Dancing Stickman

The year is 2175.

Despite the wars, trials, and upheavals of the early 21st century, humanity has managed to not only survive, but thrive. This unlikely outcome is largely attributed to a dedicated group of dreamers who chose to think in future tense. Rather than succumbing to the despair and hopelessness of their circumstances, they coalesced around sharing their visions of a better world for their descendants. This act of collective imagining created a destination, paved the path, and illuminated the way.

However you create, whatever your practice, share the future that you want to build with us at https://www.dancingstickman.com/next150.

How do I actually bridge the gap between "starving artist" and "sustainable creator"? In this update episode of Worldsbuilder, I’m pulling back the curtain on the business of creativity to share the core philosophies driving my production company.

For the first time, I’m defining my "artist-first" approach to creative execution. I discuss how collaborative art and audience participation are the foundation for what comes next in the ever-shifting media landscape.

In this episode, we cover:

Whatever kind of artist you are, this episode offers a raw look at the infrastructure required to turn a passion project into a professional studio.

About Worldsbuilder:

Worldsbuilder explores the intersection of art and business, interviewing creatives across media about building sustainable creative lives and livelihoods.

How do we move beyond the canon of traditional gaming to create spaces where every player feels empowered to participate and create? Prolific game designer Quinn Murphy of Thoughtcrime Games, shares his philosophy, "Imagination is for Everyone," exploring how tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) are the ultimate form of entertainment by turning consumers into active collaborators.

In this episode, we discuss:

Whether you are a game designer, a professional creator, or a fan of the tabletop hobby, this conversation offers a masterclass in how to build worlds that belong to everyone.

Resources Mentioned:

About Worldsbuilder:

Worldsbuilder explores the intersection of art and business, interviewing creatives across media about building sustainable creative lives and livelihoods.

I talk with Sam Bempong - multi-hyphenate film producer, creative entrepreneur, and community organizer - about what it takes to build the infrastructure for narrative film in your city. As a co-founder of #MakeItBay, she's been at the forefront of strengthening the narrative film industry in Oakland, Berkeley, and across the East Bay.

Topics include: Topics include: independent film production, creative entrepreneurship, film financing, local film economies, narrative storytelling, Bay Area filmmaking, arts organizing, and building a career in the business of art.

This episode is a reflection on the way art is used to manipulate reality, for good or ill. Trigger warning that this episode discusses the Epstein files, and the revelations the recent release have unveiled about celebrity culture, patriarchy, and social conditioning. The discussion moves from the societal to the personal, tracking the way that larger forces create conditions that permeate both our external and internal circumstances.  

face-eating leopards OR FAFO

Original poem by Sara Brink (2024)

The spiritual community exhorts us at this time to stay grounded in our bodies, so I offer this prayer/curse/warning as a reminder of exactly what our bodies can feel.

May we protect the vulnerable. May the next tent pole find purchase ten inches deeper.

Trigger warning: gore

Welcome to Dancing Stickman! 

This isn’t a typical podcast feed. I’m Sara Brink, creative director, and here’s how it works: each season is a complete, standalone narrative or experiment, and you can jump in anywhere. Between story seasons, I publish Worldsbuilder, interviews about the business of creativity — how artists make a living, sustain their work, and stay creative.

Story: Oops, All Witches – a complete D&D actual play campaign featuring the Witch Class created by Worlds Beyond Number. Perfect if you want to dive straight into story.

Experimental Gameplay: Broken Sky – a short, self-contained ARG with puzzles, mini-games, and interactive content created alongside other tabletop designers. Explore the full ARG here: www.brokensky.blue

Creative Business: Worldsbuilder – standalone interviews about making a living as an artist. Listen to any episode that catches your interest.

Short, finished projects — start and finish without commitment.

Stories, experimental gameplay, and insights into creative work.

Discover unique tabletop campaigns, interactive ARGs, and audio storytelling.

Oops, All Witches homepage: www.oopsallwitches.com

Broken Sky ARG & interactive content: www.brokensky.blue

Learn more about Dancing Stickman and upcoming projects: www.dancingstickman.com

Ash, Annette, Andy, and I reunite to chat about the end of Oops, All Witches. We talk witches, gods, and monsters, using fiction to represent ideal real-world solutions, and what comes next for Aelia.

Oops, All Witches was a Dancing Stickman production.

Ashlyn Sparrow as Nia

This episode was produced, edited, and sound designed by Sara Brink.

Our album and poster art was illustrated by Andy Mack. Character art designed by Nalakwsis.

This Dungeons & Dragons actual play is a playtest of the Witch class created by Mazey Veselak and Brandes Stoddard for Worlds Beyond Number. Check out the Worlds Beyond Number Patreon and listen to The Wizard, The Witch, and The Wild One wherever you get your podcasts.

www.oopsallwitches.com

In the wake of Renee Good's execution by the state, I have some things to say about American politics, art and fascism, and the expansion of our imaginations. Let's dream up a better world, and then let's build it.

You may know her as Nia from Oops, All Witches, but game designer and scholar Ashlyn Sparrow sat down with me today to talk about transmedia games, the future of the game industry, and how games can function as everything from educational tools to political praxis. From ARGs to emerging media, Ash offers a sharp, accessible look at how games reflect real life, how interactive storytelling is evolving, and how media makers and game designers can build systems that inspire civic engagement, collective action, and social change.