You Enter the Tavern

by Aly Kantor

[100 Minutes, comedic drama, 5F] In just two short weeks, Dungeon Master Sylvie will be one year sober. In the meantime, she has to wrangle the rag-tag team of dysfunctional support characters she's gathered for her weekly, post-AA, addicts-only DnD campaign. The party is missing a healer, however, and the ringer Sylvie's brought in to fill the slot seems more eager to cause damage than to repair it. As Sylvie...

[100 Minutes, comedic drama, 5F] In just two short weeks, Dungeon Master Sylvie will be one year sober. In the meantime, she has to wrangle the rag-tag team of dysfunctional support characters she's gathered for her weekly, post-AA, addicts-only DnD campaign. The party is missing a healer, however, and the ringer Sylvie's brought in to fill the slot seems more eager to cause damage than to repair it. As Sylvie begins losing her grip on the adventure, the rest of her life follows suit. Can you really run a game when it’s clear you don’t trust the rules?

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You Enter the Tavern

Recommended by

  • Emma Carter: You Enter the Tavern by Aly Kantor
    “

    As someone who enjoys playing D&D and other TTRPGS, reading this play was a real treat! The framework of the D&D campaign is a wonderful vehicle for the characters to explore, collide, and connect. It shows us not only who these wonderfully messy and charming characters are, but also who they aspire to be. Each is relatable through their struggles and their triumphs, with their own distinct voice and arc. I would love to see them brought to life on stage in a full production.

    As someone who enjoys playing D&D and other TTRPGS, reading this play was a real treat! The framework of the D&D campaign is a wonderful vehicle for the characters to explore, collide, and connect. It shows us not only who these wonderfully messy and charming characters are, but also who they aspire to be. Each is relatable through their struggles and their triumphs, with their own distinct voice and arc. I would love to see them brought to life on stage in a full production.

    ”
  • Jonny Bolduc: You Enter the Tavern by Aly Kantor
    “

    I. LOVE. THIS. I love the premise, I love the utterly engrossing characters, I love the thought of using a DND group as an AA meeting...this is ripe with extremely well rendered characters and is such a thoughtful and incredibly important lens to look at what recovery really means. PRODUCE THIS! PRODUCE IT! I know I would (and hopefully will someday.)

    I. LOVE. THIS. I love the premise, I love the utterly engrossing characters, I love the thought of using a DND group as an AA meeting...this is ripe with extremely well rendered characters and is such a thoughtful and incredibly important lens to look at what recovery really means. PRODUCE THIS! PRODUCE IT! I know I would (and hopefully will someday.)

    ”
  • Michael C. O'Day: You Enter the Tavern by Aly Kantor
    “

    We are the people we pretend to be; if we need to heal ourselves, a crucial first step is changing the story we tell ourselves about who we are. Aly Kantor has fashioned a hilarious and heartfelt demonstration of this with YOU ENTER THE TAVERN, in which five magnificently messy women - recovering addicts all - navigate the mix of drama therapy, temptation, and general reprobate behavior that is their weekly D&D game. Wonderful work - and "agnostic paladin" is a great character concept!

    We are the people we pretend to be; if we need to heal ourselves, a crucial first step is changing the story we tell ourselves about who we are. Aly Kantor has fashioned a hilarious and heartfelt demonstration of this with YOU ENTER THE TAVERN, in which five magnificently messy women - recovering addicts all - navigate the mix of drama therapy, temptation, and general reprobate behavior that is their weekly D&D game. Wonderful work - and "agnostic paladin" is a great character concept!

    ”
View all 10 recommendations

Character Information

  • SYLVIE
    The one who starts but never finishes. The flight risk. She doesn’t realize how little agency she has in her own life and recovery until it’s undeniable. She is our Dungeon Master.
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • JUSTINE
    Always put together - neat, coordinated, controlled… until she isn’t. An unreliable narrator. She is figuring out who she really wants to be with every choice she makes. She plays Maura the Cleric (and, later, Julianna the Fighter).
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • HALEY
    Plays the guitar (allegedly). You can hide nothing from her, so don’t try. High Queen of mockery, subtle deflection, and sexual innuendo. She’s totally the mom friend in training, just in denial. She plays Leora the Bard.
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • SAM
    Prettier than she is awkward, but she is undeniably both. Donut loving, a little oblivious, but always in earnest. She has two settings - enthusiasm and disgust. Really into unicorns. She plays Guinevere the Druid.
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • ASH
    The self-described “President of the relapse club.” She probably beat you up in high school. A truly generous spirit who is constantly working toward equilibrium. Snarky is an understatement. She plays Natalia the Paladin.
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman

Development History

  • Reading, The Bechdel Group, 2022
  • Workshop, The Bechdel Group, 2022

Production History

  • Community Theater, The Roving Peregrine Theatre Company, 2024