Merely Players: The Larp?

Wow, after feeling like for ages there hasn't been much larp in my life, I sure have had it in the forefront of my attention this past week or so.

After laurion* suggested several scenarios for a light, quick larp in a contained space, being the meta-theater freak that I am, I latched onto the ideas of actors, maybe actors just about to go on stage, utilizing the lovely convention of the dysfunctional troupe who've got more drama going on behind the scenes than they do onstage. Eight or so character, two hours, trapped backstage hashing out their bullshit so the show can just go on already! Funny, silly, easy to run and hopefully to write.

It amuses me that I am basically thinking of writing Merely Players: The Larp. Well, not exactly. Similar plots and character archetypes to those I used in Merely Players, if not exactly the same people or plots as they existed in the show. But if I could take a PC and an NPC from The Stand and make a play out of their drama, why can't I take a piece of theater I wrote and use it to inspire a larp?

I think I'm going to noodle around with this, at least idly. Not committing to run it or anything, but it might ease my current malaise somewhat. At least it'll provide an easy, low-pressure alternative to the more serious work I am responsible for lately. Thanks, Chad, for tossing out the idea!

DREAM PLOT

I had a dream about running The Stand last night. Only, as it always is when I dream about running larps, it wasn't exactly The Stand as it was supposed to be. I must have conflated it with Resonance in my subconscious, because I remember natbudin* was helping me run it, and I was being worried that certain characters didn't have enough to do because other characters they needed to interact with weren't among the fifteen that ended up in the game, which would only happen if you mixed the two game formats.

I remember Dream-Nat having to NPC a giant, and run an expedition into a dungeon. Don't know where that stuff came from. Also, laurion* was there, and though he was playing the character he is in fact cast as for the upcoming run, it... wasn't the character as written, so much. If I recall, Dream-Chad had gathered together a secret society and was trying to summon a demon. I don't believe it spoils anything to tell you that sort of thing just doesn't happen in this game. I mean, I guess anybody could TRY to gather a secret society and summon a demon in The Stand, but... ain't nothing going happen, partners. Ain't no vampires, aliens, superheroes, or time travelers in this here larp.

But what was interesting is that not all the dream-Stand was totally whacked. In fact, it contained at least one thing that wasn't in the game but actually was totally useable in it. The moment I woke up I knew the answer to something I hadn't quite figured out for a certain character. A plot came to me through the dream and I AM TOTALLY USING IT. That's pretty awesome. :-)

Larp con stuff

Got my second Intercon casting, which means I have all my characters and sheets for the con. This second casting is for Snaf U, which is a Brandeis classic I have been wanting to play for a long time. I see that I got the "tough cast" character, which Nat talked to me about beforehand. That always makes me smile. The role seems to have a pretty difficult job ahead, so we'll see how I do. I enjoy a challenge. :-) Costuming for the role is just going to be regular clothes from my closet, which is nice because it means I don't have to buy anything more. Still, this Sunday at 1PM ninja_report* and I are going to be going to the Garment District to try and take advantage of the sale. If anyone wants to join us there, it could be fun to meet up and shop together. I don't need anything more for Intercon, but I have a Groupon worth twenty dollars, so I'm planning on looking for stuff I like anyway. Can always get stuff for later, and God knows I love thrifting.

In other Intercon news, laurion*, the con chair for Intercon L, recently asked if I would like to be part of bidcom for next year, to which I have happily said yes. I've never participated in anything in the production of an Intercon beyond running games before but I'm interesting in becoming more involved in larp event organization, so that's kind of exciting.

Speaking of work for larp community events, I just sent out a reminder e-mail to all Festival attendees that they should sign up for the dead dog if they're coming, and if they're still on waitlists to consider filling the gaps in the handful of still-open games. Get on that, folks. That reminds me, one thing I need to do in the near future is figure out who to ask to be Festival con chair for next year. Again, I've been trying to get things done as far ahead of time as possible, so I should be looking for someone and have a choice in mind before we get to April. Next year's chair is traditionally announced at the dead dog, after all.

Stage kitten

So all the week I've been helping out backstage for the Wrathskeller, the Boston Babydolls Halloween production at the Cambridge YMCA. It's a really fun show, and I am happy that laurion* asked if I wanted to help with it. He's a very good stage manager, and a fun part of the show itself as well. I am being what is known as the stage kitten, the person who collects all the shed costume pieces between the acts. Though I am enjoying the experience, I have most definitely decided I like being onstage far more than I like teching. Stage crew specifically does not suit my skill set. As an actor, I have developed the tendency to focus strictly on bearing my part of the show, getting my cues right, minding my own timing, doing whatever little responsibilities have been closely assigned to me. If actors worry too much about whether or not other show things are being done, they get distracted and miss their cues, so they are encouraged to just trust the techies and the other actors and do their own parts. But as a techie you have to be aware of everything that's going on in order to time your stuff right, and to be able to provide the most support to everyone else. It's been a tough mentality shift. Also, being slightly nightblind, doing things in the dark isn't my strong suit, and hunting across the stage for lost pieces of clothing and then collecting them all as quickly as is necessary is not the easiest thing in the world for me. I am doing a passable but not great job of it. I probably would be doing better if I'd been able to be there for more rehearsals, but I imagine even with practice I can never be more than a strictly average stage tech.

But I got to wear a neat costume. I wore the neat bodice I found with the red corduroy side out over this gauzy black blouse I have that is a fantastic psuedo-period costume piece because it is ruffly, and a floppy enough fabric that I can get it to drape pretty much however I want, in this case off my shoulders. On the bottom I wore a full black skirt with flounces in it, graciously lent to me by blendedchaitea*. I was pleased because it suited the show's overall aesthetic, but wasn't so flashy that I drew unnecessary attention to myself. I ran into in_water_writ* and bleemoo* afterwards, and had a lovely time chatting with them for a bit. It was nice to see them, it felt like it had been a long time. Jenn was nice enough to snap a couple of pictures of me. Pardon the lousy lighting and low quality, it was just on my iPhone after all.

The show itself is really cool. It has this very 20's aesthetic to it, and tells a creepy story in a seedy cabaret setting with a great gothic atmosphere. The dancing is excellent, and the costumes are really fantastic to look at. And though I confess I personally don't find it all that hot (I've learned I find pasties and g-strings more absurd-looking than sexy, plus none of the ladies are my type) they are certainly experts at the art of burlesque. It's going on now through Halloween, so there's still time to check it out.

Current state of my costume life

Finally found a skirt for my Al-Ashtara outfit-- sort of, at least. I have been hitting the thriftstore about once a week keeping an eye out for full skirts that might go well with my dark blue belled sashes, with little success until now. Yesterday with katiescarlett29* I found the most fantastic billowy garment in a lovely shade of blue with fanciful lighter blue designs on it that feel suitably Arabic to me. This magical garment is not exactly a muumuu, but it is close. I now have two options. The easier of the two is to just yank the dress down so that the extremely wide neckline hangs arounds my hips and then gather and tie up the rest of the dress interestingly such that it looks like a flounced skirt. The more labor-intensive but probably more sensible option is to cut the skirt off from the bodice and sew in some elastic to create a real waist. It has been some time since I've done any real sewing, and I don't have access to a sewing machine right now, so it might be challenging. Still, though I have never done it before, hand-sewing an elastic band into the waist of a costume skirt can't be too far beyond my admittedly atrophied skills. It might be nice to have a project for myself that involves working with my hands and improving/gaining a skill. I will have to play around with it to see which option will best serve my needs, and consult the all-knowing Internet for advice.

Also, laurion* recently asked me if I wanted to do run crew-type stuff during the Boston Babydolls Wrathskeller performance. I have happily agreed. It should be fun, and as he pointed out, meeting them might help me get my foot in the door if I do ever go ahead and audition. I think I will end up being the person that gathers up the shed clothes between each act, referred to by Chad as the "stage kitten." And since crew for the Babydolls do not wear stage blacks, that means I need an appropriate costume. Since the setting of the Wrathskeller is a seedy tavern-type place, I figure saucy tavern wench would be very appropriate. I think my black bodice would work, and perhaps a skirt over my black crinoline, but I believe I need one of those blousy white off-the-shoulder chemise-type things. I don't suppose anyone has one I could borrow for the week leading up to Halloween? An apron would probably also be a nice touch, as well as possibly a scarf over my hair. Shall have to start experimenting with different pieces together.

Finally, I am thinking about my costume for Winter's Tale. Of course I will not be constructing it myself, as there is a costumer for the show, but by this point I've gotten eager to get it. It always help me feel more in character to have a costume. Steph has told me that we Sicilians will be dressed in cool wintry colors while the Bohemias will wear warm springy colors, which I like. So I'll be wearing some cool scheme, until my last scene, after which I've been mauled by a bear and am appearing as a figment of my wife's imagination. Then I will be wearing all black to indicate my deaditude. :-) Works for me. My contribution to the ensemble will be my neato costume boots. They're actually women's fashion shoes, but my mom bought them for me one day on the belief that they looked a lot more like men's Renaissance boots, something I could use with all the larping and Shakespeare I do. They've come in handy many times now.

So I have so many fun outfits to look forward to, and to get to work on. Suggestions welcome!

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!

Can the rough days stop now?

Jesus, did yesterday turn out to be lousier than I would have guessed. Bad day at work, all my chores turning out to be six thousand times tougher than I thought they'd be, and spending money on a lunch that it turns out I couldn't eat because I didn't realize it wasn't kosher. Bah.

But fortunately, the trouble was worked through. I finally got Frances's dress in order, and it looks very nice. The diorama is just a few touches away from being done. I also hit the thrift store and with literally with the loose change in my desk bought a fairly nice black blazer to wear for Shadow Over Babylon. That character really demands the wearing of a plain, official-looking suit, and I just didn't have what I needed for it. So I bit the bullet and bought something. It's a nice enough blazer that I can probably wear it in real-life dressy situations, and helps me at least simulate the plain black suit that Allie of Wardrobe Oxygen advises most women to keep in their closets. Heh, though I must say this game is the first time I regretted not having one. ;-)

The game of Small World played at BSCF later that evening also helped chill me out. It was nice to see so many nice friends, (and nudge them about attending the play, heehee) and I really must thank laurion* for introducing me to that most excellent game, and being willing to bring it and play week after week. ;-) I am not a hardcore board gamer by any stretch, so just how much I'm into Small World is a testament to how really great a game that is. I'm slowly getting better and better at it, I've had several games in a row now where I've averaged around ten points a turn, which is pretty good for a five-player game, but still somebody always does just a little bit better than me and I've never been able to win yet.

So yeah, yesterday really kind of sucked, but I got through it, accomplished what I needed to accomplish, and ended the day nicely and with friends. I guess things could have gone worse.

Intercon mulling

After reading laurion*'s summary of the current decision to move Intercon to a hotel in Waltham, I must commend him and the other boardmembers for their thoughtful examination of the situation and doing the best they can to handle it. It seems as if the saddest victim of the move will be the consuite, losing its ability to provide free food, but it occurs to me that I and other Waltham-based larpers may not need to pay for a hotel room if we so choose, which would probably more than compensate cost-wise. Interesting.

Also in regards to Intercon, I am still on the waitlist for my two games. I'm considering dropping off the Shadows Over Babylon one, even though I really really want to play, if only to have a Friday game. The only thing available in that slot right now is a Divus Ex game, however, and the Divus Ex game I played in a couple of Festivals ago was one of the worst larps I've ever been in, so I'm not sure.

Catching up...

Gah, busy weekend. Jared and I tried to go to a Red Sox game Friday night with Steph and Walter, but it was unfortunately rained out. I actually did enjoy the trip and the company, so it wasn't a total loss, but I am kind of disappointed about the fifty bucks I spent on the ticket.

Saturday was helping laurion move furniture to his new place. I really enjoyed this day, as it was spent doing helpful productive things that were incidentally also good exercise with lots of people I wanted to hang out with. I also spoke to Nat about the game he is working on with Susan and Vito, and agreed to be part of the writing team. I'm incredibly flattered to be asked; I think this could be a really great learning experience to try working in a group of people who have lots experience working this way and generated a lot of good games with it. We are working on scheduling a meeting. I must get myself up to speed on all the materials now.

Sunday was spent about half moping and feeling yucky and half solidifying the session of Burn Notice I would be running that evening. I actually really love the plot for this "episode" that we're going through now. My GMing style is to do as much prep work ahead of time as possible, so I'm not scrambling to come up with things, and I am always able to keep the story moving. I know as a player I strongly dislike when the action drags and the players just sort of don't do anything because there's nowhere to go. So I always try to keep things as fleshed out as possible beforehand, so the players always have something to move toward. I think it's worked pretty well so far.

Also, the working scripts my brother got me from the Burn Notice set arrived in the mail. One of them was to the third season premiere, which was pretty damn cool. The second one, however, is from an episode that HASN'T EVEN AIRED YET. How awesome is that? Thanks to Casey doing me a favor, I got a sneak preview of a brand-new Burn Notice! It's a pretty good one, too. I'm having him over for dinner tomorrow, and now I am especially happy to feed him in thanks.

Close of Macbeth

Macbeth cast party last night. It was a lot of fun; there was swimming and really good food and the cast members were fun. And yes, I did look good in my bikini, and gratifyingly it did not go unnoticed (including by the looker playing Banquo, heh heh.) I am extremely sorry I missed the party thrown by laurion however; from what I heard it was a really good time, but I felt like I shouldn't snub the people in the play. I might audition for this group again sometime, who knows. Chad, have another party sometime, and I promise I'll come. :-)

Closing night tonight. I'm excited for the barbecue beforehand. I have agreed to make my mother's fantastic potato salad for it. It's the potato salad for people like myself who don't like potato salad, many kinds of vegetables only very lightly dressed with mayo and sour cream. A healthier and in my opinion tastier version of the traditional "just potatoes and a gallon of mayonnaise" kind.

Really good BSCF

I really had a good time at last night's BSCF. It was really interesting to have that interviewer there; I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to her. But I got a serious case of the warm fuzzies when I happened to be walking by Matt's interview and the interviewer asked him about his favorite combat system in a larp, and he mentioned the one in Alice! Thank you, Matt, you're very kind, and it means a lot to hear you say that. Though, for the record, it was technically Jared who designed it. I told him I wanted a system that combined random and deterministic elements, so that the stronger character would usually win but the weaker one still had a chance, that somehow involved playing cards. He took those requirements and made the incredibly easy, effective system that I plan on using for all my games. :-D We're such a good team.

Then Sheena ran Unconventional Odyssey for a really fun group. I confess, I was not totally sure I'd enjoy it because I'd heard reports that it was really random and zany-- I thought it was just going to be a lot of random weird things thrown together. That can be fun, but it's not always to my taste, so I just had to trust Sheena that this game would work for me. Sure enough, I was pleasantly surprised to find that all the crazy elements were actually quite well thought out, and planned in such a way that the craziness steadily climbed rather than just be all over the place. The Vampire parody aspect of it was spot-on, so nicely done that I was a little disappointed that the game wasn't all that conducive to actually playing your character's Vampire character. It was have been interesting to see how the parody actually played. I was in the cast role of Jessie, who I joked to Sheena was a mean casting because it made fun of me. In reality she actually is just incredibly fragile and particular to the point of being too prissy to live. I think I may have interpreted that a little too far into bitchiness territory, which may not have been exactly the right note, but it more or less worked and I had a fun time doing it. I got punched out byrigel so I must have been doing something right!

The horde for this game did a fantastic job too. It had a significant number of newer larpers in it who weren't really familiar with the experience of horde, but they all just jumped in and came up with some really great performances. Also, bleemoo was hilarious as the phone player, and I was cracking up over the various phone calls he came up with. I kept wanting to call him with stuff, but the horde kept us so busy there was just no time. Jared ended up as horde as well. In the past he's always expressed a slight trepidation with horde, as he was never sure he'd be good enough at creating multiple characterizations to really enjoy the experience. That is the challenge of the horde from the actor's perspective, and I myself often force myself to ask for horde just to give myself some practice at being very different people. It's quite hard, really. But Jared didn't have to worry; I was really impressed by how varied and strong all his various roles ended up being! It makes me kind of sad I've never seen him in a significantly different double casting on stage; I know he can absolutely embody two separate people at once. I asked him not to try to make Claudius and the Ghost all that different in Hamlet, in the service of making a point, but now that I know how well he can do it, I want to put it to good theatrical use!

Afterward, there were lots of good conversations. I always like talking about larping in a theoretical sense with laurion. He has some really interesting insight, and I remember him giving me a couple of the most helpful pieces of advice when I was writing Alice-- most of all, he clued me into the all-important idea that if you want something to happen in a larp, you need to make the characters want it to happen.

There was a bit of negative business happening as well that I got tangled up in, but I like to think I helped a little bit of resolution happen, so it ended more of less okay. I hate it when two people who I both really care about are just so different that they piss each other off without meaning to by not understanding how the other interprets things. This is complicated when one of the parties is not inclined to acknowledge that they've done anything wrong. For those of you who witnessed this behavior, I will say in that person's defense that they are not trying to be pushy and dickish, they're just not very good at picking up on the fact that people are made uncomfortable by that sort of behavior, and don't understand why people are suddenly angry at them, and so gets angry at that. I think it's okay now, and I hope everyone can forgive and let it go, but that was the one dark spot of the evening. Still, overall, I had a fantastic time with my fantastic hobby with my fantastic friends.