Larp House Presents: QUILTBAG

Larp House Presents: QUILTBAG LARP

The University would like to invite all queer, questioning, intersex, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, asexual and gay students, faculty and community members to join the University Queer Life support group. This will be a safe, affirming and confidential peer led monthly support group for all local members of the queer community.

A parlor larp about the lives and identities of 8 regular people through the lens of their monthly support group.

WHAT: QUILTBAG, a playtest of a parlor larp for 6-8 players

Designed by Frank Beres, Quinn D, E. Chris Garrison, and Susan Weiner

Organized by Kathy Shane and Jon Cole

WHEN: Sunday, February 18th from 2pm to 6pm

REGISTRATION:

If you are interested in playing, fill out our QUILTBAG sign up form before 11:59 pm on Friday, February 9th. If more people sign up than we have room for attendance will be decided by weighted lottery. You should know if you are in or out of the larp by Sunday, February 11th. If less folks than max sign up, registration will be open after the deadline for stragglers.

WHERE: A North Minneapolis Nonprofit located near Broadway and Emerson Avenue in Minneapolis. Accessible by bus.

We are requesting a voluntary good will donation $5-10 to support the work of the nonprofit in appreciation for the use of their space. No one will be turned away if they are unable to make a donation.

PLAY STYLE:

This is an Intercon-style parlor larp. Play will alternate between playing support group meetings and workshopping what happens to characters in between meetings based on event prompts. Players are cast as prewritten characters before the larp. Each character is sheet 3-4 pages long.

THEMES: QUILTBAG is a game about the development of identity through community.

ACCESSIBILITY:

The play venue is ADA accessible. Plenty of seating. Water available. Climate controlled building.

COSTUMING: No costuming is required, but you can costume if you get excited about that sort of thing.

WHAT IS A PLAYTEST?

A playtest is a larp session intended to find design flaws in an in-development game. Often, designers will ask players for their thoughts on the experience after a playtest.

CONTENT WARNING: This game deals with issues of gender and sexual identity, experience of bias (outside the group), family rejection, offstage violence, discussion of violence, relationships and community, and gender transition. Sexual violence is not included in this game.

ART: Airman 1st Class Celeste Smith, 354th Comptroller Squadron customer service technician. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Ashley Nicole Taylor/Released

Larp House Presents: Potluck Larp

Larp House Presents: Potluck Larp

Everyone loves a potluck!

This winter, we are hosting a larp that is more than the sum of it’s parts. Using the framework Play With Intent we will build a larp and then play it in one evening. Let’s design the game in order to play it, including while we are playing it! And yes, we’ll also share food in a potluck fashion.

WHAT:

Play With Intent, a freeform larp for 4-6 players + casual social potluck

Designed by Matthijs Holter and Emily Care Boss

Organized by Kathy Shane and Jon Cole

WHEN:Friday, January 19th from 6:00 pm to 10:30 pm

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Larp House Presents: Sign

Larp House Presents: SIGN

A silent game for 3-6+ players in 2 hours.

Nicaragua in the 1970s had no form of sign language. If you were deaf, you had simple gestures with a trusted few, likely nothing more than a form of pantomime you negotiated with your family to meet basic needs. In 1977, something happened. Fifty deaf children from across the country were brought together to an experimental school in Managua. Without a shared language to express themselves, the children did the only thing they could – they created one. In Sign, we follow a small piece of their journey.

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Documentation for Deep Love

Documentation for Deep Love by Jason Morningstar, a larp about love between friends and scientists on a bathysphere expedition.

Organized by Arnold Cassell for Larp House, with assistance from Jon Cole.

Photos by Arnold Cassell.

4 players, Richfield MN in June 2017.

Larp House Presents: Inheritance

Ten years ago, Daxo murdered his beloved older brother, Baldr. Exiled by his father for his crime, he’s spent a long decade wandering. But now he’s heard that his dear grandfather has died, and he’s returned home to claim his inheritance.

WHAT:
Inheritance, a larp for exactly 9 players
Designed by Luke Crane
Organized by Kelley Vanda

WHEN:
Saturday June 24th 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM

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Larp House Presents: Deep Love

Larp House Presents: DEEP LOVE

A freeform larp for 4 players

Written by Jason Morningstar, organized by Arnold Cassell and Jon Cole

WHEN:7:30 pm — 10:30 pm on this Saturday, June 3rd

Nonsuch Island, Bermuda 1934 –You’ve come to this paradise to drop a two and a half ton iron ball off the side of a shop and lower it almost a kilometer into the abyss.
You’ve come to crawl inside that iron ball and go down with it, to what there is to see down there.
You’ve come with three other brilliant adventurers, friends and lovers, and you’ll all get a chance to descend and risk your lives in exchange for seeing things no human being has ever seen.
And maybe. in the inky darkness and cold silence, you’ll find a measure of happiness and fulfillment.

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A (Belated) 2016 Year in Review

As the new officers take on their roles and I shift out of being Creative Director I’d like to take a moment to recognize our accomplishments over the past year.

We ran a lot of larps in 2016. We ran 8 larps, more than 1 every other month, with more larps in a year than we’ve ever done since our founding. There were 21 different people (35 players in total) at these different events. Larp themes ran the gamut from resistance and betrayal to love and frivolity.

In 2016 a new larp organization was named in homage to us, North Carolina’s Larp Shack. We still aren’t making as much money as the other Larp House, since we are all-volunteer and our events are free and open to the public.

I’ve personally been very pleased with our ability to be a vehicle for playtests, new games, and under-appreciated gems by lesser known designers.

I also want to take a moment to shout out to Molly Forsythe. Fully 80% of my job was copy pasting emails that they wrote, so all that organizational work up front is paying off! The fact that I couldn’t just copy paste this email is probably why it took so long to send out!

In the year ahead I look forward to another year of locally-grown fun. I’m excited to take part in the diverse, enjoyable, and inspiring larps of 2017!

Sincerely,

Tom Fendt

Documentation for Strange Gravity

Documentation for Strange Gravity by Jay Treat, a sci-fi larp about about one starship and the vibrant personalities on board.

Organized by Jon Cole for Larp House.

Photos by Kelley Vanda, Jon Cole, and Emily M.

Played in Saint Paul in March 2017 for 7 players.