Jared in PMRP!

The Post-Meridian Radio Players just announced their cast lists for their Summer Radio Mystery Theater! I am very proud to say that Jared will be playing not one but two parts across the three pieces featured in this show. In the production of "Gracie Takes Up Crime-Solving," drawn from the Burns and Allen show, he will be playing the womanizing charmer Bill Goodman. Personally I thought his reading at the audition for that part was phenomenal, so I'm really glad he got it. This piece will be directed by usernamenumber*, and I'm so happy for him that he'll get a chance to work under Brad's direction. Additionally, the other day he was offered the role of Sir Henry Baskerville in another of the three pieces The Hound of the Baskervilles. I am a huge fan of that novel, so that's really cool. He'll be in excellent company, too. Congratulations to rigel* for getting the lead in Sorry, Wrong Number, directed by the awesome audioboy. And most of the other cast members are names I recognize from previous productions Jared did with Theatre@First, such as the amazing Leslie Drescher, who was Rosalind and Caroline Bingley. Jared's wanted to get into voice acting for a long time now, and I know he loves working with this group, so I'm extremely happy for him. It makes me so proud to see his name on the cast lists here on the show website.

Jared and went to see the last production that PMRP put on, when they did an episode of Red Shift and a reading of The Day the Earth Stood Still. I'd never been to an audio drama performance before, so I didn't know what to expect. They lined the edge of the stage with microphones and had a row of chairs along the back where the actors waited until it was their time to move up and speak. The sound effects were handled by the techies over the sound system, like in a regular play. The actors were sort of in costume too, which was interesting. I was impressed to learn that oakenguy* was one of the writers of well-written and hilarious Red Shift script. All the actors were very funny and did a great job, but the highlight of the show for me was lediva*, talking in the WEIRDEST sort of strangled-off nerd voice, playing a violently obsessed fan from a race of acid-spitting aliens. It was an interesting experience, and one I will be repeating when I attend the Summer Radio Mystery Theater. It will be July 27th and 28th, both nights at 8PM and then a 2PM matinee on Saturday. I hope you'll join me there for Jared's PMRP debut!

Too many run throughs

Wow, I'm suddenly really glad I got to see Shaken Up Shakespeare when I did. All the shows are sold out from on out! Congratulations to oakenguy* and all of his castmates-- I know I really enjoyed it, and was very impressed with the acting and production.

Love's Labor's Lost rehearsals have been very heavy over the past several days. We have blasted through the whole show four times already this week, and we're doing another run tonight. I think we're in pretty damn good shape by now, but the location for tonight is our rain space, so Shelby wants to make certain we're adapted to it in case we end up having to move there. I could honestly use a night without having to be on, but at least this is the last run through before we open on Saturday. Right now I'm just praying that it doesn't rain during the picnic on Sunday. I've put too much planning into it already.

Gah, brain mushy. I've spent most of today processing expense reports, and the work, she is meticulous and tedious. I look forward to when I can relax with my cookbooks and choose some dishes to make tomorrow night. It occurred to me actually after Jared's suggestion that this might be a good opportunity to make pork, since no one present is unable to eat it. That might be really nice. My goal is to have a shopping list written up by the end of the day, and to take care of supply-buying on my way home from work tomorrow. Then shall the cookening commence.

Rehearsal weekend over

Weekend of rehearsal is concluded. Things went rather well; we seem to be in a pretty good place with the show, and with the exception of that one goddamn line that I always psych myself out of remembering, I feel like I'm fairly ready. The other day I hit the thrift store, dropped off a big bag of unwanted clothes, and picked up a pair of khakhi cargo pants just baggy enough to look boyish to wear as my costume. The fact that they're a little too big hides some of my feminine definition, but I discovered necessitates the wearing of a belt to not slide below my knobby hipbones. I also broke out the chest binding for the first time in this role. As usual, reactions ranged from people impressed by the fact that I was willing to do it to weirded out by how kinky and uncomfortable it looked.

As some of you know from doing shows with me in the past, I have a odd little tendency to walk around in just the binding before getting into costume. I did this today, and because I was not sure how my fellows in the show, few of whom really know me, would react to it, I was thinking about this today. I didn't experience any real negative reaction, but I did wonder if anyone thought it was strange. I'm not totally sure why I feel the desire to do it, though I think it's complicated. For some reason it relaxes me to lose that outer layer of clothing, so it's become my custom before a play even when I'm not bound. I am proud of how attractive my midriff is, so I'm sure the way exposing it makes me feel about myself gives me a sense of positivity before a show. I think i also like the notion of how before I put on my character I have to stop being Phoebe and start being an empty canvas on which to paint the character. Costumes have always helped me get into character, so the total lack of any kind of costume over the binding I think helps me part with myself and become clear to assert the new personality. There's probably a dash of a need to assert my true femininity before putting on my masculine character; this is not a huge issue for me, but I think this small gesture helps keep it that way. It's an odd little issue of mine, but for the first time I felt compelled to analyze my need for this weird little ritual. Because of the drive, I had to strap down really far in advance, and my ribs were starting to ache by the time the show ended. That was a bit surprising-- normally my breasts themselves are what gets sore, but this time it was definitely my ribs. Will have to work out a way to cut down the time I will have to spend bound up. Still, it's good to know that I'm pretty much totally in order to go on this coming weekend.

Have gathered a fairly good crowd for the planned picnic before the show on Sunday the 24th. Though certain people will be sadly missed, a nice group is amassing that I am very glad will spend the time with me. If you decide you'd like to come with us, just drop me a line and I will be happy to include you in the plans.

I did manage to get to oakenguy's show yesterday. I was kindly accomplanied by my beloved in_water_writ, and I'm very glad I made it. I liked every piece or different reasons, and had the extremely rare experience for me of being impressed with the ability of every single actor involved. Brian was as fun and funny as I expected he'd be, and I must certainly be sure to get out to any future shows of his, so that I may see more of him onstage! I certainly recommend anyone who enjoys Shakespeare and Shakespeare-related material (not to mention Brian!), as I certainly do, to go out to Somerville and catch this show. Afterward Jenn and I had a lovely time hanging out at chatting at J.P. Lick's, concluding a long day with a very pleasant evening.

Overwhelmed

Feeling overwhelmed. I am so behind on the responsibilities of life and work that I feel like all I do is run from one thing to the next and never make any headway. My to do list seems a mile long, and I have no idea where to begin. On top of that, my body seems to be rebelling in every way possible; I feel like someone should hang a biohazard sign around my neck. I am, needless to say, not at the top of my game right now.

I had forgotten until Thursday night that there were two all-day rehearsals for Love's Labor's Lost this weekend. I'm sure they'll go fine, but I really could have used the time to try and get other things done. I also want to go to oakenguy*'s show tonight; I've always wanted to see him act, and the fact that the show is Shakespeare-themed I'm even more excited. I arranged for two tickets, but in my distracted state I forgot to invite anyone to come with me. If anyone wants to attend an 8PM at the Unity Church of God, 6 William St., Somerville (Davis Square), give me a call and let me know. See www.theatreatfirst.com if you'd like more information.

Intercon J weekend report

Wow. What a con.

Back from Intercon now and back to the grind of regular life. I am happy, exhausted, and very thoughtful.

Friday night was Shadow Over Babylon. Not my favorite game of the weekend, but I certainly had a good time. There were lots of fun people in it to play with, which I enjoyed. One thing that occurred to me is that, having played in quite a few Cthulhu games by now, it's getting a little tougher to not metagame when playing a character who doesn't necessarily know about any of the mythos who is confronted by signs of their activity that are easily recognizable by me, the player. For example, if I see someone with clammy skin and a fishy expression, Phoebe knows right away-- Innsmouth look! There are Deep Ones around! But my character usually wouldn't have any idea, so I need to find a way to acquire that knowledge legitimately in game. I'm pretty good at waiting to use that information until I learn it in-character, but I never really thought about how, with the frequency of Cthulhu games, this is an increasingly common situation for me.

Stayed up way too late hanging with people Friday night. I think this con I felt slightly shier than normal. It may have been my imagination, but there seemed to be a fairly high number of people who I met through events like this but don't really see elsewhere whom, when I greeted them, didn't particularly seem to recognize me. Not everyone, of course, but enough. That made me feel kind of awkward about trying to talk to anyone whom I didn't have a definite preestablished relationship with, which made me kind of sad. But I enjoyed the company of those I did get to spend time with immensely.


Dragged myself out of bed early Saturday morning to play Super Villain Academy. Jared talked that game up to me after playing it last year, so I was very excited. It definitely lived up to the hype. It is a fun, silly melodrama in a comic booky context, very clever and very funny. I had kind of a tough job of trying to find people but not let on to why I wanted to know, so I had to come up with clever ways to introduce my interests for reasons unrelated to my real ends. I love plotting, so I spent a lot of time sitting in the chair thinking, then running off to try my plan, then running back to think some more, then trying my new plan. I found all of my targets, due to my clever plans, and never got caught! I was proud of myself. I also thought my costume worked out fantastically. I highly recommend this game if you ever get the chance.

After a quick lunch Saturday afternoon, I threw on my civilian clothes and ran to my gamespace to set up for Oz with Jared. I really liked the space they gave us, two small adjoining rooms with appropriate features to represent the space station. The group of players was fantastic, including a number of awesome Chicago larpers. Many plots were advanced further and many nuances came out in this run that never progressed so far before. And it's always interesting to see how people of different larp cultures approach a given material. I was surprised that many did not seem to understand the significance of character numbers-- as in, that they were something to be taken note of because they were meaningful. I use them as representative of a character's appearence; if you know a character's number, then you recognize their face. I'm including a note in the rules about that. The game ended with the galaxy blowing up. I was sorry for most of the players who did such an excellent job playing out their stories to have it all end like that, but I was impressed that the villain managed to win for once. I guess that's just Marc Blumberg for you. :-) All in all, Jared and I were quite pleased.


Saturday evening was The Last Seder. This was the game I'd been anticipating forever. I wasn't sure what I was going to think of it going in, but I knew I had to experience it. The format is unlike any I'd ever played before, alternating between a conversation game around a dinner table and a storytelling game with mini-characters you switch into the act out smaller tales. It is beautifully written and ingeniously designed. I was also impressed with the respect and reverence with which the religious material was approached, making it an interesting and enjoyable cultural experience as well. I'm not certain however that the structure really worked for me. It was really cool to have these stories inform the direction of the game, but having to march into another room and play out another character for a moment kind of broke the flow for me. The fact that I was incredibly tired by this point, which I think inclined my roleplaying to be sadder than I might have otherwise, may have contributed to my dislike of the interruption. Jared actually suggested that it might be less flow-breaking if one set of players played the main characters and another set of players made up a horde that performed the stories for them. I find that an interesting idea that I would probably prefer from a cast-character-player and presentation standpoint, but from a larp standpoint you'd probably end up with a horde that was bored during the conversation bits. Not to mention you might lose the significance of when the cast characters actually appear in the stories. Overall, an excellent, beautifully written game in an unconventional style that may not be to everyone's taste and may not even be to mine, but one I am very glad to have played and experienced at least this once.

I went to bed pretty much right after game wrap. So very, very tired. I'm sorry I missed the social time, but I was collapsing. I'm just not the sort of person who can get by without sleep, especially when I can't have my typical source of caffeine.


Sunday morning I got up as early as I could and helped Jared do some last minute prep for GM Space. I was going to play, but they turned out to have enough players after all, and I was still not terribly well-rested, so I jumped in for a sec and then left. I had to take care of getting us checked out of the hotel room anyway. Luckily I ran into our roommate oakenguy* as he was getting ready to leave, so I gave him a hug and thanked him for being so much fun to hang around with. Seriously, we were lucky to room with him. I made sure everyone was set, then got things taken care of at the front desk, which was a load off my mind. GM Space had some issues with personality conflicts and differences with player expectations, which Jared worried over, but most of them had a good silly time and none of the issues were his fault, or anything he could do anything about, so I told him not to worry about just be pleased that so many enjoyed his game.

All in all, it was a lovely weekend that I enjoyed immensely. The negatives were only very minor. I discovered when I arrived I didn't pack quite as well as I thought I did; there were a bunch of little things I forgot to take into account, like making sure I was wearing the right underwear to be able to change in front of roommates if necessary, or having at least one pair of flat shoes so my feet could have a break from heels. I'm pretty disappointed with myself for that, especially since I thought I'd been so careful. I should write myself a packing list now to use every year so I don't make those stupid mistakes again.

Also, I have concluded from this Intercon is that I cannot cram my schedule with as much as I did this weekend and maintain an acceptable level of energy. I played in three and a half games (played in GM Space until they had enough to be up and running) in addition to GMing Oz, and all that on top of how little sleep I got, I was so very, very draggy through much of the time there. Last Festival I did something in every slot, running four things and playing one, and as exhausted as I was by the end of it, it was a little easier on me because I've always found running less intense and demanding than playing, and because for that con I was allowed to have Coke with its lovely boost of caffiene. I imagine Anna Bradley at the end of this con was like, "WHY do we have so much extra Coke left over?" because it's still Lent, which means I'm still not allowed to have sugar, which means I couldn't go through the typical six liters or so that normally support my energy level over the course of Intercon. Unfortunately I can't abide the taste of coffee, so it wasn't available as a substitute. My ideal weekend schedule is playing two things and running one, I think. I can stand running more, but I can definitely play in no more than three events, and if I'm playing in three, then I'm not sure I want to add anything else by running. Does anyone else find that being the GM is easier than being a player? Or is it vice versa for you? I think for me, it's because being a player is active-- you have to take initiative and figure out what to do yourself --but being a GM is reactive-- you wait for the players to come to you, and everything else have already been figured out in advance.

Dead dog could have gone a little more smoothly, but concerning that I must say only that captainecchi*, electric_d_monk*, and laurion* are amazing and I thank them for how sweet they were. Tiredness and unnecessary struggles got to Jared and I by the end of it, but still, we loved the con, we loved the company, and we're excited, as always, for next year.

Next year in the Waltham Westin!

Brian brightens my day

I was winding up for a really grouchy entry here, but I've been reading back entries of oakenguy*'s LiveJournal and he is so funny and interesting and awesome that my mood is greatly lifted. Thanks for being wonderful, Brian. :-)

This weekend was over before I even realized it began. Lots of rough stuff going on for Jared, and he needed a lot of help from me to get through it. I'm glad to help, and I think everything is handled and okay now, but I'm kinda burnt out. Also, I ended up having to see a lot more of Sara than I'd hoped I would. Honestly it wasn't that bad, she was fairly pleasant and I put forth my very best effort, but I had things I would have rather been doing with my time than have brunch with her and drive her places because she put zero planning into this trip. Honestly the only thing that really bugged me was the expectation of how much Jared would be available. No, Jared TOLD YOU he was not available to entertain because IT IS FINALS WEEK and he HAS FINALS. *Sigh* She ended up offering to make us dinner as thanks for our help, which was very nice of her, but necessitated I spend more time around her, and I couldn't refuse without looking like a jerk. Again, the evening was pleasant enough, but I don't want to spend that much time around a person whose primary effect on my life has been to make my boyfriend feel bad about himself. At least I got to take a break from it all and go with Steph to the Natick Mall, which turned out to be a lot of fun and a nice respite from my roles as "support system" and "ex wrangler." I may have to have dinner with Sara again tonight, but hey, it'll be a meal I don't have to pay for, and I can at least enjoy Jared's company and the fact that three years is a sufficient period of time to pass that I can exhibit normal girlfriend behaviors in front of his ex without hurting her feelings. (For those of you who react to this length of time with outrage, the last time I was actually in Sara's presence was over two years ago.)

Also, went to a lovely surprise birthday party for Frances the other day that was incredibly nice. Every time I talk to her I'm reminded of how I need to spend more time with her. It was just a lovely, nice, low-key evening with good friends, which I needed, and Jared too. Nearly the entire cast of To Think of Nothing was present, and it really warms my heart to see the evidence of how enthusiastic they are about this show. I'm so excited to get to work on it.

Focuson the positive, Phoebe. Like the show, and being with Jared, and the sheer unadulterated awesome that is oakenguy*. That'll keep me from being the constant grouch I'm threatening to turn into.

Intercon report

Friday night - All's Well That Ends - This really was an excellent game. It was incredibly thickly plotted, and it seemed like pretty much every character felt like they were important and involved in significant things. I loved the setting, and the way the history was interpreted for dramatic effect. I was Robert Floode, a successful boy actor on the Elizabethan stage, and I very much enjoyed my entanglement in the theater world. Also, I always enjoy having the chance to interact with electric_d_monk, who had the role of Mr. William Shakespeare. I was genuinely cross-cast for the first time, and a role like mine is actually probably better suited to it than most. Additionally, it's games like these that really point out how the management of information can really affect a game. I tend to be an inveterate liar in larps, mostly to manipulate people, but sometimes you manipulate them more by telling the absolute truth. I got a fundamentally honest character to to tell me everything she knew by answering all her questions completely frankly. Amazing how one thing works well in some instances and another works better in others. AJ, the author and GM, is not only an excellent writer but an incredibly charming guy; I'd love to get the materials from him and run it myself here at Brandeis sometime, and from a quick conversation I had with him it seemed like he'd be okay with that.

Saturday morning - Muppet Purgatory - Unfortunately I did not have quite as good a time in this game. It was a horde game in which I was cast as horde, but-- obvious as it may seem --I like being horde in good hordes, I really don't like it in not-so-good hordes. The horde in this game was not written to allow a lot of interaction with other characters, and a lot of the time if someone didn't get the Muppet reference the character was making, either you had no idea how to play it or no one knew how to respond to you. Not my kind of horde. I think the cast characters must have been better, as the cast seemed to being having a lot of fun, but they were also played by some really strong larpers-- oakenguy as Fozzie, Margaret Simkins as Miss Piggy, Jim MacDougal as Gonzo, and the guy I didn't know who played Animal was absolutely amazing. Poor Nomi as Kermit had to run around herding cats trying to get us all out onstage, and Adina and Laura made a really good Statler and Waldorf. I liked the performative aspects of it, when you went out on stage with an act-- I got to play in a D&D game run by Animal, and sing the Internet is For Porn, among other things --but the horde just wasn't strong enough to stand without the context of the presentations. So not a great game, but probably some would have fun with it, and not really the game for me.

Saturday evening - League of Extraordinary Hogwarts Students - I had a blast in this game. I heard reports of Matt and Lise working on this game over the past year and grew progressively more excited for it as time went on that I couldn't not sign up for it. I loved the Victorian pastiche part of it, and they wove it very skillfully into the Harry Potter setting. I was the Cheshire Cat, and got to wear my sexy kitty costume that got more than a few approving looks. ;-) i had enough plot to give me a direction, and then the total freedom to pursue what interested me and stick my nose in other people's business. It was a very interesting character in its function and capabilities, and I loved getting to figure out how to use my situation to my best advantage. I had an ability that was both very powerful and incredibly abuseable, and I surprised myself by how much I used it during the game, but I worked very hard to not screw anybody with it. I followed around the guy who played Auguste Dupin a lot, as well as Marc Blumberg as Professor Moriarty, partly because they had interesting mysteries and partly because they were just fun to interact with. Among those that impressed me were those two, Margaret (as always) as Artemisia Black, the guy who played Watson, and Jared in his incredibly cool character that I ended up having a really fun time with. The one real criticism I had involved the deduction mechanic, which was a great idea and worked well, but there was just so much of it to get done that it tended to eat up a lot of time. I like the concept of it, though, and I'm considering asking if I can adapt it for something in Oz. Heh, as a side note, there was an incredibly cool moment right before the game that I was in my Cheshire Cat costume standing in front of Matt and Eager Mike-- my two Cheshire Cats. I am extremely amused to think that Matt was my original Cheshire Cat, and I was in the first run of his.

Sunday morning I wasn't in any game, but I did watch the second run of GM Space. It ran beautifully yet again, and I am incredibly proud of how strong that horde is. I think everyone who played it enjoyed it, even the players who typically don't like horde games. Socially I felt like I got to talk and hang with a lot of great people. Jared and I chatted a lot with David Cave, who played the March Hare in the second run of Alice, who is trying to finish a larp of his own. It was also great getting to see Marc Blumberg, who impressed the hell out of me as the White Rabbit. I wanted to talk more to Margarat Simkins, but she just kind of got away from me even though we were in two games together. One of the best things was that I got to be with Matt and Lise, who I haven't seen in a really long time and have really missed. They were excellent company, and I want to talk to them more about their game. The dead dog, organized by londo, was very nice. This weekend I also made a point of hanging with bronzite because I haven't seen him in a while, and I wanted to hear about how it was to do Iron GM. His team, I Escaped from Arkham, won the contest, and now I'm very curious about their game. I also chatted with the dude from Mystical Journeys in the black and purple cyberpunk getup, who maintains the fact that he was flirting shamelessly with me is proof positive of how he was not part of his fellow's speculation that my age was fifteen. *Grumble* Stupid Alice pants making me look like a scrawny shapeless kid. It was also really nice to just be able to just be with Jared, hanging with people, playing games, and not worrying quite so much. We both had a bit of con crash afterward, I think because we had to be plunged back into the grind of work and stress, but for the timebeing it was a really nice diversion. He busted out an impression of someone at the dead dog that cracked up those of us still lingering.

So yeah, it sucks to be back to the grind, but overall, good con, and thanks to everyone that helped make it so.