It’s August already! We're ready to roll the dice!
Whilst almost everyone we know is up at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, we’re keeping busy getting ready to launch our new board game ‘The Game of Play’ on Kickstarter. (Link up Very Soon)
It’s the result of GinJo’s experiences on and off the stage over the past 30-odd, exciting years together.
Gin: “I’ve been on and off the stage since I was very young. It’s a place I love. It’s kept me positive and sane”.
Jo: “Gin’s been thinking about creating this game for a long time, but we were kept so busy with 3MT and The Manchester Shakespeare Company (MSC) we just couldn’t find the time.”
Gin: “During the dreadful Covid 19 pandemic of 2020, I was forced to isolate due to my underlying health conditions. Being neurodiverse I have uncontrollable creativity, so I directed this energy into developing my idea of a fun, performance-based board game: ‘The Game of Play’.
Jo: “It was a very dark period for everybody, but we somehow managed to concentrate on developing the game from Gin’s original idea.”
Gin: “I was so excited that we were finally getting to work on this project together. We’ve worked together on so many different things over the years.
Jo: “One of our first experiences together was with ‘Moritz’ a four-piece cabaret showband on a summer season at Chesil Beach in Dorset. Me and the rest of band (Dave and Ian) played for the visiting acts and Gin was asked to perform duets with Ray Lewis, lead singer with 'The Drifters'.”
Gin: “In order to make the game, we pooled our combined skills and knowledge, developed over our professional working lives in cabaret, music, teaching, art, performance, comedy and theatre making.”
Jo: “Gin created the original artwork for the board, the characters and the cards. I photographed them and used design software to produce the game.”
Gin: “The characters used to play the game are based on those from our original MSC stage productions ’12 Nights’ and ‘Summer Dreaming’
Jo: “To win the game, the player has to steer their character through three acts of auditions and perils to reach centre stage and win the DAFTA award.”
Gin: “We had fun testing out the game with friends. One of who was inspired to take on the role of ‘Deirdre Turnip’ in our show ‘Summer Dreaming – The Musical’ performed at the Empty Space Theatre at Media City in April 2023. Emma had never been on stage before, but she said playing the game had given her the confidence to have a go."
Here’s Emma backstage with her fantastic prop ‘Moonshine’ made for the show by Bev Gibson.”
Jo: “Gin wanted the finished game to be British-made, sustainable and eco-friendly, so I was given the job of contacting manufacturers and making the first prototype. We also Trademarked the Logo and registered the design with the Intellectual Property Office.”
Gin: “When I started the Kickstarter project, I was advised that an introductory video was a good idea. Then I thought, ‘Why not a song as well?’. It’s what we’re good at! So, here it is:"
The Game of Play’ Song and Video! We hope you enjoy it!
Here's a link to all the other stuff we do: What We're Up To!
Thanks for reading! GinJo