Investigate the History

a Patreon-exclusive deep dive into lore

Carolyn and Rev delve into each of the major adventures of The Other Side of the Coin and explore all the monsters, magic, and mythology featured in the stories, from ancient texts to popular culture. Rev gives insight into how the games, stories, and characters are uniquely constructed for the Critshow, and Carolyn makes multiple failed attempts to get Rev to give up spoilers.

Rev and Carolyn have a friendship that goes back to 1999, when they met in a college theatre class. Much of the professional theatre work Carolyn has done since has been as a dramaturg (she emphatically clarifies that it is not dramaturd), a researcher typically employed by theatre companies.

Dramaturgs dive deep into everything about a play: historical context, playwright, production history, and so forth. The dramaturg serves as an advocate for the audience, to provide them context and connections and help them understand where the play fits in the world.

And so when Rev and Carolyn were working together at Crossroads Repertory Theatre shortly after The Critshow launched, she described one day how she was noticing elements of the show’s lore that deviated from what she knew as more traditional lore. “I think this would be really interesting to talk about,” she told Rev.

And knowing Carolyn’s skills and their 20+ years of chemistry, Rev realized there was a show there.

Carolyn approaches Investigate the History with the same type of research and the same desire for audience accessibility she employs in her theatre work. Her engaging monthly conversations with Rev provide a different layer of context for listeners who like to nerd out on multiple levels – not just the game play, but also the mythology and fantasy and history.

And their easy, longtime friendship is as engaging as the stories they tell. Even if Rev does leave in more bloopers than Carolyn would like.

Listen to the first episode of Investigate the History for free below – and for more deep dive goodness, join us on Patreon at the $5 level or above!