Bonnie Gordon: Rascal of the Castle

When you’ve sung for your heroes, headlined your own castle, and starred in a cult-favourite television series, what is there left to play for? According to D&D in a Castle’s Bonnie Gordon, there’s all the D&D, for a start!

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"WE ALL JUST HAD SUCH A WONDERFUL TIME LIVING AND PLAYING WITH PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, WHO ALL HAD ONE THING IN COMMON - THE LOVE OF THE GAME. IT WAS INCREDIBLE."

With 2020 having passed without the possibility of a D&D in a Castle event, and 2021 looking the same, excitement is building for all the remarkable talent that honours our campaigns, including this Bard to the Stars, whom we took this respite to gush about, and reminisce with as we anticipate our next opportunity to laugh, roll, sing and duel together.

Bonnie, you have a lot of impressive accomplishments. What are you the most proud of?

"One of my favorite things I've accomplished in my life is being a part of the fantasy/reality show The Quest. My goal throughout was to stay true to myself and to show viewers that you don't have to be the strongest or the fastest to have the heart of a hero.

How do you feel about coming back to the castle this year?

"I can't wait to jump into the stories! One of the great things about being a NPC  is I get to play with EVERYONE! Every DM has their own world: different story, different style, different party dynamic."

What kind of player do you think would get the most out of playing at your table?

"Players that are ready to play and interact... that aren't afraid to push boundaries and to fully embody their character to talk to me."

What made you want to be part of D&D in a Castle?

I mean, come on - I get to play D&D... IN A CASTLE!!!!! Playing a game that's so interactive with its storytelling, while in an environment that is so rich and immersive - who can say no to that! It is such a fun experience! You get to really know the players and DMs in an intimate setting, and make memories that last a lifetime! The fact that you live, sleep, eat, and play in a real castle, makes the game that much more fun!

You just bring every game to life. What do you try to add to your games that makes them unique?

"To me, D&D gives me the opportunity to truly play and let my imagination run wild. When I join a table, know that I plan on giving you a character that is ready to fully interact with your party and make you laugh, make you cry... well, probably make you laugh more... ;) I try to always stay in character and keep you fully immersed... no matter how hard you try to break me."

There were a lot of tears when it came time to leave the castle in 2019. I don’t think anyone had really experienced anything like it before. In your view, who got the most out of D&D in a Castle? 

At the end of a long day when all the games were done, I loved watching all the players interact with other tables/adventuring parties and excitedly share their stories from the day. I honestly think an event like D&D in a Castle is not only a blast for the players, but for the DMs and staff members as well. We all just had such a wonderful time living and playing with people from all over the world, who all had one thing in common - the love of the game. It was incredible.

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Between the guests, the DMs, the GMs, the crafters, and everyone else, there were a lot of amazing people at the castle. Who are some of the coolest nerds you met?

Well, first off, the amazing team running D&D in a Castle are a group of incredible nerds and I am also lucky to call most of the DMs participating in the event my friends.

You are so sweet. 

But the coolest nerd I got to spend time with last year was Curtis Armstrong. We were fortunate enough to have him attend our Bard Castle last year as a special NPC guest. He and I were paired up and got to improv and interact with each other as so many ridiculous characters! It was such a highlight to play off such a talented actor and comedian! He had never played D&D before attending the event, (proving that this event truly is for EVERYONE!), and by the end of the week he knew all the lingo and was enjoying himself so much. To watch someone new to the game learn and grow throughout the week, while having a blast doing it, was such a joy.

So, we all know you're a pretty big deal. But you must have come from somewhere. Tell us how you got to where you are.

Honestly, I have to pinch myself every day! I am just a nerd from Louisiana who made her way to Hollywood, and now gets to make a living doing what she loves - so I consider myself so lucky! I've always been a theater gal, so after Hurricane Katrina I decided to take a leap of faith and move away from home to work for Disney World in Orlando, FL.

6 months later I got cast in a show outside of Disney that then transferred me to the show cast in Las Vegas!!! Performing in Vegas was a blast and gave me the confidence I needed to make the move to Hollywood! As I fell into other forms of entertainment, I called upon my theater and improv training and began a career as a voiceover actor and singer. As a nerd, I of course was always gaming and hanging around the TTRPG community. 

Geek & Sundry welcomed me with open arms, which then opened so many doors when it came to guesting and gaming on multiple Twitch channels. Partnering up with my friend, Xander Jeanneret, also opened up the con and event circuit to me! As a Comic Con fan, the fact that I get to travel all over the world and perform at cons in a nerdy comedy band, (The Library Bards!), is another dream come true!

You’ve told me before that your life goals include living off of cheese plates, and world domination. Are there other dreams and ambitions you still harbour?

I would love to focus more on music. I write and sing all the time, and have been working on a solo album during quarantine. I can't wait to finally get in a studio and record some of the new songs I've been writing! I also love working as a voiceover actor, and can't wait to take my VO career to the next level!

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Were you always a nerd? Did you always embrace your nerdy side?

I was ALWAYS a nerd! Growing up, I loved anything fantasy. I was the kid running around my room as 'Bonnie Baggins' - pretending to be a hobbit. I would have an overnight bag next to my bed, just in case Peter Pan came to take me to Neverland. My room was covered in fairies, wizards, and dragons. As I got older, I discovered sci-fi and became a hardcore Trekkie - I was even lucky enough to work as an actor in Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas as part of the closing cast! Being a nerd today means something completely different from when I was growing up. I'm so grateful that nerd-doms and fandoms of all kinds are being fully embraced by all.

Tell us one of your favourite gaming experiences in your journey to where you are now.

One of my favorite gaming experiences was a small home game of DnD. We had a roommate who had never played before, and he had created 'The GNOOOOME RANGER" as his character. We were all Level 1 in a cave, being attacked by rats. As a ranger, he decided the best course of action was to shoot one of the rats off of me. He rolled a 1. Then a 90% on the percentage dice... so basically he misses the rat and thunks me in the chest. We are 15 minutes into this adventure, and I nearly die in the first room from a bunch of rats and bleeding out from an arrow. It was hysterical. Don't even get me started about what he did in the next room! (Let's just say I get caught in a spiderweb and his idea involves LIGHTING IT ON FIRE .... WITH ME STILL ATTACHED!)

Bonnie is most recognized for her time on ABC’s inventive fantasy show, The Quest, recently picked up for Season 2 on Disney+. Also, as a regular cast member and special guest on plenty of well known Twitch channels such as the Star Trek show "Shield of Tomorrow", Geek & Sundry’s “Callisto 6". Star Trek Adventures “Clear Skies”; and a frequent guest player on HyperRPG, Saving Throw, and multiple charity streams with Luke Gygax and GaryCon events. 

If her face doesn’t seem familiar to you, perhaps her voice will. From video games to anime, some voiceover credits include franchises like Street Fighter; Mega Man; the Cartoon Network's Mighty Magiswords; Pandemic Playhouse on PBS (Nellie); Fire Emblem: Echoes; Code Vein; Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock; Tales of Berseria; 13 Sentinels; Ikki Tousen; and some BIG projects to be announced later in the year - including the lead in a live action fantasy tv series, a feature film about modern day witches, and a recurring character on a new animated series coming out later this year. 

As if that was not enough, she is a regular musical guest singing for the stars at the Magic Castle, and is one half of the nerdy parody band the Library Bards, who have performed in over 200 comic cons and nerd events including: SDCC; Hasbro's DND LIVE Event; Stan Lee's 95th Birthday Party; World Con; Stan Lee's Lifetime Celebration Memorial; Wizard World Cons; and of course D&D in a Castle.