How will it be to play The Future is Straight?
At The Future is Straight you will play a young person at a gay conversion therapy center, these young people are called ‘rehabbers’ and are all queer characters. They live in a world where queer people and sexuality is invisible, and for most of them this is the first time they are meeting other queer people while being confronted with their parents’, friends’ and society’s desire to cure them from their adversions.
This is a larp where you will explore having to choose between being a fully integrated and realised individual – seen and accepted as your full self, with your passions, drives and relations – and being accepted by and conforming to the norms and rules of your family, friends, and society. The two are mutually exclusive and you cannot get both.
Having finished a conversion programme, you are viewed as a recovering alcoholic, but also as someone who is ready to become a contributing member of society again. The fact that while gay, you are not able to contribute to the community and society, is what creates the feeling of shame.
The conversion camp is for people of all ages, but all characters in the larp will be teenagers or young adults (~16-25). Some of you might be the youngest or oldest in class.
Physical play and sex
There will be some degree of physical interaction both in classes and in play on relationships.
All physical play will be focused outside of intimate areas. There will be meta-techniques to escalate and deescalate physical scenes, and intimate relations will be negotiated before hand.
The rehabbers can have sex with each other at camp, and some of the characters have already relationships with each other as the larp begins. It is far from part of everybody’s larp, and mostly will be something that is more talked about, than actually done.
All intimate interaction will be abstracted by meta-techniques.
What do you do at the larp?
The days at the camp consists of having classes and doing various exercises, structured and led by the guides at the camp. In addition, the rehabbers will join inspirational sessions by the headmasters, be visited by their parents, have meals together, and partake in a social programme during the evenings. Every evening, there will be one hour available for larping after bedtime, before everyone goes to sleep.
Classes
Within the themes at the larp, that will affect your other play
The rehabbers will partake in classes, structured and led by the guides at the conversion camp. Through different exercises and topics, all in line with the overarching theme of being cured for their homosexuality, the rehabbers will explore what made them gay, how to break the patterns of habit and behaviour that continuously maintains their sexuality, and learn how to behave as mentally sane individuals, contributing to society in line with everyone else.
These have a more satiric and light hearted mood.
Therapy circles
Smaller group sessions with focus on personal play
Beside the classes, the rehabbers will partake in therapy circles with the same guide and group of rehabbers. These will work as a place to work more intensely and personal with the rehabbers issues. The guide leading the therapy circle will be more invested in his or hers rehabbers’ development.
These sessions have a more serious and dark mood.
Queer romance
Sexual and romantic scenes with other queers for the first time
As a contrast to the treatment and self doubt and hate, coming to the treatment center most of the characters for the first time meet other queer people. Therefore you as a player will experience romantic, sexual or friendly queer relations, and sneeking around and battling your own morals in these relationship is going to be part of your larp.
Blackbox scenes
Experience flashback scenes, dream scenarios and fears for the future
There will be a dedicated room available throughout the larp, where the players can choose to play out scenes that are outside the actual timeline of the larp. These scenes can play into the relations in the larp, and the blackbox scenes can be both things that had happen, but also dreams and fears in the person’s mind.
Meta scenes
Temporarily breaking the realistic play style.
Throughout the day, there will be short, structured meta-scenes for the players to emphasize and explore closeness/distance, unconditional and conditional love, and the gap/discrepancy between the rehabbers own sexual identity and orientation, and what is accepted by those around them.
The Future is Straight 