I'm about halfway through my Indegogo campaign, and so far I've collected $100 from anonymous donors. Yay! I'm getting some inexpensive wooden shelving units and building plywood walls between them, so my backdrop is covered! It goes a long way in creating the atmosphere, which is a huge first step. Plus it gives me space to display the curios- including my jewelry, artworks, and such. Other displays include screen-used monster teeth from a couple films, worn by Snoop Dogg and Tony Todd and made by Rufus Hearn, CLONED Replicas' Dexter collection, and a corset worn by opera singer Marie Halton c. 1910. There will also be interactive exhibits, like my water fountain bowl (rub the bars to build energy and make a fountain spray from the bowl), alabaster chess set and other games, jasmine tea, fortune telling, and a small stage for parlor performance arts. AlternaCon is supplying tables and chairs, and I have just enough decor to dress the scene effectively. There are definitely things I would love to add or upgrade if I get additional funding, but I think I've put together an impressive space for so little budget. Donate here.
I've made an effort to engage all the senses and provide opportunities to Live Action Role Play within the setting. For my own character Madam Raveena, I am preparing to tell fortunes, rehearsing magic tricks, corset training my waist, and improving my vaguely-Russian accent. The way steampunk has become popular in Billings, I expect there are many people just waiting to be sucked into the fantasy.
At least, I hope people enjoy it. One way or another, I'm committed, so I'm giving it everything I've got.
Allons-y!
Friday, May 29, 2015
Monday, May 18, 2015
Madam Raveena's Curio and Tea Room: A Steampunk LARP Experience
For me, the best part of going to a festival, theme park, or convention is being immersed in an experience other than mundane daily life, especially when efforts are made to take the audience on an adventure. At AlternaCon in Billings this summer, I want to transport people into a steampunk fantasy.
Welcome to Madam Raveena's Curio and Tea Room, an emporium of wondrous items and entertainment. Whether you're seeking your fortune and live performance art or a game of chess and a cup of tea, Madam Raveena's is an ideal place for your airship crew to take shore leave and meet other adventurers. Family friendly by day, adults only after hours.
For my friends in Vegas, you'll recognize several sources of inspiration- imagine if Rattlesnake Fred hosted tea in Jeff McBride's library, with a Wonderground atmosphere. This will be an installation at a comic convention (the region's first), and I know the steampunk theme will go over well (it just exploded in popularity in Billings, and I have the benefit of several years in the subculture, win!), but I really hope the experience stirs the inner Hero's Journey for those who seek it.
My character, Madam Raveena, has been a lot of fun to create. She's a 19th century Spiritualist (like Houdini used to debunk), which gives me some great creative licence. I'm finally getting to play with ideas I came up with as a teen working as a tour guide in a historic mansion. I always thought it would be cool to do a Spiritualist style séance show as a fundraiser for the mansion, but I have always been afraid that it's a touchy subject, dancing on the edge of deeply held belief, frequently involving fakery, and historically people were taken advantage of. I'm hoping the steampunk atmosphere helps to attenuate that side of it.
The curio portion will have my jewelry, art, and accessories for sale, and some displays of screen used items from films, replica props, and memorabilia collections. In the future I'd love to take it a little more P.T. Barnum, with a modern twist. My grandmother will never let me borrow it, but I can't help imagining the old player piano being a perfect addition to the tea room- an antique piano that plays itself evokes both the steampunk in it's obsolete mechanical wonder, while the self-moving keys suggest ghostly players attending the spiritualist. But it's labeled "Wishful Thinking" in my notes. A lot of my ideas are based on financial availability and may not be possible this year, like building an airship set for LARPing and photo shoots, or a spectral scrying glass.
My hometown is extremely isolated, with a population of 100,000 it's roughly 500 miles away from a larger city in any direction, meaning it is the shopping and cultural center for many who have never seen a real metropolis. And it's very mundane there. Good entertainment is rare, so the audience is world-reknown for how much it wants to enjoy every show. When I toured with the Raft, Billings was easily our best show. Every single person on the dance floor except the bartender, who was rocking it without leaving his station. So I hope I can do this right, because Billings deserves the mojo.
This is a dream come true for me! Thanks so much to Britt for setting me up with the space and letting me fly with my creativity. Thanks to Jeff McBride for all the lessons only you could teach.
I'm committed to the project at this point, and it's coming out of my pocket. I've set up an Indie-gogo fundraiser to help me out. Please donate if you can! Even $5 or $10 makes a huge difference. And Billings people, I'm also accepting donations of furniture and decor that could pass as Victorian (or is nondescript), especially bookshelves, tables, and chairs. Also, I am looking for small-scale acts to show in the Tea Room. AlternaCon is July 10-12 at the Shrine Auditorium. I'm so excited! Donate Here
Welcome to Madam Raveena's Curio and Tea Room, an emporium of wondrous items and entertainment. Whether you're seeking your fortune and live performance art or a game of chess and a cup of tea, Madam Raveena's is an ideal place for your airship crew to take shore leave and meet other adventurers. Family friendly by day, adults only after hours.
For my friends in Vegas, you'll recognize several sources of inspiration- imagine if Rattlesnake Fred hosted tea in Jeff McBride's library, with a Wonderground atmosphere. This will be an installation at a comic convention (the region's first), and I know the steampunk theme will go over well (it just exploded in popularity in Billings, and I have the benefit of several years in the subculture, win!), but I really hope the experience stirs the inner Hero's Journey for those who seek it.
My character, Madam Raveena, has been a lot of fun to create. She's a 19th century Spiritualist (like Houdini used to debunk), which gives me some great creative licence. I'm finally getting to play with ideas I came up with as a teen working as a tour guide in a historic mansion. I always thought it would be cool to do a Spiritualist style séance show as a fundraiser for the mansion, but I have always been afraid that it's a touchy subject, dancing on the edge of deeply held belief, frequently involving fakery, and historically people were taken advantage of. I'm hoping the steampunk atmosphere helps to attenuate that side of it.
The curio portion will have my jewelry, art, and accessories for sale, and some displays of screen used items from films, replica props, and memorabilia collections. In the future I'd love to take it a little more P.T. Barnum, with a modern twist. My grandmother will never let me borrow it, but I can't help imagining the old player piano being a perfect addition to the tea room- an antique piano that plays itself evokes both the steampunk in it's obsolete mechanical wonder, while the self-moving keys suggest ghostly players attending the spiritualist. But it's labeled "Wishful Thinking" in my notes. A lot of my ideas are based on financial availability and may not be possible this year, like building an airship set for LARPing and photo shoots, or a spectral scrying glass.
My hometown is extremely isolated, with a population of 100,000 it's roughly 500 miles away from a larger city in any direction, meaning it is the shopping and cultural center for many who have never seen a real metropolis. And it's very mundane there. Good entertainment is rare, so the audience is world-reknown for how much it wants to enjoy every show. When I toured with the Raft, Billings was easily our best show. Every single person on the dance floor except the bartender, who was rocking it without leaving his station. So I hope I can do this right, because Billings deserves the mojo.
This is a dream come true for me! Thanks so much to Britt for setting me up with the space and letting me fly with my creativity. Thanks to Jeff McBride for all the lessons only you could teach.
I'm committed to the project at this point, and it's coming out of my pocket. I've set up an Indie-gogo fundraiser to help me out. Please donate if you can! Even $5 or $10 makes a huge difference. And Billings people, I'm also accepting donations of furniture and decor that could pass as Victorian (or is nondescript), especially bookshelves, tables, and chairs. Also, I am looking for small-scale acts to show in the Tea Room. AlternaCon is July 10-12 at the Shrine Auditorium. I'm so excited! Donate Here
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