This is a post-mortem of the live-action role-playing piece #TheRealColdtown written by Julia B. Ellingboe and Kat Jones. Originally created for BlackBox Copenhagen 2019, scenario writers were explicitly encouraged to create works that integrated an audience into the blackbox format. Inspired by the YA novel The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, #TheRealColdtown included ten pre-written player characters and a ten-person audience that took on the role of Social Media during the game. Using “emoji cards,” audience members responded in real time to player characters during structured role-play scenes. They also were able to ask questions and make comments during social media interludes that took place between the focused scenes.
The scenario ran three times: at BlackBox CPH, at Intercon 2019, and at Big Bad Con 2019. This post-mortem will focus particularly on the challenges of integrating an audience into a live-action scenario, examining the various iterations that the game went through to more effectively engage the audience, and
the limitations presented by the live-action role-playing format.
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