How it works:
Not only are you the author of your story, but all of your fellow revelers are also authoring their stories. This may seem daunting, but the reality is, you’ve already done this. You’ve played make-believe as a child, and this is the same thing. You don’t need to be an expert actor or writer; we're just playing pretend.
These tools we provide are designed to help you and your fellow co-creators connect and truly make the night something special. Be open, play along and have a good time or create an interesting experience for yourself. Always remember, you can stop at any time, no questions asked, for as long as you need. You will never be forced to be part of a scene that you don’t want to be a part of, and you can bow out of any situation presented.
There will be lots of activities planned for the evening, but they will be for you to find, discover and react to. Will there be a poker game with all of the powerful mobsters? Will there be a lost inheritance to claim? Will there be a secret spooky séance? Will there be an invite-only Cabaret Voltaire, for only the most avant-garde artists and their friends? There could even be a… murder! It will be up to you to find out...
Your 1920's Personage
This who you are, distilled.
Your personage is a one-sentence description of who you are pretending to be for the evening. Keep it simple! You can either come up with one before the event, or use the workshops to help you craft one.
Here are a few examples for inspiration:
Henry Catlin is a reclusive millionaire, and the stories around his wealth are as varied as they are fanciful.
Daphne Simmons is a young seamstress who is getting very involved in trying to start a union at her factory.
Benny “Buster” Brown is an up and coming middleweight fighter, but there are rumors that he’s mobbed up.
It doesn’t need to be more than that! Simpler is often better. You’re welcome to come up with more for yourself, but don’t feel like you have to. It’s also often helpful to work backwards from a costume here. Decide what your 20’s outfit will look like, and then simply ask yourself in the mirror, “Who is this person?”
Your Archetype
In addition to creating a personage, you are also going to choose one of four archetypes.
Everyone is looking for something, and your archetype is what you are deep down looking for. Whether or not your character succeeds isn't important, and it is purposefully loose so you can tailor it to whoever you’re having a good time interacting with, or whatever you find interesting at game.
It’s meant to be a driver for you to interact with all of these new people you’re meeting, and a reason for them to interact with you!
Artist
You are looking for new inspiration. Whether this is a person that is going to be your new muse, a wild new idea or perspective, whatever your art is, you need something new to drive it. You should pick what kind of artist you are, Blues singer, Painter, Dancer, Sculptor, Actor, Theatre Director, Filmmaker. The definition of this can be up to interpretation, one could even be a con man with a flair for the dramatic con, or a mechanic who treats cars as works of art, a chef or a barman at a cocktail bar. The important thing is that you are someone who desperately needs new inspiration.
Dreamer
You are looking for people to believe in your dream. The world needs to change, and you know the world will be a better place if your dream comes true. To do that you’re going to need people to believe in your dream. You could be a union organizer, a socialist, an anarchist, a futurist, a politician, or a scientist with a brand new invention, after all the commercial bread slicer was only invented in 1926! Even a yoga teacher, or a spiritualist could fit here! Playing a dreamer requires a bit of historical research, to make sure that your dream fits with the history of the 1920’s.
Hustler
You are looking for a new business opportunity. This could be something simple, like you’re looking for a new better paying job, you’re looking for stock tips, you’re looking to sell stocks, or something even simpler, you’re looking for a loan to keep your family grocery store alive. Whatever it is, you can use this as an opportunity to climb the social ladder, as the 20’s is a rare moment of class mobility, as with any moment of relative economic prosperity and increased urbanization.
Hedonist
You’re looking for a new pleasure. Whether you’re a wealthy socialite, bored housewife, or a factory worker looking for a grand night out, you’re someone looking to get their jollies! This is a very simple archetype, and you don’t even have to decide exactly what your new pleasure will be… but you’re generally looking for a way to have a good time, so when an opportunity arises… Dive in! You could be a stuffy bookkeeper, who suddenly decides to dance the night away after having his first gin rickey, or a factory girl determined to finally get the gumption to visit one of those scary seances you’ve heard so much about.
Your Archetype
To help give you your character a goal, you’ll also choose an Archetype. Everyone is looking for something, and your Archetype is what your character is looking for. Whether or not your character succeeds isn't important. Archetypes and what they are looking for are intentionally loose so you can tailor it to whoever you’re having a good time interacting with, or whatever you find interesting at game.
It’s meant to be a driver for you to interact with all of these new people you’re meeting, and a reason for them to interact with you!
Artist
You are looking for a new muse or inspiration. Whether this is a person, a wild idea or perspective, whatever your art is, you need something new to drive it. Pick what kind of artist you are: Blues singer, Painter, Dancer, Sculptor, Actor, Theatre Director, Filmmaker, etc. The definition of this can be up to interpretation; one could even be a con man with a flair for the dramatic con, or a mechanic who treats cars as works of art, or a chef or a barman at a fashionable speakeasy. The important thing is that you are someone who desperately needs new inspiration and invigoration.
Dreamer
You are looking for people to believe in your dream. The world needs to change, and you know it will be a better place if your dream comes true. To do that you’re going to need people to believe in your dream. You could be a union organizer, a socialist, an anarchist, a futurist, or a politician. You could even be the scientist who invented sliced bread! (Did you know, the commercial bread slicer was only invented in 1926?) Are you bringing modern Yoga to the East Coast after its start in California? Playing a dreamer will benefit from a bit of historical research, to make sure that your dream fits with the history of the 1920’s.
Hustler
You are looking for a new business opportunity. You could be looking for stock tips, looking to sell stocks, or something even simpler, such as a loan to keep your family grocery store alive. Perhaps you need an investor to fulfill your plan to open a restaurant with all of your grandmother’s recipes. Whatever your hustle is, the combination of urbanization, an economic boom and loosening social structures means that upward class mobility is possible at this moment!
Hedonist
You are looking for a new pleasure. Whether you’re a wealthy socialite, a bored housewife, or a factory worker hoping for one grand night out, you’re someone looking to get their jollies! This is a very simple Archetype, and you don’t even have to decide exactly what your new pleasure will be… but you’re looking for a way to have a good time, so when an opportunity arises, dive in! You could be a stuffy bookkeeper who suddenly decides to dance the night away after having his first gin rickey, or a factory girl determined to finally visit one of those scary séances you’ve heard so much about.
Savvy Workshops
Savvy workshops will be opportunities for you to gain knowledge and connections to some of the specific aspects of the 1920’s that we will be exploring. The workshops each go over a specific subject and will be ways for you to build character ties with other players who share your interests, as well as ways for you to be the cat’s meow at the party!
A preliminary list of Savvy workshops will be: Cocktail Culture, Occultism and Spiritualism, Avant-Garde Art, and Dancing. You will not need any prerequisite skills to join these workshops; they will be fun ways to explore your character in this time period!
A full list and schedule will be announced much closer to the event, and you will have to choose which ones are more interesting and important to you. You’ll have the opportunity to attend at least two of these workshops.
Your Archetype
In addition to creating a personage, you are also going to choose one of four archetypes.
Everyone is looking for something, and your archetype is what you are deep down looking for. Whether or not your character succeeds isn't important, and it is purposefully loose so you can tailor it to whoever you’re having a good time interacting with, or whatever you find interesting at game.
It’s meant to be a driver for you to interact with all of these new people you’re meeting, and a reason for them to interact with you!
Live Calibration
These are tools and techniques to help you indicate your out-of-role comfort levels and desires with your collaborators without breaking the fictional 1920's setting we are creating together.
We will go over and practice these in our final workshop to ensure that you are comfortable using them. We will all be striving to stay in character as much as possible, but that’s often much easier if we have ways of communicating out of role and have the option to bow out of any scene that we do not want to participate in as players.
Bowing Out
At any moment of the game, for any reason you feel it is necessary, you may put your hand over your face, look down and walk away. You can use this for any reason. Maybe a scene is getting a bit too intense and you’re not feeling it. Maybe you suddenly got nauseous or are getting a migraine. Maybe you’re just not feeling the vibe and you need some fresh air. Maybe someone accidentally brought up something neither of you realized would be traumatic to you in a moment. This is a way of getting yourself out of any situation you no longer want to be in, without having to disrupt the event as a whole.
If someone bows out, do not follow them, and continue the scene as if their character was never there.
The Phrase "Out-of-Role"
If you start a sentence with “Out-of-Role”, everyone will know that what you say next will not be from your character but from you as a player. It’s usually best to avoid using this loudly, so as to not interrupt play, unless you feel that it’s necessary to do so. This is used to break character with someone and address something that cannot be addressed while in character. If you need to address something with one of the facilitators, it’s helpful to start with this phrase, to make sure that they understand that you’re reaching out to them as you, not your character.
Cross Fingers or Crossed Arms:
You can use crossed fingers or crossed arms in an X to denote that you are out-of-role or having an out-of-role conversation. It’s preferred for you to find an area that’s out of the way, but if you find people having a conversation while showing crossed fingers, or someone walking by that has their arms crossed in a X, you should ignore them, and pretend you didn't see them.