Dimension 20‘s latest live show is the biggest one yet for the hit Dropout series, and stars like Zac Oyama recognize just how massive the “Gauntlet at the Garden” really are. Debuting in 2019, Dimension 20 has become one of the flagship shows for the Dropout streaming service. The TTRPG series hops between setting and story, with many reoccurring performers have gotten to play plenty of different characters as a result, including Oyama getting to shift from loveable doofuses to scheming tricksters.
For the new adventure set within the world of The Unsleeping City, Oyama got the chance to reprise the role of Ricky Matsui, a well-meaning and sweet-hearted dope who is also a nearly superheroic firefighter. During an interview with BrittanyTVF before the “Gauntlet At The Garden” event that was held on January 24th, Oyama reflected on what excites him about returning to Ricky, what makes New York City the right setting for a magical world, and which other universe he’d want to revisit in a live setting.
TVBrittanyF: Congrats on the Madison Square Garden show! Obviously you’ve all live episodes of Dimension 20 before, but this feels like a slightly different beast.
Zac Oyama: It’s really surreal. I’ve never even been to Madison Square Garden, so my first time going there is performing there. There’s just so many layers of how it shouldn’t make any sense.
How does your preparation change when getting ready for a live show of this magnitude?
I have prepared, some might say, shockingly little for this show. Because it is so improvised and so much the characters just kind of us in our pockets, I think my preparation is almost ignoring it entirely. It’s so easy to kind of spin out thinking about the scale of something like this, and I’m really struggling to think of what I would do differently. I don’t think there’s really that much. [Laughter]
Ricky is kind of the perfect character for something like that. You got to revisit the character during the “Time Quangle” live events. What is it like to bring that character back out?
It was fun. He’s such an unflappable, silly guy there. There are people that had pink eye, and that actually does bother him. As sort of a medical professional around children, he’s like, “We’re gonna have to handle that.” But that is as ruffled as his feathers get. It’s fun.
Naturally, something like this feels like a different beast than playing in the dome.
It’s live, for one thing. Whatever happens, happens. I hope I don’t kill my character. I hope we don’t all die out there, total party kill, and then just have to be like “Well, good night everyone!”
What has been exciting you the most about getting to revisit Ricky like this?
So, the Madison Square Garden Show will take place partway through the first season. So what is a pre-growth version of Ricky? I’m excited to return to a Ricky that was just kind of earnest and simple. He’s straightforward and just unflappable in that way. I think it feels fun to just bring that energy back.
You do have a tendency in Dimension 20 to switch between these very sweetheart characters like Ricky and Gorgug, but then you also have some more morally complex characters like Lapin or Skip. What excites you the most about characters like Ricky, especially in comparison to some of the darker characters you’ll sometimes play in Dimension 20?
I love playing sweeter characters, like Gorgug and Ricky, and I think what’s funny to me is that, because those are the first two seasons, people who maybe didn’t know me as well from other College Humor stuff have a really hard time coming to terms with that I could be a mean character [Laughter]. I think as like, the comedic instincts in us, sometimes it’s just fun to be kind of naughty. To be kind of a flawed character. I think that there’s a lot of richness to bring to a setting and story and in a world just by being a character that isn’t morally perfect. I think that can bring a lot of dimension to a story.
Gotta appreciate the little Dimension wordplay there. Beyond the Madison Square Garden show, you’ve also got the Fantasy High live event coming up in Los Angeles, the Starstruck Odyssey return later this year in Las Vegas — with that in mind, what other seasons of Dimension 20 do you think should be brought to the live setting?
It’s a good question. I think it would be fun to do a lethal Crown of Candy thing. Just do a Gladiator arena. Just killing off lots of characters that people have never before [Laughter].
The Unsleeping City really does highlight the magic about New York City. From your perspective, what is it about NYC that makes it perfect for a story like this? What stands out about this city to you?
I’m the one who knows the least about New York in the cast, I feel like my answer is always going to be that I get lost easy, even though there’s a grid [Laughter]. It’s an endless maze, almost. I just love the idea — in LA, you don’t really get this where there can be a bar that is the size of a closet. Just the idea of just so much being tucked away in corners New York, it does feel like there’s something magic around every corner.
Dimension 20 is now streaming on Dropout.
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