CLUB FELIS:
Everybody Wants to be a Cat

~~~ THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED ~~~

Cats of Rochester, come gather and play at your very own nightclub: Club Felis!

In this light-hearted interactive theatre event stray cats and posh house cats mingle. They flirt, play, drink milk, and enjoy their cat mint. In particular, they participate in or enjoy watching the Cat of the Year competition, which is held “every week.”  For one evening only, the Rochester Civic Theatre will host the hottest nightclub in southern Minnesota for all things cool cats and hot jazz: Club Felis!

This event is also a fundraiser for Camp Companion! You’ll get to play the role of a cat AND learn about real adoptable cats looking for homes! Learn more about Camp Companion here: https://www.campcompanion.org/

 

We are a COVID Safe Event

COVID-19 Policy

Attendees need to be vaccinated for COVID-19 with your most recent vaccination after January 1, 2023. Bring proof of your vaccination status for inspection during check-in, which could be your card, a picture of it, or a document on your phone. You will be turned away at the door if you cannot provide proof of vaccination. 

Please reach out if you have any questions about this.

N95 respirators or better are required, and we will have a few to share. We also will provide surgical masks with cat faces for fun. We will be playing in a fairly crowded space, so masks will promote health and safety for everyone. Masks may be removed while performing on stage or in outside spaces. If you have any symptoms of COVID-19, stay home. If you are able to, please take a rapid test before arrival.

The 4 W’s

What

Club Felis is a Nordic style larp by Martin Brodén, Ada Fredelius and Anna-Karin Linder about cats living in the city and meeting in their very own nightclub.

It is also a fun evening of interactive theater, live pick-up jazz, karaoke, and cat ears!  Think the musical Cats + Improv theater and live-action role-playing. You are the audience, you are a performer, but above all… you are a CAT!

Where

Rochester Civic Theatre Lobby Stage,

30 Civic Center Drive; Rochester MN, 55904

Civic Center Parking Ramp or North Lot are closest and free on weekends

100 1st Ave SE or 317 E Center Street

Rochester, MN 55904

Travel to Rochester:  A passenger van will be available to transport people from Minneapolis. Musicians and event team travel free; for others please give $10 for gas. We will meet at a central location with parking and transit like the Mall of America and you can ask to be dropped home afterward if needed.

When

Saturday, June 15, 2024, from 6-10 PM

6:00 Doors Open

6:15 Pre-play workshops

7:00 – 9:00 Club Felis!

9:00 – 9:30 Debrief

10:00 Doors Close

Who

Presented by Larp House Role Play Collective and the Make a Scene Scenario Festival

Organized by Micah Amundsen (they/them), Peregrin Lorimer (they/them),  and Katherine Shane (she/her).

And hopefully attended by you!

Tickets

Get a ticket by filling out the Club Felis registration form. Once you have a ticket we will send you game information, but you don’t need to do anything else besides show up to play!

On the day of the event, we request a pay-what-you-want goodwill donation ($5-$20 suggested) to support low-cost immersive experiences in Minnesota and our wonderful host site, the Rochester Civic Theatre. No one will be turned away if they do not donate.

 Accessibility

The building is ADA compliant. Our playspace has standing and seating areas, and space to do your cat dance. Access to the stage area for performers requires a low step. If you want to perform and this is a barrier for you, please let us know on your registration or reach out to the game runners.

Restroom access includes two full restrooms with stalls that will be gender-neutral for the event.

What Happens at Club Felis

At the most basic level, Club Felis is a big cat party. Everyone wears cat ears, and maybe a costume or fancy clothes if they like, and pretends to be a cat hanging out at a jazz club with other cats enjoying toy mice, catnip, milk drinks, and jazz.

Larp:  This event is a live action role play game, or larp. It is a very simple, beginner-friendly game where the goal is to pretend to be a cat and have fun with music. The rules are very minimal and come down to supporting each other in making up stories and not being a jerk.

Cat Character:  At the start of the evening you will create a cat character that you will bring to life throughout the evening through improvisation and role-play.

Cat Drama: Every cat will be either a House Cat or an Alley Cat.  There is a deep rivalry between the two groups, except when there isn’t. Cats may also be friends or rivals over anything they like, especially if the reason makes sense only to the cat. Every cat can choose to lean into the drama, ignore it, or subvert it.  You decide!

Performance: Any cat at Club Felis can perform in Cat of the Year (karaoke or a short talent act) or play pick-up jazz onstage. Read that section if this interests you.

Cat Judgement:  At the end of the evening, the Most Important Cats will choose who wins Cat of the Year. If you want to vote, all you need to do is get your paws on a Most Important Cat token.

Touch & Movement: You will be using your whole body to act out being an anthropomorphic cat. You might pounce on a mouse or get hypnotized by a laser toy. You may try rubbing against things, asking for pats, or even cuddling if everyone agrees. Be ready to use movement and touch in play to represent your cat, but also to ALWAYS respect the boundaries of others, to ask if you don’t know, and to respect and maintain your own boundaries. You can always decline if someone else initiates something you are not interested in.

Noise: The space may be loud and crowded and lighting effects will help create a nightclub atmosphere.

Children are welcome with appropriate adult supervision for their age and needs.

Improv Safety Tools

Club Felis is unscripted and improvisational, so sometimes the actions of another player may surprise you or you may want to try something others may not expect. Techniques for creating your character, Inviting others into a scene, asking permission before touching, opting out, stopping play, asking for space, or leaving the room quietly will be discussed and practiced before play begins.

Following play, we will debrief to discuss our experiences and shed the roles we assumed for the game. The debrief is encouraged, but not required.

Performing

. Cat of the Year 

During the course of the evening, some cat will be awarded Cat of the Year, something which happens every week at Cub Felis. Cat of the Year is a talent competition.  During the year many cats have won Cat of Year. (Mr. Mephestoffilies is sure to remind you that it has won the competition many times.) You can prepare in advance, or do something completely spontaneous. Karaoke, stand-up, improv, and talent (or talentless) acts lasting under 6 minutes are ideal. The winner is selected based on cat-like non-logic not talent, so just have fun with it!  On your registration, we will ask if you will want to perform.  This isn’t a commitment, it’s just to help us plan about how many acts to expect.

Acts with racist, homophobic, misogynist, transphobic, ableist, body shaming or other negative content are unwelcome. Anyone presenting this type of content will be asked to leave.

Scatcats 

The Scat Cats are the resident jazz band of Club Felis. It varies from night to night exactly which cats are playing in Scatcats. It also varies which instruments they play. The only thing you can be certain about is that Scat Cats will play some great hits during the night. If you want to play in or sing with the Scat Cats, indicate that on your registration and we will reach out to you.

Costuming

All players are asked to wear cat ears to help set the mood for everyone.  Some will be provided at the game, but we encourage you to bring your own.  If you want to wear a fancier costume, dress up, or wear something that makes you feel like a cat, go for it!

This a masked event for COVID safety and you can certainly decorate your N95 with a cat face. We will also be providing surgical masks with silly cat faces for added fun.

What this Larp is Aiming for: 

Yes: 

• Finding joy in music and performance, yours and others
• Participation in acting and music at all skill levels
• Catlike sensuality without sexuality
• Gender-free play
• Playfulness
• Respect
• Catlike non-logic
• An open mind for the other players’ initiatives.

No:

• Sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ablism, body shaming, or generally being a jerk
• Harassment of any kind – No means no
• Violence, including mock or stage fighting
• To sit in a corner and look enigmatic the whole evening