Boulevard of Broken Dreams

System: LARP
Deltagare: 16-20 spelare

Av

Intercon R (2018), Crowne Plaza in Warwick, Rhode Island, USA

Amber Robitaille

Beskrivning

_In 1984, Gottfried Helnwein painted a parody portrait of Edward Hopper's classic painting "Nighthawks", in which James Dean, Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley enjoyed a lonely evening in a desolate coffee shop on some nameless corner._

_What exactly happened on that fateful night? Who else was there that quiet evening? Why was their portrait given such a dismal name? These questions, and many others, will be answered at the..._

A one-night live-action roleplaying game of lost hope, self- discovery and second chances.

This will be a high-roleplaying, mechanics-light game in which you are encouraged to explore the life of one of the most famous social icons of the 20th century. Why did Janis Joplin's life end so tragically, when she was at the height of her career? What would John Lennon have done differently, knowing what he knew about his life? What would have happened if River Phoenix hadn't died so young? These are questions that you can explore in what will hopefully be an unforgettable night.

**For your consideration:**

Players who sign up for this game will be required to costume for their part, as we will use your costuming to identify you, instead of name badges or other traditional forms of identification. We are not asking for much, just enough to make you distinct and recognizable. For example, a white dress and blond wig would be fine for Marilyn Monroe, or black pants, loose shirt and shades for Jim Morrison. Also, we will arrange a mailing list among players to help you find costuming, should you have a hard time finding what you need. We are adamant enough about this that we will not have any last-minute recasts and will turn people away at the door.

This game will have few clear-cut, directed plot goals. You will have tasks you want to achieve, but you are strongly encouraged to strike out on your own in order to achieve them. Our goal is to give you a forum to explore disappointment, loss, tragedy and failed dreams, with the goal of giving you a second chance to "get it right." There will be paths for you to follow, but success or failure will be up to players to decide, rather than have it be clearly defined for you. After all, who can tell you whether or not you live happily ever after?

This game will rely heavily on joint storytelling between characters. Much of what you will be asked to do will be to share your "lives" with each other, that you may hopefully learn from each others' choices. We expect most of these interactions to be one-on-one, so don't worry about sitting in a circle listening to lots of people speak their hearts out. Moving forward in the game will rely on this kind of sharing; for story reasons, no character can achieve everything they want on their own.

**Trigger Warning:**

We may use tragic themes, such as lost loves, failed careers and a life tragically cut short. For example, some characters may have a history of substance abuse or suicide, as we will accept suggestions for which cultural icons we include. Violent or abusive behavior will be strongly discouraged, as it goes against the optimistic theme of the game.

**Who do you want to be?**

Although there are exactly four characters that are already accounted for in the game (see the painting if you don't know what we're talking about), we encourage you to come up with someone you would like to play! We make no promises that you will get to play who you ask for, but we'll do what we can to include your request if possible.

Your character sheet we will provide you will not cover the public details of your character's life, only what is different for the purpose of the game. Much of your character history will come from popular history, so we will likely provide you with links to research your role. We do not expect you to know every detail of the celebrity you portray, but it will greatly benefit you to know personal anecdotes and stories of the celebrities you play. We will have Wikipedia pages for all characters available at game time for you to review.

When requesting a character, we ask you to follow these guidelines:

1) They need to be someone who rose to fame during or after the 1930's, so please avoid silent stars, Victorian literary authors and the like, such as Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo, Lord Byron or Mae West.

2) Fictional characters will not be allowed. Only real people, please.

3) Their fame should have come from popular media, such as music, movies or literature. Some examples include Brad Pitt, Ella Fitzgerald, Meryl Streep and Billy Joel. We would like to avoid political, philosophical or academic figures, such as Albert Einstein, John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela or Bill Gates.

4) Ideally, your choice should have a tragic story, such as a failed career, lost love or some other disappointment.

Some characters we've already considered include Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Judy Garland, Cher, Michael Jackson, Audrey Hepburn, Liz Taylor, Madonna, Buddy Holly, River Phoenix and John Lennon, to give you an idea of what we're thinking of. As you can see, there are plenty of compelling characters available, if you'd like to let us choose for you.

Thank you for considering our game and we hope you join us! Remember: Hope is eternal and is the stuff that dreams are made of!

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