Latest season of Dropout dimension 20, gradland, With its final episode this week, the hilarious post-apocalyptic story came to a fun and heartwarming conclusion. I spoke to D20 newcomers Vic Michaelis (who played Hugi the Ashmaker) and Kimia Bepurnia (who played Test Tube 5, an amazingly ripped human-bug hybrid) to get their insight on this season, their first D20 table, and how their abs can conquer all fears.
Dan: This is your first time at the D20 table, right? Was there a background to this? Have you ever played or played on a tabletop?
vic Michaelis: It’s a very small amount for me. I had a home game with some guys, and again, I really used the fight time as a way to see what kind of cheerleading stunts I could do in gymnastics. Many of us had never played it before. I did a few other little things just with audio, but this was kind of the first time I really did anything like full-fledged D&D. “Proper D&D” of course means kids riding their own bikes.
Kimia Vepurnia: I’ve never played it either. I once tried and failed to play D&D with a group of friends, and then took the kids on bikes to play in preparation for a play I attended.
vic: of stranger things play?
Kimia: No, we were playing little kid detectives and part of it was letting our imaginations run wild. But I had never experienced that until this season.
Dan: D20 has a new theme every season. Gladlands is definitely post-apocalyptic, but it’s also a kind of hopeful punk. How did that influence your character development?
Kimia: This setting was directly related to my initial idea for the character. This is because we thought, “What will survive until the apocalypse?” And I wanted a character who was previously lonely and aimless, but now lives in the apocalypse and is helpful. Then I thought… cockroaches! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have become a bug. Because I’m afraid of insects and I don’t like insects.
Vic: But what if it’s really hot?
Kimia: I had to make him hot, hardly a bug, just a bughead because that was the only way I could rock. By doing that, I was able to hold on to something and play this character.
Vic: I made sure my abs were defined enough to give me a foothold.
Kimia: Yes, I was Alex Honnold with those abs.
Vic: For Hugi, II really wanted a character who was like this kind of scary Grim Reaper, but also someone who was competent and had a charm that could make people feel comfortable and safe when it came to death and death rituals. I’m sure Brennan will always make us aware of how dangerous this place we live in is. We often deal with death. So someone who can make people feel really safe and comfortable in those situations is helpful. But when it comes to day-to-day things, it’s very difficult. It was kind of the spirit of the season that important things are easy, mayhem is easy, but everyday things are harder. So I thought it would be fun to explore with Hughie.
Dan: One of the themes this season is a huge focus on emotional intelligence and mental health, which is not a normal topic in this type of setting. How did you explore that at the table and communicate that to your audience?
Kimia: For me, it was really good that the play was pitched like that and that’s the way we’re playing this season and the battle was about emotional intelligence and mental health. In improv, you’re usually doing a silly, silly scene and you can do it for maybe three or four minutes…but at some point you have to lock in and say well, what’s the real reason? What is actually happening there? And whenever I play with someone, I love doing that move.
This season was a season where everyone at the table was pulling each other’s moves, so it’s very rewarding and heart-fulfilling to play like that. I almost liked it. So I liked it.
Vic: Yes, I completely agree with that too. Also, in improvisation, we often talk about big things that we are going to do a lot. And it’s easy to say, “Let’s talk about the big thing that we’re going to do, and let’s do the big thing by the end of the scene.” That will be the scene. But I always think it’s much more interesting to do something big right away and then have the rest of the scene deal with the aftermath of that big thing. This has been our six episodes, we’re going to do something big and then deal with the aftermath. It’s unique and I think it’s a very beautiful ribbon this season. So I’m curious to know what people think about it.
Dan: If there’s one thing you want the audience to see, it’s gradland Or what is it from your personality?
Vic: We live in a time when many bad things happen. I think it’s very easy to look at the big picture and say, “There’s nothing I can do to fix this.” But when I look at the people around me,
“How can I make things better for my community and the people around me?”
I think that’s the best way to start. I feel like people in power are always saying you can’t do that, so I find that’s a great way to start. That’s the answer. That’s what it is. We had to dig deep into the community.
Kimia: That’s exactly right. Everything Vic said is true. It’s a community. You have to remember that you don’t necessarily have to do the biggest thing to help someone. I think Brennan said this when we were talking about the idea of Gradland. “If you go volunteer somewhere or go to an organization, the person who’s creating the playlist that everyone listens to while they’re doing all their work is just as important as the person who organized everyone and got them there, because you need morale to keep going.”
All 6 episodes can be viewed Dimension 20: Gradland above dropout.tv!
Images via Dimension 20 and Dropout.tv
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