Thoughts from the King

I research for roles I've been asked to crew and I like to prepare, so that I can help bring the runner's vision alive, for me it's not only the players you need to reach – so I prepare, I prepare a lot. Pinterest boards, to do lists, sometimes a spreadsheet, print outs, obsessive re-reading of docs. And because i'd heard Nora's games were a specific polish, i was a bit worried about letting you down :)

Some people are good at being able to give ideas, feel, vision, Nora had a clear idea of the overarching feel and the character, so once i had digested that it was research time. Yeah every period. I researched mens clothes, women's clothes, hair styles. Boring stuff that i could bring up in conversation. I read – a lot.

I actually read all the King In Yellow stories and from there found the stories of the person who inspired them. I read a lot of old psychology messing you up horror. It was good, which was a surprise 'cause I think Lovecraft's writing sucks (his writing style) but what he was inspired by was lovely stuff and by lovely, I mean very disturbing! I watched happy films for a while after that!

Playing a role through the ages, meant working out what postures or physicality I could promote that would be the same on each character e.g. a specific way of holding an arm or a tilt of head, or how to stand, maybe a way of phrasing things. Stupid subtle stuff that I agonised over.. it was probably too subtle anyway!

I had a spreadsheet for each costume change, behind the scene we knew which room was what era and where players wouldn't be and where we could be. Costume was stashed depending on that, I've never had my clothes so organised! I've never had so much yellow stuff!

If I am completely honest, the thing that had me in a complete tiz was Nora's vision of Erika Gul (check the name meaning – it's a blatant clue) in a white jumpsuit for the auction: "it'll be fine, everyone will be wearing one, you'll feel great in it" All lies!

It arrived, I didn't look as hideous as expected but.... it was a teensy bit see through and that freaked me out. Totally. I then researched pasties. I asked people who might know! I had to try on a lot of naked colour underwear. The amount of people I asked: "Can you see my nipples"? I tried to fortify myself with a glass of Babycham – turns out i don't like Babycham! Also jumpsuits are rubbish to go into the loo in, especially if they clasp at the back in teeny tiny buttons. I agonised over that enough that i forgot to be nervous about my crap Swedish accent :)

Moments I remember:

Some great 'distractions' from what was going on in the safe room. Players were AWESOME, dropping things, people accidentally bumping into others. Really good. Tim's face when I explained they could, "just get another made, I know some people who can do magic..." when he didn't win his bid. The fake swedish accent meets actual Icelandic accent in the auction room.

Twenties tea and cake and hilarious ritual – sorry, I meant, so very tragic... Buttering a billion loaves of bread for the Thule base, being hit/punched/poisoned/drugged and still getting up and looking as confused by the whole thing as the players were, Jo's re-enactment of people's faces from throwing their lunch at them! Rave: Waiting for you and learning that there was a fight about wearing a silver jumpsuit between the Tim's (by the way i guessed right on who was fighting) and your lovely silver foil "futuristic exploits". I was most vexed that i only got to dance for a bit, it helped that I got to be miffed at players IC! The folk on the balcony danced with me – yeah there were people up there. Anyway – turns out i can dance on an empty dance floor, stone cold sober.

The 'other world' scene: Setting that up was a masterpiece of different people's ideas and the almost exact amount of silks and material. The ballroom looked COMPLETELY different and felt small, intimate and, frankly a bit weird. Add some half naked people and play White Rabbit and it definitely hit a zone of 'not quite right'. Manda's 'King' costume was AMAZING. The crown of cable-tie thorns was genius (and heavier than it looked). We were not expecting players to crawl in. I could not see a damn thing from behind those wings. I looked at the shadow towards the door desperately hoping to see a signal. NOTHING. I dropped my eyes to the people on the floor, they looked super comfy but weren't especially helpful. So I stand there progressively trying to hold off a giggle.... I think I was as unprepared for dropping those wings as you were. I hoped you liked the yellow meal as much as the kitchen crew enjoyed presenting it :)

The 'phone call research'. Roo, Rich, Ritch and I, sat in the wee cloakroom corridor being 'impromptu background' for those, trying not to snigger as we variously pretended to be lovers, family, an office, a library, a lab, bits of machinery, a party, staff, or a choir. No idea if you heard it, but we had some fun. Nora berating someone over the phone, 'Oh, no stop... you're being a naughty boy', in the most coquettish voice ever, and then her looking over at us with the eye roll.... brilliant comedy. For me, the overarching vision was amazing and, seeing each room become drastically different with just relatively few key pieces. It was/is breathtakingly ambitious and yet, when broken down, and with the right crew, completely doable. I loved it! I can't imagine what it was like being a player in that but seeing or hearing about everyone respond to the different eras, rooms, foods etc was brilliant.