Well, I am back from Chicago, and I am well pleased. I am delighted to report that the fourth run of Alice went beautifully, and we met some great people who were both nice and interesting as well as fantastic roleplayers. The summary is that the game was well-recieved, well-played, and I feel very good about it.
The gaming culture out there in the Chicago area is a little different, I've discovered. For example, they believe that the less you need to involve the GM in the running of the game, the better. Fortunately Alice is meant to basically run itself, but Jared and I spent even less time than usual running around to answer player needs. It was slightly disconcerting, but it did allow Jared to play his NPC with less interruption, and me more time to watch all the lovely goings-on. :-) Also, they have a sensibility of it being slightly bad form to check one's character sheet during the game. They like to make miniature cheat sheets that they can tuck into their pockets, or inside a book or a hat, so that they break the immersion as little as possible. It's interesting to learn these things.
As for what happened, these are clearly some smart and talented people. I love when they surprise me, whether it's coming up with new interpretation of their characters, or trying unexpected ways of accomplishing their goals. This was also the first time I cast a Charlie I didn't already know. But this guy, Rex Balboa, really understood the character and did a fantastic job. JR Cillian Green, the guy who played the Dodo, was fantastic as well, translating the character's bitterness into a fantastic sarcasm and ironic cynicism. He also gets bonus points for his describing Wonderland as "a Mobius strip of stupid" and calling another character "pants-on-head retarded." For a Yahtzee-ism, he had to get a hug. Anandi Gandolfi as the Queen of Hearts was great, nailing the character with just the right intensity-- and she not only actually made sex happen in the game, she had a threesome and an orgy! I salute you, my lady. Kelly O'Donoghue played the Mock Turtle in a completely unexpected way, trying to protect herself by making herself useful to everyone with power she could find. That is a fun lady right there, full of personality and incredibly interesting to talk to. I'd love to have her in a game again. Hell, pretty much everyone I'd love to have in a game again. And hey, the Lion survived! He's never done that before. :-) The Jabberwock still, however, has yet to get out of a run alive.
I confess, I had moments where I was watching an interaction while giggling in the corner, to the point where I had to tell the amused players, "Ignore the giggling GM! She and her giggling aren't here!"
Doug and Gail, the couple who facilitated everything, were fantastic hosts. Doug also told me about a theory of casting I'd never heard before that actually seems really useful to the process. I thought he was referring to the Gamer-Narrativist-Simulationist theory, but this is something even more basic that is helpful for figuring out how to cast the people you've got signed up. He said people fall somewhere within the boundaries of the Roleplayer-Actor-Problem Solver triangle. He used a murder mystery context as the example. The Roleplayer as the murderer isn't going to want to get caught, because of course the character wouldn't. The Actor as the murderer wants to get caught, so he can play out that confrontation as a dramatic scene. The Problem Solver would rather be the detective all together so he can work out the mystery. Most players are some combination of all three with leanings toward one side or another. I would say I'm mostly an Actor, but there's definately indications of Roleplayer and Problem Solver in me. I may use this in the future when the casting gets tough, as so often lately it does.
So, all in all, a most excellent experience. And one I'm very proud to say I have had.
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