Interacting, Interplaying

I practically grew up in the Renaissance Festivals around Florida. Both of my parents performed (my mother is the original Washing Well Wench, and my father did a juggling show under the stage name Valentine) and I was just always there, always a different character, always running little errands and playing with actors and patrons alike. I grew up calling Gary Izzo, the foremost fountain of knowledge about interactive theater, a family friend. I grew up playing tabletop role-playing games and live-action role-playing games and all manner of fun things that kept the line between fantasy and reality blurred.

 

I never lost track of the real world. In fact, I learned valuable lessons in those fantasy worlds, ones I might have never learned with both feet firmly planted on the ground. We know that animals learn important life skills through playing when they are young. Humans continue to learn and hone important life skills through play throughout their whole lives, so long as they don't stop playing. Interactive theater is one way to bring "The Art of Play" (clever name drop for Gary Izzo's book here) back into our lives.

 

I have spent the better part of the last decade learning and then teaching interactive theater, mostly for an anime convention called METROCON. In the summer of 2012, I was employed at the Palm Harbor Library, where I still call my work home. Though there is currently no Young Adult Services, I work in Adult Services and work closely with Youth Services to do teen programming, among other teenager-y duties. I discovered early on that I could produce engaging programs on a shoestring budget using techniques from my background in interactive theater.

 

I now run most of the teen programs with an interactive theater bend, and I want to share those experiences with other people in the profession of teaching, be it in schools, in libraries, or anywhere else.

 

Samma's Experiences

I currently work not only with the library, but with several theater troupes based out of the Tampa area:

 

I am a panel coordinator and acting coach for METROCON, Florida's largest anime convention. It's been a lot of fun and my longest stint with a single acting group. It's a wonderful event for every age!

 

I am an actor for Crazy Random Happenstance, a shadowcast theater and variety show troupe with probably one of the biggest rosters of shadowcast options (we've done Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, Princess Bride, Young Frankenstein, an episode of Pokemon, Epic Rap Battles, and more).

 

I am a founder and actor for The Con Artists, a convention group that brings educational and interactive panels and shows to various conventions in Florida. We done everything from Naruto Chunin Exams to musicals of popular shows and games!

 

I am a volunteer at AFO for their Interactive Convention Experience that does a weekend-long live-action role-playing game based on various themes. NPCs help or hinder the players, play games with them, and generally have a good time in the tavern.

 

I am also an actor for the Green Cat Cabaret, an interactive supernatural night club. Though the Cat is on hiatus at the moment, I currently run interactive microfiction for it, and can be found on Twitter (@tripletailkit).