Rick Ralls
You came here to find out more about me? You must really be bored… Well, what can I say? I started out the quiet kid in grade school, never getting in anyone’s way, solemnly observing my peers. In high school I was an outcast; I didn’t really fit in with the jocks despite playing football, was never cool enough to be part of the preppy squad, and my nerd flag flew over other pursuits besides getting good grades in school.
I got the first taste in college of who I wanted to be. College theater is so much different from high school, and being in those productions suddenly felt like home. The people, the excitement of the stage, the work that went into producing shows… this was it. I never really had the itch to be an actor, but I found my niche in the technical world. The backbone of every show, the meat and potatoes of performing. Granted, I’d started to learn how to build audio systems and focus lights in high school. But in college I started assisting wherever I could in hopes of getting to take a crack at being their audio engineer. I wanted to make the actors’ performances sing as well as I knew they could.
The contacts formed in the college theater world soon led me to work in convention centers across Southern California. Conventions are entirely a different beast from theater, but they share a similar challenge: to build and maintain the systems that allow productions to look and sound as good as they possibly can. It might not have contained the same joy and excitement that comes with performing, I was earning a living doing something I was passionate about, something that also provided unique and interesting problems to solve as new technical equipment was made available. Several convention centers and rental warehouses later I arrived at Microsoft, still working my magic on different audio/visual systems around campus.
Okay, so… how does this relate to D&D and podcasts? Well, the problem with convention centers A/V support is that you’re rarely creating anything. Keep the equipment running, help the productions go smoothly, and that’s basically it. But with this group of various talents, this is where I truly shine.
Producing and performing in a show with a group of friends that also share a passion for creating and living in our imagination. And here… here at the table I get to be the dashing hero, where the only thing faster than my sword is my witty tongue. Where I get to weave intricate stories filled with laughter and adventure. It’s taken a long time to get back to the projects that spark true joy in me, but getting here now has made it worth it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Executive Producer
Taskmaster
Writer
Comedy of Terrors Facebook Page Editor
