We played the "Play's the Thing" fiasco playset. Happy happenstance meant one of the Pathfinder players at the next table over mentioned a marmot and the 3 of us who were familiar with AW immediately tuned in. Suddenly marmots were everywhere!

Dramatis Personae:
Alistair the playwright (Carl) - An aged playwright 'artiste' who comes from a family of showmen and cannot remember ever leaving the family estate. Speaks with a 'continental' accent. His grand artistic vision comes at the cost of numerous script rewrites and some questionable choices.

Gene the Props master (Xander) - Both props master and second-hand theatrical prop dealer. No conflict of interest here, no sirree. Feeds into Alistair's "artistic tendencies" to get more props in the play.

Ogden the Stage Manager (Jay) - The critic's panned the opening night. The playwright is still trying to revise the script. The lead actor is going crazy inside of that costume and his former business partner is trying to talk the production into buying 200 highly-flammable pine trees "for the Christmas season". Everything is going to be fine. Right?

Billy the Marmot (John) - Alistair's son. Shares his accent, artistic vision and inability to recognize when a prop bowie knife is actually just a regular bowie knife. The lead actor.

Highlights:
-Alistair explaining the symbolism of the play. The Marmot represents man's mortality, the Christmas trees his encrouching winter years, etc.
-Gene's variety of highly questionable second-hand props: 'Realistic' bowie knifes, cut glass 'gems' that lacerate the actors , treasure second-hand from rap videos, asbestos-laden flameproof marmot costumes...
-The Ghost of Alistair's father. When you give someone narrative freedom for the first time it's interesting what they will come up with. Billy summoned the ghost of Alistair's dad after the unfortunate and unforeseeable bowie knife accident.
- Ghost Dad's reveals: Alistair disappoints his ancestors, they get old star trek reruns in the afterlife, and actually the family is from Texas. The accents are a sham.
- Billy's understudy: He says it's a marmot. Ogden (and wikipedia) say it's a capybara.
-The Seattle stranger's theater reviews: No to highly symbolic plays involving a grown man in a marmot costume, yes to a capybara dying of smoke inhalation in front of a live audience.