Hello, Gaming Table friends! Emily Trask here again.

We’re deep into the heart of rehearsals here at the Folger and will be starting technical rehearsals very soon. The set is incredible, the costumes unbelievable, and everyone is rightfully excited to get this skit up and running! But like any tech process worth its salt, it will take some serious time, focus, and finesse to get all these awesome pieces working together. Meaning there’s a bit of down time to be had backstage for the actors who are not in the scene that’s currently being “teched.” In fact, I knew an actor who had been in the military, and he said a tech process in the theatre was akin to his time in the army in that, “It’s all ‘Hurry up… and wait’.”

So while the designers, stage manager, and director are literally working their magic, those of us backstage fill the waiting in many different ways. Some read, some knit, some do crossword puzzles, some write blogs (ahem)… but many times you’ll find actors playing games. Typically it’s a card game, sometimes a board game. But regardless of whether it involves dice or jokers (and trust me, there’s a joker in every cast), the whole idea seemed a little too wonderfully “meta” not to mention while doing a play called The Gaming Table.  

It also got me curious what kind of “gamers” we had in this cast. So I asked my fellow actors to ‘fess up about their favorite games—anything from poker, to Twister, to Yahtzee—and I decided to use their answers to turn this blog entry into a GAME ITSELF. Mind blown? I thought so.

But seriously.

Here’s how to play: 

• Match the Gaming Table cast member with his or her favorite game in the chart below.
• Post your answers in the comments section below (ex. Julie Jesneck – Game 1; Emily Trask – Game 2; etc.). Be sure to include your name with the entry.
• The first person to correctly matching all of the actors with their favorite game WINS! 

“Win what?!” you ask?

A COMPLEMENTARY PAIR OF TICKETS TO THE GAMING TABLE

AND A FOLGER THEATRE WATER BOTTLE!!!!!

I will reveal the correct matches and the winner on the day of our first preview performance on January 24^th.

GAME ON!!!

To make it easier, copy and paste from the lists below:

ACTOR
Katie deBuys
Robbie Gay
Michael Glenn
Ashley Ivey
Julie Jesneck
Marcus Kyd
Michael Milligan
Darius Pierce
Tonya Beckman Ross
Emily Townley
Emily Trask
Michael Willis
GAME
Axis & Allies
Blackjack
Celebrity
Chess
Chutes and Ladders
Hangman
Liar’s Dice
Risk
Scrabble
The Settlers of Catan
Spoons
Texas Hold ‘Em