t have to be a dungeon master to enjoy the performance — though it does help to be familiar with the long-running role-playing game.

“Very cleverly in the script, there is a newbie player, so several things are explained along the way,” Schmidt said. “There are also songs from other fandoms. It doesn’t matter if you’re a D&D person, you’ll probably hear something that you’ll connect with.”

“I think we’ve done a great job and I hope that audience members will think so, too,” Neufeld added. “We’ve worked hard to create a compelling story with lots of immersive and visual storytelling elements. We’ve worked really hard to make sure the audience feels like they’re a part of the adventure, and not just watching it. I’m looking forward to seeing audience reactions to it.”

Bardic Inspiration: A D&D A Cappella Musical will run May 9 and 10 at John Black Memorial United Church (898 Henderson Hwy.). Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., with showtime at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20, or $12 for those aged 12 and under. For more information, and to purchase tickets, visit www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/bardic-inspiration