(¥ Beat the rush (¥ Flawed by Design: Character development Have an idea for a story? M arts@theotherpress.ca (¥ Blade Runner: A retrospective And more! Producing and you > Making college theatre on a budget Adam Tatelman Arts Editor Te hardest thing about being involved in the arts is funding projects. Everything starts from nothing in the world of theatre, so aspiring directors often have to take on the role of producer as well. This means using your own time, money, resources, and contacts to get a project moving. Fortunately, those aspiring theatre-smiths currently attending college or university have access to life-saving resources that other street-level performers don't. Of course, everything begins with a script. What you choose to perform isn’t that important, provided you make the theatre department faculty like your concept. Try to contact the program chair, if possible. They’re the movers and shakers, so getting them on board is important if you want to have an easier time scheduling your rehearsal times in the necessary theatre space. Speaking of space, getting one is the next major step— without one, there’s nowhere to put your actors. Working out a rehearsal schedule with the faculty is essential, since you don’t want anyone calling “dibs” on your space at the last minute. Once you have secured a script, a space, anda schedule, you'll have an easier time getting actors on board with your show. That’s why you have to include audition times in your schedule. There are lots of ways to get actors to audition. Websites like Vancouver Public Library and Vancouver Actor’s Guide are open to the public for advertising projects, and there’s always social media sites like LinkedIn or Facebook. However, only being on-site at a college allows you to poach student actors from the local talent pool. Many are ambitious enough to take on extra projects in addition to their schoolwork, although you must be prepared to act as a teacher of sorts if your cast is inexperienced. Don't be like those Craigslist ads offering “experience” and “résumé credits” in return for weeks of rehearsal time. Your actors sacrifice literal days they could be using to work for real money, so you should compensate Screenshot via The Producers (2005) them. With a pool of actors in hand, you will be able to apply for funding from the student union. This can cover the expenses, but any profit you make will have to go back to the student union. If you complete the project with your own resources, you may then use the profit to pay your actors and yourself. Fortunately, tech isn’t a huge issue in a low-budget production. Lighting and sound cues should be minimal, as union rates for stagecraft technicians are probably outside your budget without student union funding. Any props and costumes you need can be found at dollar stores or provided by actors. Set pieces are usually free to loan from the theatre department, unless the prop shop has a claim on it. They’re usually willing to share, but that often depends on prior working relationships. Advertising is critical. If no one comes to the show, then you don’t make back what you spent. Get art students to design posters and pamphlets, and pay them a flat commission out of your profits. Then, get the print shop A traditional RPG with a unique twist > ‘Bravely Default’ video game review Lauren Paulsen Senior Columnist OOOO ith Bravely Second: End Layer coming out this month, it seems only fitting to write a review for its predecessor, Bravely Default , a Nintendo 3DS role-playing game similar to the older Final Fantasy games with some unique elements. The story concerns four heroes: Angés Oblige, the vestal of the Wind Crystal; Tiz Arrior, the sole survivor of the village of Norende; Ringabel, an amnesiac with a peculiar journal that seems to predict future events; and Edea Lee, traitor to the Eternians who are hunting down the vestals. Together, these four heroes go on a journey to defeat a great evil and try to re- awaken the Crystals, which have been taken over by darkness. The story may not be extremely original (why are crystals always so important?), but it is entertaining enough. Great tragedies occur throughout the course of the narrative, and the game covers some heavy topics, including murder, greed, vanity, and death. It is entertaining to fight with these heroes against such depravities in their attempt to fix the world. The game is heavily story- driven, so there are a lot of cut- scenes to watch. Fortunately, the story is interesting enough that the number of cutscenes doesn’t detract from the game. You also have the option of allowing them to either auto-play, or move the dialogue ahead manually, therefore allowing you to have control over whether you sit back and watch, or pause if you need to. Also, if you’ve already seen the scenes, you can skip them entirely. If you happen to miss part of them or want to re-watch a scene, the menu also lists all of the scenes you have already gone through. Battle-wise, Bravely Default is a turn-based game. However, it adds several unique aspects to the system. To begin with, players have the option of using either Brave mode or Default mode in a battle. Using Brave allows you to use an extra move, allowing each character up to four moves per turn. The drawback is that however many Brave turns you take up, you will have to skip as many turns afterwards. That means if you use three Brave turns, then the enemy will have a chance to hit you for three turns in a row if it wasn't defeated. Using Default for a turn will put you in a guard position where you take less damage and gain an extra turn to use with Brave, without the consequence of skipping the following turn. Using these two commands strategically can really help the player in battle. Unfortunately, enemies also have these options, though they rarely seem smart enough to make use of them. Another nice combat feature is the ability to control how long each turn takes. You can fast forward your moves up to four times, allowing you to essentially beat opponents within seconds, should you be strong enough. This allows players to farm for experience much more quickly than in other turn- based games. Bravely Default also has quite an extensive list of unlockable jobs to choose from. In total, there are 24 different job classes, including the more traditional titles, such as Thief, as well as new ones, such as Spell Fencer. To unlock a job class, you need to first defeat the boss that holds that job. These bosses can be found throughout the main story, as well as during side quests. Outside of combat and story, Bravely Default is really aesthetically pleasing. The to make a few hundred copies of each. This can be done for free if you're a student, as long as the program chair approves it. Recruit your cast and crew to distribute the posters in high-traffic areas in and around the college— family-owned restaurants are especially receptive if you offer to advertise them in return. Cold-call everyone you know, and have your actors do the same. Your first few shows will be attended mostly by friends and family, but that’s how you build an audience. Speaking from experience, it is possible to draw as much attention to your independent theatre project as Douglas College does to its program-sanctioned shows. If your expenses are minimal, following these steps can get you attendance that will easily cover the cost of your show, plus send the cast and crew off with a couple hundred dollars in their pockets. For a bunch of broke college kids, that’s a pretty respectable haul—and if you're willing to work your ass off, it'll only get bigger next time. Image via playgala.com characters are drawn in a unique, cute art style that the Japanese refer to as “chibi” The atmosphere and backgrounds are drawn up beautifully. The music is really well composed, and pleasant to listen to, even after playing for hours. Overall, it is truly a work of art. With Bravely Default’s mixture of traditional mechanics and new elements, it is truly a game that any RPG lover will want in their collection.