Player Spotlight: Steven McCasland
Hey, friends! My name’s Steven Carl McCasland, and I play Olive in The Body Electric. When I’m not gaming with the folks at The Story Told, I’m usually at the piano giving vocal lessons and audition coaching or working on a new play. I think that’s why enjoy gaming: I’m creative and love telling stories. But, if we’re being entirely honest, I only discovered I enjoyed gaming during the pandemic.
Logan, who plays Owen in The Body Electric and is one of your awesome co-hosts for The Story Told, is also my roommate. During the worst months of the pandemic, I saw how creative and social an outlet the gaming world was for him, and I agreed to give it a try myself. It’s been a great escape, and also a great way to make new friends - sometimes without actually being in the same room. Full disclosure, though? It’s also kind of terrifying sometimes. It’s A LOT. Some of those books are HEAVY. Some of those character creation processes can be confusing. Sometimes I’ve gotta read the same paragraph three times til I get it - or just ask Logan to tell me what the heck I’m missing. But when you’ve got a great group of people to game with, and I do, it makes it a lot less scary and a lot more fun.
Character creation has definitely been my favorite part of gaming, and sometimes in this apartment, we make characters just for the joy of it. Making them also helps me learn more about different systems, and what kiths or backgrounds or tribes other players might be playing. As I’m a theatre nerd and a history buff, I was inspired by a famous ghost that is believed to haunt The New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway: Olive Thomas, a Ziegfeld Follies girl who died under suspicious causes while abroad with the famed actor Jack Pickford. Obviously, just like Olive Thomas, my character wants to be a star and find love. Then again, don’t most of us?
One of the things I’ve learned as a new gamer is that it’s better to simply ask when you need help or clarification. Rather than making a guess, ask your fellow players, or your storyteller. There’s a lot of information in the books, and sometimes that can be overwhelming. Everyone is there to have fun - and a successful campaign - so teamwork is key. It took me a while to find the people I was most comfortable with, but I’ve been learning more and more since I found them, and I’m always more willing to simply ask for help or an explanation when I need it.
In some ways, gaming has reminded me of a lot of theatre and improvisational activities I did over the years. There’s definitely a sense of “yes, and” because you want to keep furthering the story and working with your fellow players. But it’s always exciting to throw each other a curveball and watch how the story unfolds. As a playwright, I’ve really enjoyed seeing the creative characters and crazy decisions my fellow players make every time we meet.
I can’t wait to see where The Body Electric goes. I know Griffin’s got a lot of exciting things up his sleeve, and all of my fellow players are amazingly creative and seriously funny. It’s gonna be a great time. Hope you enjoy it, and thanks for tuning in!
To follow me and my work find me on Twitter: @playsbyme