Down on the FARM . . .

One year ago, Old MacDonald's farm animals rose up against him, three off the chains of agricultural oppression, and founded the overtly fascist Free Animals Republic of MacDonald. Today, on the first anniversary of that glorious revolution, the F.A.R.M. is holding a gala ball in celebration, culminating in the trial of a most notorious criminal.

Join us in an exciting and odd and wonderfully weird performance of the Taiwan Interactive Theatre Society set for 8 January 2011, beginning at 3:00 p.m. in the Phillips residence (email or call for details if you don't know the location - make sure you have your role cast early so you can prepare your character, costumes, and any props needed). The game is followed by a dinner party in the evening so please plan on sticking around . . . potluck, please coordinate food and drinks with Lorraine Phillips.

NEW PLAYERS WELCOME!

The Taiwan Interactive Theatre Society, the premiere scenario-based theatre-style live action role playing costume game troupe in Taiwan, has been on hiatus for a number of years . . . this is our premiere reboot session so new members are very very welcome! Actually, they are needed . . . big time! So come on in and join us! It has been awhile so we're ready, willing, and eager to have some fun!

If you are unfamiliar with interactive dramas, they are a hybrid between scenario-based improvisational theatre and live action cosplay role playing game. See the archives at http://www.interactivedramas.info for a lot of background and information.

The scenario for our playing pleasure will be The Trial of the Big Bad Wolf, a barn yard animal fantasy murder mystery whodunit interactive drama freeform live action roleplaying scenario. If you're not sure what "barn yard animal fantasy murder mystery whodunit" means, don't worry about it, that's just a way of showing that this is a multi-genre scenario that doesn't fit into one story type . . . suffice it to say that this is really just a simple scenario similar in nature to the scenarios we're already familiar with. While it's set in a world of talking animals (for fun), it certainly won't be beyond the abilities of any of our players.

Once Brian has definite casting information on who will be playing, he will put the publicly available character lists and scenario descriptions on the web page. As usual, this theatre-style live roleplaying event will be held in the Phillips residence (email or call for details if you're not sure of the venue).

The cast list for the scenario is both robust and flexible but there are certain characters who are absolutely essential and others that must be played by male or female players so those places will tend to be cast first on a first-come-first-served basis. We absolutely MUST have at least eight players for the scenario and can accommodate twelve major players and a slew of others if need-be, although we can continue casting new roles as long as there are folks to take them. Minimum: EIGHT PLAYERS required (honestly, it's a lot more fun with twelve or more players so be sure to encourage friends to play as well).

If the slots fill and you still want to play, we can accommodate additional last minute characters (miscellaneous animals and the like) who can play and fill in atmosphere but whose characters will probably not be very well developed or deeply involved in the major plots nor are they likely to be all that well written either -- Brian is happy to whip up additional characters for players as long as he has time to do so). Caveat: We need a minimum of eight core characters for the event to proceed (fewer than that just isn't worth the trouble of trying to keep things interesting and busy -- Brian's not up to that kind of hassle as the scenario is written specifically for a comfortable range of eight to twelve players.).

Players will receive general character type and descriptions within a week of reserving a slot in the cast so that they can begin working on costume or props (feel free to be as simple or as complex as you like, but we do ask that participants at least give it a proper go . . . there will be a Best Costume award in addition to the Best Roleplayer award.

For costumes, think of the musical Cats or the animals in the Wizard of Oz. and the like. Have a LOT of fun with this!

Complete personal character descriptions will be emailed at least a week and a half prior to play.

If you wish to join us, you need to let Brian know A.S.A.P. to reserve a character (actually, he needs to write the thing so you'd best let him know earlier rather than later to get a "good" character -- that is well-written rather than thrown together at the last minute albeit a few rare characters will actually be morally upstanding individuals).

If you're going to play and you want a character, please let Brian know ASAP! Regular cast and newcomers, it would be very helpful if you could let the Director know whether you wish to play before September 1 (an immediate conditional reply now would also be appreciated so HIT THAT MAILTO LINK NOW!). The earlier we have casting set, the earlier you can get a passable costume ready and can track down props (some characters have required props they must have).

But in the background . . .
shadows lurk . . .
Rumors fly that someone is running the illegal drugs Curds and Whey. The police are looking into talk of a prostitution ring. Why is Big Bird nowhere to be found? And who is this mysterious Chicken Little that nobody wants to talk about?

Part of the premise of the scenario is a Murder Mystery Whodunit in which players take on the roles of suspects in a murder (this is not all there is to it as there are also several subplots that you'll be involved in as each character will have his or her own personal goals to accomplish during the scenario run). You will be given character briefings that have information about yourself and others. In the course of the game, you will ask questions of others and be asked questions. Unlike other games of this type, while the "Murderer" may lie, all others DO NOT HAVE TO TELL THE TRUTH either. Yes, it's just like real life in that anyone you speak with could be lying (albeit they will be doing it in character).

During an investigation, a detective must answer three questions in order to catch a murderer:

• MOTIVE - Who had a reason to kill the victim? Does any particular person benefit - for example, financially or romantically - from the victim's death?

• MEANS - Who had access to the murder weapon? Does any particular person have the unique knowledge, skill, or physical ability necessary to use the murder weapon?

• OPPORTUNITY - Who had a chance to kill the victim? Is any particular person unaccounted for (has no alibi) during the time the victim was killed?

Your challenge is to use these three elements to form a hypothesis about the murder, which will result in an accusation. Keep these questions in mind as you pursue your investigation. Good Luck!

The nature of the scenario is modular so character assignments will be made on a first-come-first-served approach based upon plot priority. There is an absolute minimum number of characters required for the game to go forward with additional character assignments possible after the minimum has been made (basically, new plots and relationships are threaded in with dynamic changes). If we don't have enough for the minimum, then the performance gets shelved. Do note that additional characters will be slotted in so there is no actual maximum for this scenario. So, get out there and recruit some bodies to play!

Sorry, for this scenario, it is not possible for folks to choose their own characters due to this modular nature. However, the following cast list will give you an idea of the range of characters within the scenario. Casting assignments will begin soon. Descriptions here are one-liners of what sort of person the character appears to be to others, many characters have secret attributes and some may even be very different from who they appear to be . . . at least one is a murderer, possibly more. The descriptions may seem mundane to some, but keep in mind that the scenario takes place on a barn yard with players taking on the roles of beloved animal characters of story book and fairy tale . . . with a very sinister twist.

If you have not contacted the Director by emailing brian@briandavidphillips.com with a request for a character assignment, then please do so now! Players under the age of eighteen need to have parental permission to play and should contact Lorraine with contact particulars (she needs to confirm with your parent or guardian - no bid deal, but we do need to cross our t's and dot our i's with underage players; minimum ge for membership in the troupe is sixteen - like many troupes of this type, actual player age range is very very wide from high school students to university students to career professionals and beyond . . . we are all brought together through our common enjoyment of the activity).

If you have not yet joined the troupe's Facebook troupe at http://tinyurl.com/tindrama do it now. Also, be sure to mark yourself as Attending on the scenario event page at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=145492085499988 although that alone is not enough, you need to contact the Director as soon as possible for a character assignment.

As noted above, in general, costumes can be fairly simple . . . contemporary clothing can easily be adapted to our needs with a bit of this or that stuck onto it . . . be playful and have fun with your character type and costume . . . adding a playful animal twist here and there and perhaps some makeup fun.

Obviously, you can feel free to adapt your costume as you see fit in terms of items you can get readily as long as it captures the mood of the character. Although this is a fantasy piece most folks shouldn't have too much of a problem finding something to capture the essence of the character.

Here are some resources which might be helpful:

• http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Animal-Makeup - how to do animal makeup.
  
• http://www.towson.edu/stagemakeup/page10.html - animal makeup.
  
• http://www.bizrate.com/halloween-makeup-prosthetics/animal-makeup/ - animal costumes and makeup.
  
• http://familycrafts.about.com/od/animalcostumes/Animal_Costume_Ideas.htm - animal and creature costume ideas.
  
• http://www.fleecefarm.com/easy_animal_costumes.htm - easy animal costumes for kids (and adults).
  
• http://www.familycorner.com/family/kids/halloween/costumes.shtml - easy animal costumes for infants and up.
  
• http://www.squidoo.com/kidcostumes - make your own costumes, masks, and face paint.
  
• http://www.family-vacation-getaways-at-los-angeles-theme-parks.com/Childrens-Animal-Costumes.html - children's animal costumes.
  
• http://www.soyouwanna.com/make-animal-costumes-7919.html - how to make animal costumes.
  
• http://www.knowledgehound.com/topics/costumes.htm - costume ideas.
  
• http://www.articlealley.com/article_791901_47.html - sexy animal costumes to bring out the animal in you.
  

Those who might feel weird walking the streets of Taipei in their costumes should feel welcome to bring their outfits in unmarked brown paper bags and change at the venue prior to the start of game play.

Once more, if you're not on this list of players/characters and you would still like to join the game, please email the Director (that's me, Brian David Phillips) at brian@briandavidphillips.com (the sooner, the better so I can write the character into the plots). Feel free to consult the troupe web page at http://www.interactivedramas.info/taiwan.htm for more information and future updates.

More information to come as we have a better idea of who will be playing and as Brian makes it up.

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台灣互動式戲劇學會
Taiwan Interactive Theatre Society
實境RPG (角色扮演遊戲真人版)

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