The Power of Play

I know I have a ton of program write-ups to catch up on! Literally three years' worth. And I'll start doing that, I promise. But today, I want to talk in general about play. About how ridiculously important it is, no matter how old we are.

In interactive theater, we have a concept called temenos. We translate it to "safe play space." When taking on the mantle of someone else, you have the opportunity to try new things and if you don’t succeed, it’s not “failure.” It’s a plot twist, it’s finding a new wrinkle in the game, it’s interesting instead of terrifying. The wonderful thing about performing in theater is taking on a mask, being someone else. As the audience learns life lessons from a production, so too do the actors, to an even greater extent. The wonderful thing about performing in interactive theater (or a live-action role-playing (LARP) game) is that everyone gets a chance to wear a mask.

I'm going to start generally, with how it's helpful to libraries, especially teenagers. They're often in a state of uncertainty and growth, and they definitely do not want to talk about it, almost ever. Give them an identity to explore through, however, and it's now safe to explore and talk about - because they aren't themselves. They're helping characters. I have had kids who would never talk to me suddenly spill out everything that's wrong because they were suddenly Hermione Granger or Percy Jackson, not themselves. They will probably give their characters some aspects of themselves, whether or not they realize it, because when you share your head with someone else, that’s what happens. It is safe to be any aspect of yourself, because you’re exploring it as someone else. You don’t actually lose – you advance the plot. You don’t actually win – you advance the plot.

Now, for a concrete and personal example. This past weekend, I attended a new LARP event called New World Magischola. It was a wonderfully exhausting weekend full of fun and wonder and angst. I played a character half like me and half not like me. And I accidentally gave her a trait I didn’t realize I did – a knee-jerk reaction to say “I’m fine” whenever someone asked her if she was okay, and a burning need to help everyone else while pushing away help for herself because she didn’t want to be a burden.

And then several scenes made me realize – that’s me. And my “not being a burden” is causing my friends anxiety. People have told me that before, but I learn through doing, not through being told. And I might not have realized that so powerfully if I hadn’t seen it from the outside while also having that personal experience. That weird blending of third-person and personal isn’t something that is easy to find in day-to-day life. You can find it in spades, though, in games. In playing. In letting yourself make mistakes in a safe place. In doing all of this among friends and strangers. In letting yourself make mistakes in a safe place. This is so damn important, because I think a fear of failure is universal, but characters failing is interesting and allows us to learn.

So find reasons to play. Find reasons to be someone else while also having a little bit of you in there. You might be surprised at what you discover – or it might let you take risks you never imagined you could. Find LARPs, find interactive theater, search for people – ask your local library to research these things, provide programs. Let yourself play, and let yourself find a safe play space.

And if you’re a librarian, looking to incorporate LARPs into your programs? Remember to keep this blog in mind! I mean, okay, I’m biased – but interactive theater is my life’s passion and at least half of the programs I do have some basis in it. And I’m specifically running a small-scale LARP in less than two weeks (commence freaking out because it is NOT. DONE. AT ALL.) and will have details about that up soon!

Next stop, ALA Conference!

#samma #interactive #larp