(An adaptation of the Keynote given by Ane Marie Anderson at Knudepunkt, Denmark, 2015)
When we play larps, we create fictional universes where we stimulate ourselves – psychologically and physically – and we try to make the experiences we have within these universes feel real. To do this, we take on characters, and we use our bodies to convey our characters to our fellow players and to ourselves.
Taking on a character in a larp is a very conscious act, and through the history of larp we have developed and borrowed many techniques that we can consciously use to try to make our fictional realities more real to ourselves. But when we make the conscious decision to enter a larp, we bring our bodies with us, and our bodies are adapted to life. Even though we try hard, most of our physical selves don’t change when we larp, and we always carry subconscious and physical aspects of our real selves with us.