Organizers often feel that they
sacrifice themselves in exchange of... nothing.
After more than eleven years as a
larp organizer I do not consider myself better than the newcomers,
but there is a quality I have proven to posses and they still not: I
am a survivor.
The day comes when you decide to
organize your first larp, you don't want nothing in return, you just
do it. More larps follow and problems build up. Slowly you get weary
and you finally drop off (to come back or not) for reasons such as:
- Boredom for doing “always the same”
- Mistakes (yours or from others) that lead to a bad player experience.
- Participants that demand without providing nothing in exchange (as gratitude or help)
- Participants that had a good experience but still put ahead larps of supposedly worst quality.
- Trouble to achieve participants.
- Last hour drop outs and breached promises.
- Others take credit for your ideas and work.
- Loss of money, time, personal relations, professional success.
- Lack of quality: Effort/result.
- Organizers´ friendship in danger.
- Not enjoying your own larps.
Larp is my passion, but that is not
the only reason why I continue organizing them. Even with all this
devotion I quitted “forever” two times already. No, what has kept
me afloat is to know what I need and how to get it. And it is:
- Enjoy my own larps
This is key and can vary for each
organizer. For me this means being able to “play” my own larps. A
low profile character1
allows me to take part in the larp. Not watching it from the outside,
but deep in the inside. Something only granted by a minimum of play.
- Organize only with those compatible
I do not talk about friends.
Friendship does not shield you from problems during larp creation,
and what is even more important, it can end with your friendship2.
Being able to organize with someone
today does not guarantee it in some years. I always compare a larp
organization with a rock group. You do not earn money (for the
moment), but surely provides some “fans”, the group members have
divergent progress and over all boosts egos.
Let things clear inside the
organization from the very beginning. And if problems between you
recur, cut off at the root. It does not matter how good your larps
are, that bad atmosphere will be transmitted to the larp and will set
all to waste. If you love the ideas of one organizer but you cannot
organize with him/her, stop the collaboration (with an adequate
distance from the larp) and assist to his/her larps as a participant.
- Quality comes first
Quality will define the satisfaction
you will feel after the larp. From one to ten in effort/result, which
larp is better for the organizer? One that requires an effort of 8
and provides a result of 8? or one that requires 4 and provides a 7?
Always within a good experience for the participant an organizer has
to weight the required effort.
Vital is the reuse of elements and
the print&play. Any “play and burn” larp that happens just
once is condemned to oblivion or in case of being a master piece to
legend. Does it worth the effort? For me not anymore.
- Lose the less possible amount of money and time
Nobody is gonna thank you if after a
larp you have a 300 euro debt, fail a course, lose your job or have
couple problems. So don´t.
Give the larp the price it has (not
all costs worth/can be reduced) The people that criticise the larp
price will do so if it cost 100 or 203
Your larp is not expensive, they just have different priorities4.
Also if due to the lack of budget your larp is shabby you will be
criticised by all.
Be realistic about the time you have.
If there are important duties that will suffer be more humble in your
approach. There are formats that allow you to write larps quite
fast5.
A larp that ties you six months to a chair is a resignation letter.
- Organize only if you can take credit for the effort or if no one does. If not organize by yourself.
Acknowledgement is vital. Being
anonymous is good at the beginning, until with the years you meet
people that know your work but not your involvement in it6.
Include credits in your larp so this will not happen.
Another option is a group without a
public face. The credit can then go directly to the organization
name. It is an almost impossible utopia, but it will avoid internal
wars for the glory.
If the problem continues, why don´t
you organize alone?
- Money first
It is sad, but word is not enough. If
you reserve a spot due to friendship you will most surely lose a
friend soon. The only way to avoid your effort being undervalued is
money.
Participants have to pay in advance.
If in the last moment someone that did not pay cancels the one that
will receive the debt (due to fix costs) and bad reputation is you.
If your larp has 0 cost give it a symbolic price7.
On cancellation you can give part of
the money back, but never the total or you can encounter participants
that request a refund because they found something “better”
(check this post for additional information regarding this topic The
reassons behind a larp fee)
- Know the expected attendance
Start small, be realistic. If other
larps are over 100 participants it does not mean that yours will too.
After some larps your ratio of
attendance will start to be clear.
Also if you change the setting to a
not conventional one be aware that numbers will fall critically. You
should not worry, a smaller larp has cons but also pros.
- Accept your larp not being chosen
Do not expect people to choose your
larp in front of others, even if they loved your last one. Take it
easy, there are many reasons why people may not sign up. Different
tastes, friends that assist to this other larp or just desire to try
something different.
- Shield yourself and be neutral
There are those who demand, harass or
even “attack” the organizers before, during or after the larp. Do
not let yourself be intimidated or down. They may think that with the
money provided for lodging and food they have also pay for your full
dedication.
Treat this kind of participant in a
correct way but never allow their demands to consume your time and
with it the experience of others.
Do not let them take away from you
the will to continue8.
- Assume and learn from your mistakes
Accept constructive criticism,
everyone make mistakes. Learn and improve but do not let your
mistakes get you down.
If no-one finds errors do it
yourself. But at the same time remember that the excess of
perfectionism can lead you to undervalue your own effort and success.
- Always change
What does not changes dies. If there
is something in your larp that works but bores you, change it9
before it bores others. You will hear complains and you will make
many mistakes in the way but you will learn. And even more important
you will never get stuck. The larp world changes fast and if you do
not follow you will fall back.
Of course this is just my personal
opinion, but after so many years in which I have witnessed the rise
and fall of so many larp groups I feel that my words carry some
certainty. So listen to my advice: Survive.
1
This character has to be secondary not to coerce other participants
and to allow the organizer to disappear when required for other
matters.
2
How many friendships have been broken just by sharing a flat?
Organizing a larp is even more stressful.
3
To later go on a trip to Thailand or spend a fortune shopping.
4
There are exceptions, those in real need for a discount. Learn to
distinguish this cases carefully or you will get fooled.
5
I have two larps that took me 30 and 5 minutes to write.
6
This can even happen by accident, there are those that take the
credit even without wanting to.
7
In our society we have been taught to respect according to prize. Also
this small amount will cover photocopies, last
minute problems, help buy long term material, etc.
8
Quite funny, the ones I did normally encounter have
never organized a larp.
9
Remember to always give participants a clear larp description to avoid confusion.
No comments:
Post a Comment