Drama exercises is the new costume-making
When larp grew big in Sweden, there was (at least the way I see it) a need to feel different from the table-top role-players. This manifested itself to a large extent in being serious as table-top role-playing, with its character sheets, focus on levelling and gathering experience points was not.
But there was this problem with taking role-playing seriously. I mean, who could honestly suggest that we be serious about pretending to be another person in an imaginary reality, an activity that only differs from childrens’ make-believe games in the average age of the participants? There has never really been a consensus as to what it means to be serious about role-playing, although the word has been used and abused countless times. Way back when, serious meant not trying to make the game into a joke and not “play to win”. Being serious was about caring about the practise of playing a character, a bit about immersion, and a bit about providing a tangible illusion. Today, being serious would probably mean actually trying to achieve something, and recognising that role-playing is an interesting and powerful medium. However, I don’t see that word a lot anymore, which makes me happy as I grew to dislike it pretty fast. (As I hope you will, if you continue reading.)
So how make larps serious? As we could not just be serious about it, we tried other ways. For some odd reason, caring about costumes and props became a big thing. Using the right materials, not using a sewing machine, etc. was the filter that was used to ensure that the non-serious larpers passed on a certain event. How to actually role-play was (observably) of much less importance than how to select the proper kind of stitches for a certain period. It was probably around this time that the abhorred concept “medieval fantasy” came about.
Pretty much anything that was time-consuming could be used as a filter and was therefore serious. The underlying line of reasoning was probably that players that spent a lot of time preparing for an event were less likely to destroy it by making it into a joke or anything. Careful preparations, regardless of what kind, was key to being serious. (On a side-note: There were some echoes of this in the table-top and freeform world as well. Being serious in that world was e.g. about not cracking jokes, about playing in English as opposed to Swedish and creating characters with flaws (not necessarily sensible ones) and not just impeccable heroes.)
Forcing people to really prepare for larping was probably one factor in making larps too bloody long. Look at Finnish larps – where one day larps without sleep-over seems to be the common length. If you’ve spend one year making that hand-sewn gown, you are likely to want to wear it as long as possible. The logic is flawed, yes, but human. (Or at least Swedish, which sometimes is a completely different thing.)
Nowadays, it seems like drama exercises is the new costume-making in Swedish larps. The heavy use of drama exercises and seminars for larps is all about being serious and scaring away the wrong people. All kinds of shitty drama exercises are used for the wrong reasons. Drama exercises have that serious, slightly arty appeal that signals “awareness” of something. Seminars contain exercises where participating seems to be the goal (contrary to what is stated, if anything is); participants are asked to form groups to brainstorm from certain words without any further directions. This all is a bit like the casual and equally worthless references to that book by Keith Johnstone (yes, I know what it is called) was used to legitimise dubious shit or give the necessary credibility to claims like “my way of role-playing is better than yours”, even though I strongly feel that we are past that today, seminars included.
Speaking to non-Swedish larpers subject to Swedish seriousness filters, I realise that we come through as idiots, asking people to pay expensive plane tickets and then (as they see it, or so they’ve told me) butt-fucking them with quasi-intellectual exercises. I take it they are usually too polite to protest, especially since all the Swedes take great pleasure in jumping around pretending to be cleaning ladies or performing trust-building exercises from the 70′ies. “Ah”, they say. “It must be the Swedish way.” I can’t help but feeling this is all part of some scam in “Rellatio”.
(I’ve probably offended some of the people I like, but I hope they survive.)
So, what’s my point? Is there even one? Perhaps not. I guess I am neither a sucker for seminars nor a sucker for drama exercises. Nor was I ever a sucker for making costumes or larping without going out of character for days on end. Maybe this makes me a lazy, lousy larper (do I give a fuck?).
Anyway, there must be other ways of preparing for role-playing. Better ways. I get the feel that this focus on creating ensembles have lead to creating slightly narrow-minded groups of people that like doing the same thing over and over without questioning the possible virtues. Am I involved enough to really say this? Probably not, but then again, if I was, I’d probably be too high on this stuff to criticise it (that was cheap).
Jaakko’s words echo in my brain: “Darling, you are a larper. If only by association. Learn to live with it. Like it. Love it.”
I’m glad we can be serious about role-playing. I’m glad that we can do that without prohibiting humour. I’m glad that immersion is not considered the only way to go. I’m glad that larpers don’t feel the need to distinguish themselves from table-top or freeform role-players anymore.
I’m not happy that we still need to create this false sense of seriousness through artificial methods like seminars and drama exercises. I’m not happy that a one-day larp event is belittlingly called a mini-larp with its bad connotations and associated baggage. I’m not happy that some people feel the need to label things as art or culture in order to enjoy it (I’m not disputing it is (at least not in this entry) — just the belief that labelling something actually changes it). I’m not happy that SVEROK keeps looking at role-playing as innocent games for adults.
Hm. I get the feel I come across as angry. Better stop. Kaffet, Börjesson.
July 20th, 2005 at 2:24 pm
[…] ith the great singing voice Tobias takes a historical drive down LARP’s memory lane: Drama exercises is the new costume-making. He chronicles the descent of Swedish LARP “seriousness” ( […]
July 26th, 2005 at 6:59 pm
Hi Olle,
have you seen Sven’s post on LinCon 2005? He describes some drama exercises, especially two forms of freeze play.
I’m preparing a dinner LARP for tomorrow with people who don’t know each other, and a couple that haven’t roleplayed at all. We’re going to use some kind of drama exercises before playing. I left preparations in the hands of Sven, but I think he’s planning to do the two freeze plays he talks about in the post above. The reason is not at all to feel superior or “pretto”, but to give everyone a chance to fool around and try some acting in front of each other. My goal is that it will both remove some of the nervousness of acting in front of other people and that it will make you enter a creative mode of thinking. I’ve kind of used this in table-top, the only difference being that it wasn’t drama exercises, but small games that can be played before the session. I feel a lot more focused during the actual session if I’m allowed to get all the silliness out of my system first.
I haven’t been to any prep session for LARPs since I haven’t played in any “serious” LARPs. I don’t know if drama exercises weeks or months before the actual event can help the players in any way, and I agree with you that there’s a real risk of just wasting peoples time. But I feel that one or two exercises right before starting the LARP can be a good way of getting into roleplaying mode. Besides, the exercises can be fun in themselves, especially since there’s such a blurry line between drama exercises and one of the freeform styles.
July 26th, 2005 at 7:00 pm
“Hi Tobias”, I meant to say, of course. Silly me, and sorry!
July 27th, 2005 at 12:55 pm
I agree with you even if I do think that you can’t paint all drama exercises with the same brush. There is no point in using a hammer when a scalpel is needed. Yet sometimes you do need to drive those nails in.
July 27th, 2005 at 1:43 pm
Elsewhere, Jaakko just referred to you as “the Swedish Mikki”. Out of curiosity, does that give you the same burst of undirected anger and disdain I get whenever someone says something like that? Do you even care?
Anyway, uh, once again he demonstrates some fairly thorough knowledge of the miasma that rolls around in my head, because I cannot help but agree. I have never really been able to have a conversation about games with anyone who’s that concerned about whether someone’s costume is made by hand or with the aid of a machine without laughing in their face, and most of these ridiculously ritualized exercises some people are so fond of are little more than New Age bullshit repackaged for role-players; our equivalent of homeopathy and healing crystals — more ritualized and vaguely defined superstition for the voluntarily stupidified would-be intellectuals… really, that whole goddamn insistence that making such a big deal out of what should really be a fairly simple process is really crucial and far more worthwhile than sitting down and talking just strikes me as counter-productive or useless at best and offensively pretentious or delusional at worst.
Which is not to say that a certain degree of authenticity can’t be useful or that certain exercises don’t have their uses, but this cult-like, “be-all end-all” devotion to these things some people have that makes me want to reach for a can of gasoline and matches.
In general, a little arson here and there could only do us good.
July 28th, 2005 at 4:00 pm
We played the LARP without any drama exercises, since other preparations took a bit longer than expected. I can’t say if it affected the game in any way, unfortunately. We felt that we wouldn’t really benefit from it at the time, because the pre-game chat was enough to get people to know each other and feel comfortable.
July 31st, 2005 at 5:30 pm
Hi all, just came back to a reliable internet connection with a speed that exceeds 9600 baud. Anyway, I just want to comment on Jonas’ last comment. I recently read (in a book on good hacking, as it were) that Jane Austin read all her books out loud to her family, which served as an active filter against writing any pretentions bullshit. I have no relation to Jane Austin’s books, but I know that reading something that you’ve written out loud to other people is a good way of looking at your own material through others’ eyes. For various reasons, wanking is easier when you are alone with you own material.
So what am I driving at? Well, something like this: trying to do drama exercises in a room with a handfull of people that you know is a bit like reading yout pompous bullshit out loud to your family. You generally don’t want to do that. My understanding is that most people don’t do drama exercises in that kind of setting. My question is if they realise why they are reluctant to do so.
It’s the old blue pill or red pill question. (Ok, not so old.)
August 1st, 2005 at 10:23 am
“So what am I driving at? Well, something like this: trying to do drama exercises in a room with a handfull of people that you know is a bit like reading yout pompous bullshit out loud to your family.”
First, we didn’t all know eachother, that was one of reasons for discussing it. Then , what we had planned to do was just some improvisation stuff, which really is roleplaying, but the micro version. I don’t see that as pretentious, maybe unnecerssary.
But the only point with it was to make people more comfortable with eachother, which wasn’t needed. Maybe because of something close to the reason you claim.
I should also say that I mostly agree with you post and you comment. It’s easy to be pretentious and hard to be good.
August 1st, 2005 at 1:22 pm
Tobias,
I don’t want to ruin your rant by asking for clarification or anything, but I’m curious as to what kinds of drama exercises you’re talking about. In the introduction post you said that “participants are asked to form groups to brainstorm from certain words without any further directions”, and that does sound rather pointless. If you could try to read the minds of the organizers, what do you think the point of the exercise was? Or was it really just a repetition of something they had done themselves and that was repeated without any meaningful framework?
Is the exercises the problem or is the real problem the need for preparation, especially preparation that doesn’t seem to directly affect the game?
August 4th, 2005 at 4:44 pm
What kinds of drama exercises? Various kinds, especially trust-exercises like running towards a wall but being stopped from crashing into it by the rest of the players, and things like that. Having your eyes closed and being led around a room without colliding. Trying to lead someone without using force. Being silent and signal things with your eyes. Men exposing their shoulders and being “pested” by women who have put socks in their pants to build a scrotum. Playing tigers that battle for status. Becoming safe with body contact, e.g., giving massages to people with their eyes closed, etc. I tend to hate all kinds of exercises with the goal of forming an ensamble that doens’t really have anything to do with the larp or play or whatever. Freeze-exercises I really hate, especially when you are changing places etc. I also hate sitting in circles and saying “My name is … and I think this is great, everyone is sooo good …”. I also hate forming grops and bonding over collective lies
like how great this is going to be and how much the drama exercises improves whatever.
Exercises I dislike less include trying to feel various feelings to various degrees (I actually think this is quite good, but the people who led the exercise kept feeding us crappy feelings like “perpetrator”, which were not really feelings). Exercises that include actually playing your character before the actual event is generally a good idea.
I think that the best way to reduce tension etc. is generally to talk, be nice, encouraging. Beers are good also.
In the case you cite, I guess the goal was twofold: partly to actually think about what these words meant in this particular setting, but mostly for us to meet, talk and bond. Giving us a pointless exercise is mostly for easing this process. But real people don’t need to be fooled badly into forming groups.
I think preparation is good, if it is chosen carefully and has some bearing on the actual event. The problem is people presenting drama exercises and costume making as something that it is not.
August 4th, 2005 at 4:45 pm
Jonas: You don’t ruin my rant. Keep questioning me.
August 5th, 2005 at 12:59 pm
Sven: I realise you didn’t know each other, but my point (or rather, one of them) is that in small crowds, just meeting, looking each other in the eyes (without formalising the procedure and calling it an exercise) and talk is what usually works best. Saying hello is making people comfortable. Going through exercises because you might “perform worse otherwise” (which is really what you are saying) is, I think, rather the opposite. It is hard to get away with being artificial in a small group.
I’m glad you agree with me, though.
August 8th, 2005 at 2:06 pm
I’m not Swedish, and I believe in drama exercises. In principle, that is. I’ve been to games that have used them, I’ve even ran games that use them. What strikes me odd, though, is that they’re often used very badly. More like high school Theatre for Beginners classes than actual exercises to help get into the character or atmosphere or style, or whatever.
They’re a tool like any other, I guess, which could be used very well for excellent results, but rarely is.
August 8th, 2005 at 7:53 pm
Mike: I don’t think that drama exerices as an idea are useless. Just that they are (almost) effectively useless (Please change that or stop using them!). What I am saying is that people seem not to be interested so much in what drama exercises can do for them (whatever that is and however you define drama exercises), but rather in the social effects of embracing and employing drama exercises. I do think these things are related.
Never use a tool as if it were something else.