Can I keep it?
Eclectic adventures in lots of things.
Three more days. Wheee.
Dec 2nd
Three days until Threads: Jerusalem. Hope the Tomb knocks their socks off.
Jerusalem. Less than two weeks away.
Dec 2nd
8 days from heading up for the build of a damned ambitious set of scenes. I MUST REMEMBER TO BRING A CAMERA DAMMIT.
Must make it bigger better and all encompassing. NO! That Way Lies Madness!
And now for something completely different… More >
Thank God For Six Week Turnarounds…
Dec 2nd
Lincoln County banged it’s head like a hair metal fangirl. Scenes mostly went down as I hoped they would, which meant that the players/Cast got to ride on my thought train to good effect.
Oh yeah, I robbed a steam engine drawn passenger train. How fucking cool is that?
Ill ruminate some and post what I think went well and what went not as well later.
Intercon G: The missing report.
Dec 2nd
Arrival at the Intercon G hotel was pretty uneventful, we immediately set the room up for the run of M and Ravenrose’s Gaiman based game, World’s End; (we had gotten a suite for this express purpose.) I wound up playing in that game, which was a cozy story telling experience, with a lot of smoke and mirrors in people’s characters, masking the Character they were based on. (I was an opium dealer based on Dream from Sandman.) The game ran well and people had a good time.
The next morning I played Gordon Olmstead-Dean’s satire of the Build Your Own Character genre, aptly entitled “Now SPIT!” I chose to play King Leonidas, and was definitely screwed to start out. In the end I managed to turn an enemy into an ally (or at least a docile not-enemy,) hired an arms merchant to my cause, and had Benjamin Franklin on a short leash. (It was a great game, all the players were wonderful!)
After SPIT! I hustled off to get my drama together. I ran The Awful Truth for a younger crowd overall that I had at IMA. I am not disappointed, however, I can see distinct differences and correlations regarding median age and play styles. It turned out much the same as the original run, and the majority of players were digging on the groove. There was one or two who I feel lacked the ability to play on the same field as the more serious actors. The space was almost too big for the 25 people we had in the room, however I managed to narrow it down some by using strategic placement of furniture. The elder participants had more confidence and more ability to handle characters that had basic direction but required an effort to portray. In all the majority of the cast were impressive and helped the weaker members through a fairly complex and difficult scenario.
Post Truth, I attempted a nap with middling success, and was somewhat rested for the evening’s game, The Dance and the Dawn, a game centered around dancing and interpersonal interaction. It was a fun game, though I did have to turn of my GM critiquing engine so that I could enjoy someone else’s run style.
Flew the Coop was supposed to run Sunday morning, however I didn’t get my minimum, which reinforces my idea that a decent game can run twice an excellent event can run three times and it’s ok to help another game out when you are way short of what you need at a con.
I spent a fair amount of time smogging and packing Sunday, then we took the long drive home, all the way on a con high.
Dr. Savage’s Travelling Roadshow
Dec 2nd
Last week on Thursday, M and I set out for Intercon G in the oncoming rain. We had all of our props, costuming and other sundry items packed in the back of the truck. We pulled into Danbury in steady cold rain that was starting to feel more like slush. We drug ourselves into the hotel there and she made arrangements for the room while I was looking for a place to park where we wouldn’t get towed or broken into. Lacking a safe place to park, I decided to bring in the items in the back of the truck. (Well there was also the fact that we hadn’t really packed with much joint planning in mind, so we were opening the bins to locate our clothes and other important items like Deodorant.)
As I wheeled the loaded baggage cart into the hotel, dripping water from my jacket and pouring from the bins, I got a disgusted look from the girl at night desk. I thought little of it, since I was exhausted from the cold and wet. We slept soundly on what could only be described as a box spring with sheets. It was the kind of tired you get from being on the road far longer than you expected.
We got up in the morning and started getting ready for the final leg of the trip, I decided to go load the bins in to the truck. I exited the room with the bins, (much drier this time,) and I headed to the cart. Some of the other guests were in the lobby and stared at the growing pile of Bins on the cart as though it was something unpleasant.
The thought kind of hit me out of the blue, as I made a few connections here and there in my sleep refreshed brain.
“We are the next group of Entertainers. We have traded Sterilite Bins for steamer trunks and Automobiles for Pullman Sleepers.”
If you look at it from that perspective, those that write Interactive Theatre and LARP are essentially the Vaudeville and Carnies of our times. We aren’t that big yet, but we are starting to tap into the masses of people who are tearing themselves away from movies and TV for interactions with real people.
Most who participate in our art are of the mind to have experiences that they could not normally have. Slaying the dragon or rescuing one’s friends from certain doom are things that as people, we just don’t get any more. That’s where our art comes in. We use many of the stagecraft and carnival ideas of producing a show for an audience. What’s more, instead of a passive audience, our audience is IN our show. They are flying without a net by not having a script or knowledge that the outcome will be as they expect. And my dear friends, we are giving that to them. Indulging their fantasies by indulging our own as writers and directors, we manage to touch them in ways that less personal entertainment cannot.
Gordon Olmstead-Dean gave me a copy of the Knudepunkt book to read through and honestly, the preface is as far as I have gotten. (More time soon, I’m Sure) But the preface is a small discussion on why they chose the title “Lifelike” for the book. It was pretty insightful and really hit a chord.
Next Update: Intercon G and Awful Truths
