Why me?

My creation

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:31:39 GMT

I have just created my new favorite prop for Lullaby of Broadway.

Laura called it "wonderfully hideous." I don't think it has enough stuff on it, y'know?

Character Sheets Available

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:59:33 GMT

The following was posted to the Lullaby of Broadway Chat Group and sent to all players.

Character sheets are now available, as is other information.

You will need to log on to access the following. http://www.interactivitiesink.com/larps/broadway/login.pl

You can get your character sheet and your stats by selecting the Character Menu tab then Manage Your Characters.

You can see all public documents by selecting the document library under the Player Tab.

You can also see members of all the groups your character are part of by selecting the Character Menu tab and selecting “View your character groups.”

Please e-mail me if you have any questions or problems.

Also, the game rules are available online at:
http://www.interactivitiesink.com/larps/broadway/doclib/Players/rules.pdf

You may be interested in the following information sheets:
The Small Town - http://www.intink.com/larps/broadway/doclib/Players/The%20Small%20Town.pdf
The Big City - http://www.intink.com/larps/broadway/doclib/Players/The%20Big%20City.pdf
The Turf War [Gangsters only] - http://www.intink.com/larps/broadway/doclib/Players/turf%20war.pdf
The Game Schedule - http://www.intink.com/larps/broadway/doclib/Players/Schedule.xls

Note: Anyone can view these documents even if you aren't playing in the game.

Special thanks to Paul Wayner and Suzanne Wayner for continuity checking!

Hotel Information

The game takes place September 19-21 at the Day’s Hotel, Timonium. Call 1-(800)-235-3297 for reservations; mention Lullaby of Broadway for the good rates. Keep in mind that if we get 30 room nights, 1 person from each room gets a $5 service credit. If we get 40 room nights, everybody gets the $5 service credit (these do not stack). Our room block is freed THURSDAY the 22nd, so make your reservations NOW!

Players Wanted

Due to some last minute drops, we need players for the following characters:
Mayor George Shinn [the Music Man]
Tommy Djilas [The Music Man] – teenager preferred.
Charlie Brown [The Music Man] – child 8-12 preferred.

We will have one final logistics e-mail in early September. Thanks for playing!

Drops

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:27:01 GMT

As is typical as one heads into the homestretch of a tightly plotted theater-style larp, the players start dropping.

I could use a few players for male characters for Lullaby of Broadway for the following characters:

Mayor George Shinn [The Music Man] - Mayor of the Small Town.
Tommy Djilas [The Music Man] - Teenage hoodlum and rebel [ideally played by a teenager or someone in their early 20s]
Charlie Brown [You're a Good Man Charlie Brown] - He's a good man, and a blockhead. Ideally played by a child [8-12 years old].

Any and all offers would be appreciated. Thanks!

We can also use cast players.

Episode 2

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:28:53 GMT

Enough people have asked what shows I'm considering for the second episode, that I'm just going to post the list here for now. Like the first episode, this list is fluid.

Probable Shows (I have plot ideas for these already):
Assassins
Avenue Q
Cabaret
Chicago
Damn Yankees
Evita
Grease
Gypsy
Hairspray
Little Shop of Horrors
Sweeny Todd
Urinetown
West Side Story

Possible Shows (I need to see these shows before I can decide):
Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Chess
City of Angels
Evil Dead The Musical
Fiorello!
Hair
Jekyll & Hyde
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Les Misérables
Moulin Rouge?
Phantom of the Opera
Threepenny Opera, The
Rent
Sweet Charity
Wonderful Town

Moulin Rouge is on the possible list because, strictly speaking, it was never made into a staged musical.

As always, I'm open to suggestions, although i might be slightly more open to suggestions after September.

Holy Lion Crap!

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:09:20 GMT

I won again!

http://www.tanga.com/bottom_feeder/2554

Opinions Needed

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:54:59 GMT

Hello out there in LARPland.

I am looking at hotels to run Lullaby of Broadway Episode 2 at, and I've found a nice one. The staff is accommodating. The price point is right. The function space is away from the rest of the hotel so we can have some privacy. There's even some small rooms that would make excellent cells for a women's prison.

However...

The space would be two medium rooms with a stairway connecting them. I'm worried that this bisected space will cause people to cluster in one of the rooms and leave the other one empty. This wasn't a problem in Brassy's, but the space was all visible so people didn't have the stairs issue.

What are your opinions? I'd like your opinions even if you don't plan to play in the game. Will the separation of game space cause problems? Thanks!

Holy Crap Lions!

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 02:58:40 GMT

I have been buying board games from Tanga for quite some time now. I have expanded my collection considerably.

Well, my hard work has finally paid off!

Hooray for me!

Motherf%cker!

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:56:05 GMT

Message Redacted

The Day's Hotel Timonium just canceled our contract for Lullaby of Broadway.

I am scrambling to find a new hotel. If anyone can assist, please drop me a line.

Thanks!

The hotel just called back and decided not to cancel our contract after all. I am getting that in writing. Happy Monday everyone!

Bush or Batman

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 22:26:00 GMT

My new favorite game show, ganked from theweaselking

State of the Game, August 2008

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:18:07 GMT

Greeting Lullaby of Broadway players. This update has some excellent news and I strongly request that you read the whole document. I’ll put a sort of table of contents at the top.

Hotel
Uncast Characters
NPCs/Cast Players
Character Sheets
Final Payment
Props/Set

The Hotel
--- -----

The deadline for getting a hotel room is August 22nd. We are at the Days Hotel Timonium. The phone number is 1-410-560-1000. Currently, the following people have rooms in our room block. If your name is NOT on this list and you have gotten a room in our room block, please e-mail me immediately. Remember, the hotel room game discounts only come into play if we get 30 or more rooms per night.

Hotel Room list: Mike Young, Lynn Anslow, Marc Blumberg, Steve Bennet, Theo Clarke, Jeff Diewald, Carolyn Grodt, Lisa Padol/Josh Kronengold, Dan Luxenberg, Ginny Swann, Andrew Zorowitz (2 rooms).

Uncast Characters
------ ----------

As of this writing, I will convert all uncast characters to npcs, and move their plots to characters that have been cast. The sole exception to this is Linus van Pelt whom I expect to be cast before the game.

NPCs/Cast Players
--------- -------

Right now we have three NPC/Cast Players, if you include our cast wrangler, Gordon Olmstead-Dean. While I expect two more to sign up, we could use a few more. Cast should expect to play a series of minor characters throughout the weekend. Regular players may also choose to play cast characters and bit parts as they desire. Playing nothing but cast characters costs \$25 for the weekend.

Character Sheets
--------- ------

All character sheets (except Linus van Pelt) have been written and are undergoing continuity checking by Paul Wayner. Thanks Paul. I have asked that he get the checked character sheets back to me by August 17th and I plan to start putting characters in player space on August 18th.

Final Payment
----- -------

Final payment is due at the door. You may pay either in cash or by check made out to Mike Young. There will be a \$15 bounced check fee. Do not forget that you can present a receipt for up to \$30 for props and set to get up to \$30 off admission to the game. Any props or set bought in this way become property of Mike Young, so don’t give me a receipt if you want to keep the objects in question.

Props and Set
----- --- ---

Please remember that as players, YOU are responsible for the set of the game. I strongly urge you to use the broadway_chat mailing list to coordinate set building.

You can find information on what might be good for the set in the following documents:
http://www.interactivitiesink.com/larps/broadway/doclib/Players/The%20Big%20City.pdf
http://www.interactivitiesink.com/larps/broadway/doclib/Players/The%20Small%20Town.pdf

Thanks and I’ll see you in a month and a half! Mike

Save the date

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:36:38 GMT

I will be hosting a playtest day for Lullaby of Broadway game mechanics on Saturday, August 16th at 2:00PM. I'll serve pizza for dinner. This will eventually devolve into a boardgame night.

We'll have an actual LoB update on Friday.

Character count: 56. Remaining to do: Lucy van Pelt.

What did you do this weekend?

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:11:26 GMT

This weekend I flew out with Scribble to Denver for her father's wedding. I managed to get two characters sheets done, one on the plane there and one on the plane back. Only seven more to go! WoOT!!!

While there, we saw Buffalo Bill's grave. There I learned that he was a Master Mason. Fascinating. I also bought some posters which should come in handy if I happen to be running a game where Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley are characters, this September.

So, with only a handful of character sheets remaining, I have to decide what to do with the uncast characters. Most likely they will become cast characters and meaty bit parts with their plots going to other characters. However, there is still time to save them from that fate. I'll hold open registration until the end of the month, then I have to merge the characters. Sign up now!

Character count: 49

Dr. Horrible

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:34:25 GMT

I am told that many people read my blog.

Speaking of blogs, you need to watch this:

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog

No, really. It goes away ~~Saturday~~ night! Go watch it now! Sunday. It goes away Sunday. Watch it now!

Running in place

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:22:36 GMT

I just got two more signups for Lullaby of Broadway! Yay! I really wanted those characters filled.

But it means that I'm not actually making headway in writing characters. Despite doing three characters so far this week, I still have 11 to go in 14 days.

Sigh. No rest for the weary. Well, I'll know for next time. I can push myself at this pace for a while, but it starts to wear on my after about a month or so. Next game I'll give myself four months to write characters instead of three.

Also thanks to Paul Wayner for volunteering to continuity check.

Character count: 46

It's So Hard to Be a Good Samaritan These Days

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:33:06 GMT

I found a debit card yesterday.

Legally, you are supposed to turn them in to the police, but there weren't any around... Well, that's not true. I got in my car afterwards and saw two police cruisers. I tried to flag them down but they ignored me. Anyway...

So I tried to call the bank. After navigating through their mazelike computer system -- no I am not a current customer -- I reached a human who promptly hang up on me. I called back, and after a half hour wait, I finally talked to a human who promptly canceled the card. Sheesh, if I had been a bad guy, I could have bought how much in the time it took to get that card canceled.

Ah well, good deed done. I hope anonymous card hold appreciates it.

Character count 42, woOt. 13 to go. I'll have one done today, and one more done this weekend.

Happy 4th

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:14:06 GMT

Character Count: 38.5

State of the Game - July 2008

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:56:08 GMT

State of the Game - July 2008
-----------------------------

Hello, Lullaby of Broadway Players. Can you believe that it is July already? Just 2 1/2 short months until the game!

This mailing is to give you an idea of the state of the game, how we’re doing and what still needs to be done. Right now I’m very happy with the state of the game, and it is shaping up to be great. There are still a few things that you can do to make it even better though.

I strongly request that you read through this document. It contains a lot of information you need to know.

Hotel
-----

The game will be running September 19-21 at the Day’s Hotel Timonium. NOW is the time to get your hotel rooms. You get a $5 discount at the door if you have a hotel room and we get at least 30 rooms (limit one discount per room), and if we hit 40 rooms/night EVERYONE in the game gets a $10 discount (instead of the $5 discount per room).

Call 1-(800)-235-3297 for reservations; mention Lullaby of Broadway for the good rates.

Building the Set
----------------

Please keep in mind that as players, *you* are responsible for the set of the game. I will provide a few props that are important for the game, and I’ll provide special hangers if you use painted sheets or butcher paper for the walls.

There are now THREE information sheets online which talk about the sets. They are:

The Small Town: http://www.intink.com/larps/broadway/doclib/Players/The%20Small%20Town.pdf

The Big City: http://www.intink.com/larps/broadway/doclib/Players/The%20Big%20City.pdf

Gangsters: http://www.intink.com/larps/broadway/doclib/Players/turf%20war.pdf

While I don’t think that these documents contain any game spoilers, you might want to just read the ones that are relevant to your character.

Also keep in mind that you can communicate with other players using the mailing list. Membership in this list is strongly recommended. You are missing out on all sorts of information if you are not part of this list.

And don’t forget to keep your receipts. You can get up to $30 off the cost of the game by providing me with $30 worth of receipts.

Planned Songs
-------------

I recently sent a list of planned, everybody sing songs to the chat list. However, if there is a song you would especially like to perform, please let me know. This is especially true for the scheduled performance pieces (The Hot Box, Kiss Me Kate, the Spelling Bee, and the Babes in Arms show).

Uncast Characters
-----------------

We currently have 54 players, but the game can hold up to 60 (not including child characters). These are the characters that are still opened. Characters with a * are especially needed for the game. We can run without them, but it would be a much better game if they were there.

Child:
* Amaryllis Shin, from The Music Man
Pepper, from Annie
Little Jake Oakley, from Annie Get Your Gun
* Winthrop Paroo, from The Music Man

Female:
Minnie Fay, from Hello Dolly
Marcy Park, from the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
* Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn, from The Music Man. Matriarch of the Small Town and a very important character.

Male:
* Pawnee Bill, from Annie Get Your Gun. Player needs to be able to hold his own in negotiations.
* Freddy “Bottle” Bates, from Guys and Dolls
Barnaby Tucker from Hello Dolly
Aldolpho Karpathy, from The Drowsy Chaperone
* Linus van Pelt, from You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown

All of the characters, even the unstarred ones, are fully fleshed out with a lot to do in the game. Characters are starred when they are important to one or more characters already in game. For example, without a Pawnee Bill, Buffalo Bill will not have anyone to negotiate with. Without a Linus van Pelt, Sally Brown won’t have her “sweet baboo” and so forth.

But all the uncast characters are viable and interesting, so if you know of someone who would be a good fit, or just wants to play, send them our way.

Cast/NPCs
---------

Lullaby of Broadway does need cast or NPC players. You will get a number of smaller parts over the course of the game needed to drive specific scenes. It costs $25 to cast for the weekend and that is directly to cover the hotel expenses. Cast are not eligible to receive additional discounts.

Character Sheets
----------------

I am in the process of writing character sheets. I have finished 37 characters, which means I have to write 23 characters this month. Well, even fewer if you don’t count the uncast characters. Piece of cake. Sigh.

I expect that full character sheets will be available to players in mid-August. We may do two rounds of character sheet distribution, one pre-continuity editing and one post-continuity editing. We’ll see.

August/September
----------------

This doesn’t mean that I get to rest when August rolls around. I still have to write the cast characters, the few adventure scenarios, and the rulebook.

However, you can help. Please help. This is a big opportunity for players to get service credits which give discounts to the game. What can you write?

Bit Parts – See this document on how to write Bit Parts. http://www.intink.com/larps/broadway/doclib/Players/Writing%20Bit%20Parts.pdf Bit Parts are worth 1 Service Credit each, even if someone else wrote the same one.

Adventure Scenarios – We have about 5-7 of these targeted at specific players, so if you want to write one, just let me know. In general, you’ll get a list of characters they are targeted for, some general guidelines and what the scenario is supposed to accomplish. From there you can go wild. Note that someone else will likely run the scenario and we have very few cast so keep that in mind when writing. Adventure scenarios will probably run 10 – 20 service credits depending on length and complexity.

Cast characters - Cast characters are essentially bit parts that are scheduled to come in at specific times and bring a specific element to the game. Cast characters are worth 3 service credits each.

Wrapping Up
-----------

Well, that’s about it. Thanks very much for playing. And please e-mail me if you have any questions.

This is a test

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:53:46 GMT

Work gave me a new computer. I am installing software. This is a test. This is only a test.

Characters complete: 35. 5 more by the end of the month. Can I do it?

No...

Poker Night

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:55:53 GMT

I will be hosting an open poker night at my place on Thursday, July 3rd at 7ish PM. Show up late if you want.

While the games will be dealers' choice, there will be a buy in of $20 and there may be a texas hold-em segment.

If you'd like to come, please rsvp by e-mailing to me. If you don't know my e-mail address and live in the Washington DC area and want to attend, well, there are many ways to find out my e-mail address online. :)

We will have snacks and sodas, and an open bar with liquor, but no beer, so byob. We will not serve dinner.

Arkham Horror: Play Yourself

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:42:49 GMT

A while back I hosted a day of board games which focused on Arkham Horror. In it, we used Strage Eons to create versions of ourselves as investigators and then we did battle against very familiar Ancient Ones.

The June download of the Interactivities Ink site are all the materials to make those Ancient Ones for yourself.

You can get it here!

Thanks to Brian Altmiller, Dorothy Altmiller, Dave Coleman, John Corrado, Rebecca Corrado, Lawrence Lee, Moira Parham, Laura Quimby, Del Schlosser, Paul Wayner, Suzanne Wayner, Laura Young and Lorainne Young for playing yourselves.

Special Thanks to Gordon Olmstead-Dean and Dirk Parham for being good sports about being Ancient Ones.

Character count: 29. Nearly halfway there.

Glengarry Glen Ross Video

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 14:15:57 GMT

I didn't make it, but I'm in it.

See my previous post for details about how to see the play!

Always Be Closing

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:20:59 GMT

So, Glengarry Glen Ross opens next week. I'm a little daunted. I've been doing comedy on stage for years, close to a decade. I've done a number of musicals as well. But this is my first drama.

It's looking really good though. Very professional with some great cast.

It looks like you can only buy tickets at the door. It's running June 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 27,28. Come see!

For more information, like directions: http://nvcc.edu/cct/

Omlettes!

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:19:10 GMT

Last week we shipped a product for the echostar/dish network. If you have a dish network satellite tv box, please let me know.

This morning I come in and we have a guy making made to order omlettes.

I work in the best place EVAR! We're hiring if you know how to sling code.

----

Threads was a lot of fun. I ran two tracks on my own, and both went the best possible way. The players had fun, and Operation Mindfuck lived up to its name. I especially want to thank the players and cast of The Challenge and Operation Mindfuck as you all made those scenarios fly! ("We are SO not here.")

----

Well, at the beginning of June, I should have had 20 characters written. I only have 18. I'm a little behind but not horribly so. Still I suspect there is a lot of writing in my future.

Character Count: 18, but you knew that.

Is this a good larp?

Sun, 25 May 2008 16:07:33 GMT

And by "good," I'm speaking morally, not based on enjoyment.

http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/267662/36/

Character Count: 15

On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness

Sat, 24 May 2008 02:12:46 GMT

Just finished episode 1 of On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness, the Penny Arade video game.

It was a lot of fun, and is cool and steampunky.

The really cool part of the game, in my opinion, is that you get to create your own character who fights alongside the strip's protagonists, rather than just controlling the protagonists themselves. My user icon is me, from the game, drawn in Penny Arcade style.

And if you're unsure about paying $20 for a downloaded game, there's a free demo to try. Enjoy!

Character count: 14