Playwright: Mike Ooi. At: Factory Theater, 1623 W. Howard St. Tickets: 866-811-4111 or TheFactoryTheater.com; $10-$25. Runs through: Aug. 13
Die-hard gamers can be targets for a lot of mockingespecially from outsiders who don't understand why these perpetual fanboys ( and fangirls ) of sci-fi and fantasy worlds waste so much time and money on role-playing games or competitive card sets.
Mike Ooi's world-premiere play Dating & Dragons, for Factory Theater, aims to provide a sympathetic portrait of gamers. And, for the most part, Ooi's self-aware dramatic construction of Dating & Dragons can often be fun.
Dating & Dragons circles around Jack ( Nick Freed ), who runs a specialty Chicago video store with one of his closest gamer friends, Sean ( Joe Faifer ). But Jack's life is upended when he nervously falls for the pretty and smart speech therapist Diane ( Rebecca Wolfe ), who initially doesn't seem to mind his gaming obsessions.
Nonetheless, Jack gets nervous about introducing Diane into his close circle of gamer friends, which includes the anti-romance Gus ( Josh Zagoren ) and the encouraging lesbian Paige ( Savanna Rae ).
Dating & Dragons has plenty of elements to make it hip with gamers and novices alike. The play teems with direct-address explanatory monologues and amusingly uses its frequently sarcastic supporting cast to play a number of fantasy characters ( a credit to performers like Tim Lee, Caitlin Boho, Lauren S. Deaton and Mike Manship ). Dating & Dragons also goes out of its way to be generic in referencing games without actually naming them ( apparently Ooi is frightened of running afoul of copyright laws ).
But by the time Dating & Dragons concludes, it all becomes far too clear that everything was just an exercise in style and execution. A big problem with Ooi's script is that it lacks an earth-shattering dramatic conflict for his endearingly quirky gamers. As expected, there is a breakup between Jack and Diane, but Ooi goes so far out of his way to not tie it into Jack's gaming obsessions that the split just becomes frustratingly sudden and vague.
If Ooi's Dating & Dragons script doesn't fulfill its initial potential, at least director Scott Oken's production is consistently engaging and well-cast. The performers all have their characters down pat and easily can handle all of the self-conscious addressing of the audience.
The design elements are also very good, with set designer Kaitlyn Grissom plastering the walls with gaming and fantasy franchise posters and souvenirs. Costume designer Gary Nocco and sound designer Sarah Espinoza were also very playful with the work's fantasy components.
Yet ultimately Dating & Dragons will probably leave you wondering why you rolled the dice with these quirky gamers. Without a compelling plot conflict for its characters, Dating & Dragons just becomes an enjoyable, if ultimately disappointing, exercise in wasting time.