The stage is set for the launch of Australia’s brand new musical theatre board game

Launching soon, Theatre in a Box is a brand new party board game based on the wonderful world of musical theatre.

The game is the creative passion project of its creators Brenton Crewes, Flynn Crewes & Paul Morrison, a group of musical theatre lovers from Sydney, who have teamed up and put their heads together to develop a game to immerse players in the world of musical theatre.

This game is all new and original and we have been able to support some local community performers and artists who have been out of work, bringing them onto our creative team, Paul said.

So what is Theatre in a Box?

Theatre in a Box is the party board game for musical theatre lovers with everything from cryptic show titles to charades and much more in between. As a triple threat, with a combination of performance skills, general musical theatre knowledge and a little bit of luck; you could collect the most tickets to win the game.

Interactive card categories like ‘Songs’, ‘Alpha-theatrical’, ‘General Knowledge’ and ‘Entertain’ provide the chance to shine like the star. Whilst the ‘Tears and Cheers’ are chance cards that can quickly alter the outcome of the game.

Brenton tells us;

Our incredibly talented illustrators and graphic designers working tirelessly to help us to polish the game and make it look amazing!

Those fortunate enough to have already had the opportunity to try their luck at the game gave the following reviews;

I love board games AND musical theatre but I’m shy and was worried I would have to sing and act repeatedly in front of the group. But the large variety of questions was great. I was particularly good at the cryptic show title questions and I loved seeing my friends in their element with the ‘Entertain’ cards. Such a good night, we will be playing again soon! – Jo H

And . . .

As a family of musical theatre lovers there was a massive void in our life during Covid isolation until we were asked to test drive Theatre In A Box! A fantastic evening of singing, charades, and excellent banter about all our favourite shows! This team game was enjoyed by everyone from my 9 year old niece right through to my 74 year old dad. We can’t wait to play it again! Jennifer K

The games’ creators will be using the crowdfunding website Kickstarter to help finance the project and are looking to rally as much support as possible.


What is Kickstarter?

Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform that helps creative people fund their original projects.

Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people.

Every project creator sets their project’s funding goal and deadline. If people like the project, they can pledge money to make it happen. If the project succeeds in reaching its funding goal, all backers are charged when the time expires.

Since their launch, on April 28, 2009, 18 million people have backed a project, $5 billion has been pledged, and 182,912 projects have been successfully funded.

Kickstarter helps to bring creative projects to life. Simple.

 

Where did the idea come from?

Paul Morrison and Flynn Crewes as Scar

As we are all aware, with the outbreak of ‘the virus’, the Australian performing arts industry experienced a complete shutdown. For Paul Morrison, 3rd generation community musical theatre member and owner of a small business, that meant that in the space of just 48 hours, his entire income, schedule of work for the remainder of 2020, rehearsals for local theatre and performances were cancelled.

For self-pronounced ‘Stage Dad’, Brenton Crewes, his world as a parent supporting his children in Sydney’s local community musical theatre, ground to a halt! No more set building, working backstage, watching shows, meeting with other musical theatre absorbed families at rehearsals and after-parties, or running the kids to singing lessons.

Brenton had childhood dreams of creating a board game and never really shelved the idea, even with the reality and demands of adulthood. In early 2019 Brenton had the idea of creating a musical theatre themed game but was caught up in the daily grind. When the COVID-19 lockdown presented a break from his job, he spied the perfect opportunity to get to work creating Theatre in a Box.

Brenton describes how the idea for Theatre in a Box came to him one day whilst mowing the lawn. As he mowed, he was thinking about those affected in the performing arts community, both locally and internationally and he quickly shared his idea with his son Flynn and friend Paul.

Between them and their creative team, they have written, produced, directed, stage-managed, props managed, set designed/built, sung, danced and acted their way through a total of 223 shows. Yes, shows, we didn’t even try and add up how many performances, but it’s a lot!

Over dozens of Zoom meetings and phone calls, the three friends have written all the questions and configured the gameplay. Together these two families have worked night and day to bring their passion-fuelled project to fruition. Or should we say to bring their ‘production to the stage’?

Their dream is that Theatre in Box will quickly become a much-loved family favourite and achieve the standing ovation that all performers dream of!

 

How can I help?

Theatre in a Box is launching on Kickstarter very soon but you can support the project now by following @theatreinabox on Facebook and @theatre.in.a.box on Instagram.

For more information and to be the first to hear about the project updates, head over to http://theatreinabox.com.au and join the mailing list.

Peter J Snee

Peter is a British born creative, working in the live entertainment industry. He holds an honours degree in Performing Arts and has over 12 years combined work experience in producing, directing and managing artistic programs & events. Peter has traversed the UK, Europe and Australia pursuing his interest in theatre. He is inspired by great stories and passionately driven by pursuing opportunities to tell them.

Peter J Snee

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *