Just a Little Lovin'

Just a Little Lovin'
Tagline	1982: It was the summer AIDS came to New York City
Duration	5 days
Designed by	Tor Kjetil Edland Hanne Grasmo
Techniques	Pre-larp workshop Meta room Feather play Phallus Monologue Safewords Act structure Contextualization
Participants	~60
First run	2011 (2011) in Norway
Website	just-a-little-lovin.blogspot.com

Just a Little Lovin' is a larp set in a partially fictional New York of 1982 through -84, the game is "a larp about friendship, desire and the fear of death"[1]. The game itself lasted for three days, with act breaks every morning to build out relations and further play.

It was first produced in Norway in 2011 by the designers Tor Kjetil Edland and Hanne Grasmo.

The full larp script is available for free since 2021.You can download it from Alexandria: Just a Little Lovin' - The Larp Script Book as PDF

Summary

1982: It was the summer AIDS came to New York City. Two group of friends from New York City celebrate the 4th of July in upstate New York. The 1970s have been a decade of women's liberation, youth rebellion, anti-war protests and sexual promiscuity. This changed America forever, but the early 1980s is also a time of a resurging conservative movement which President Ronald Reagan is the sunny face of. Gay men are migrating to New York to become part of the vibrant and hedonistic scene in Greenwitch Village. Unbeknownst to everyone however the HIV virus has started spreading in the city. An article in the New York Times last summer described a mysterious "gay cancer", but it's cause remains still unknown.

During the larp we play three 4th of July partys of 1982, 1983 and 1984. Every morning after breakfast there is an act break where we find out what has happened with the characters and their relationships the following year before the next act starts one year later. When the game starts neither the players nor the characters know who will become infected by the virus, but the lives of all the characters will be deeply effected by the epidemic. Our goal for the game is that all the characters will have friendships that are important to them, experience a little bit of lovin' at the summer parties and feel the fear of death as people around them start to become infected.[2]

Statistics

The larp has been produced four times.

• Norway 2011 - July 10–13: 60 participants.
• Sweden 2012 - June 8–13: 54 participants.
• Denmark 2013 - August 5–10: 64 participants.
• Denmark 2015 - June 21–26: 65 participants.
• France 2016 - July 4-9: ? participants.
• USA 2017 - August 7–12: ? participants.
• Finland 2018 - June 4–10: ? participants.
• UK 2019 - July 30 – August 4: ? participants

Production history

Just a Little Lovin' 2011 - Norway

Just a Little Lovin' (2011)

Run of	Just a Little Lovin'
Website	just-a-little-lovin.blogspot.com
Information
Date	2011 (2011)
Location	Lunde Leirsted, south of Oslo, Norway
Participants	60
Credits
Produced by	Tor Kjetil Edland Hanne Grasmo

The game was first organized by the designers Tor Kjetil Edland and Hanne Grasmo. The location was Lunde Leirsted south of Oslo with 60 participants.

Country	Participants
Denmark	11
Finland	4
Norway	18
Sweden	26
USA	1

Country	Organizers
Norway	2

Just a Little Lovin' 2012 - Sweden

Just a Little Lovin' (2012)

Run of	Just a Little Lovin'
Organized by	LajvVerkstaden
Information
Date	2012 (2012)
Location	Gålögården on Gålö south of Stockholm, Sweden
Participants	54
Credits
Designed by	Tor Kjetil Edland Hanne Grasmo
Produced by	Miriam Lundqvist Anna-Karin Linder Petter Karlsson

The second run of the game was produced by Miriam Lundqvist, Anna-Karin Linder and Petter Karlsson through the LajvVerkstaden association with Tor Kjetil Edland and Hanne Grasmo. The location was Gålögården on Gålö south of Stockholm with 54 participants.

Country	Participants
Denmark	3
Finland	4
France	4
Iceland	1
Norway	2
Sweden	37
UK	2
USA	1

Country	Organizers
Norway	2
Sweden	3

Just a Little Lovin' 2013 - Denmark

Just a Little Lovin' (2012)

Run of	Just a Little Lovin'
Organized by	Rollespilsfabrikken
Information
Date	2013 (2013)
Location	Arresøcentret, Frederiksværk, Denmark
Participants	64
Credits
Designed by	Tor Kjetil Edland Hanne Grasmo
Produced by	Flemming H. Jacobsen Nynne Søs Rasmussen Helene Willer Piironen

The third run of the game was produced by Flemming H. Jacobsen, Nynne Søs Rasmussen and Helene Willer Piironen trough the Rollespilsfabrikken association with Tor Kjetil Edland. Petter Karlsson and Morgan Jarl were co-organizers and workshop facilitators. The location was Arresøcentret that lies close to the Danish town Frederiksværk on Zealand with 64 participants.

Country	Participants
Denmark	38
France	9
Germany	1
Norway	7
Sweden	8
UK	1

Country	Organizers
Denmark	3
Norway	1
Sweden	2

Just a Little Lovin' 2015 - Denmark

Just a Little Lovin' (2012)

Run of	Just a Little Lovin'
Information
Date	2015 (2015)
Location	Lejrcenter, Tølløse, Denmark
Participants	67
Credits
Designed by	Tor Kjetil Edland Hanne Grasmo
Produced by	Anna Emilie Groth Flemming H. Jacobsen
Creators	Alex K Uth, scenography Sarah Piyannah Cederstrand, scenography Rasmus Teilmann, scenography
Crew	Petter Karlsson, workshop facilitator Helene Willer Piironen, workshop facilitator

The fourth run of the game was produced by Anna Emilie Groth and Flemming H. Jacobsen with Tor Kjetil Edland and Hanne Grasmo. Petter Karlsson and Helene Willer were co-organizers and workshop facilitators. It also had a scenography team consisting of Alex K Uth, Sarah Piyannah Cederstrand and Rasmus Teilmann. The location was Lejrcenter Birkedal outside the Danish town Tølløse on Zealand with 67 participants.

Country	Participants
Belarus	2
Czech Republic	2
Canada	1
Denmark	17
Estonia	3
Finland	4
Ireland	1
Norway	9
Sweden	18
Taiwan	1
UK	4
USA	5

Country	Organizers
Denmark	6
Norway	2
Sweden	1

Just a Little Lovin' 2017 - Minnesota, USA

The fifth run of the game was organized near Minneapolis in Minnesota, USA in August 2017.

Just a Little Lovin' 2018 - Finland

The sixth run of the larp was organized in Finland June 2018.

Just a Little Lovin' 2019 - UK

The seventh run of the larp was organized in the UK July–August 2019.

Techniques

• Pre-larp Workshop
• Black Box
• Feather Play
• Phallus
• Monologue
• Safewords ( Cut & Brake )
• Act structure
• Contextualization

Related

The game site featured artwork done specifically for the larp by Astrid Solgård, that was later used in an exhibition in a gallery.

There was also an exhibition at Oslo Central Station for the World AIDS Day featuring pictures, written pieces, pieces from the set, the paintings by Solgård as well as a few of the players doing performances.[3]

Before the game was played, there was a debate in the Swedish newspaper Expressen, regarding whether or not it is alright to "play" with AIDS. You can find the first entry of that debate here.

Larp Script Book

Cover of "Just a Little Lovin' - The Larp Script Book" from 2021.

In an effort to further document the script, instructions, characters, printable handouts etc. a Kickstarter initiative was launched in 2021. The script book was successfully funded and was celebrated with a release party in Oslo and online on the 4th of July. During the fall of 2021 physical copies where shipped.

It is available free as PDF that you can download from Alexandria: Just a Little Lovin' - The Larp Script Book (PDF)

Credits

Authors: Anna Emilie Groth, Hanne Grasmo, Tor Kjetil Edland

Foreword: Jaakko Stenros

Graphic design: Anne Serup Grove

Proofreading: Mo Holkar, James Lórien MacDonald, Lise Jensen, Sarah Lynne Bowman, Sergio Losilla

Photographs: Carolina Dahlberg, Erika Lundell, Frida Sofie Jansen, JC Larpin, Jonaya Kemper, Kalle Lantz, Karin Ryding, l.p.lade, LajvVerkstaden, Oliver Facey, Petter Karlsson, Åke Nolemo, Li Xin, Åke

Book project for the Danish 2013 run

After the Danish production in 2013 a documentation project called The Book of Just a Little Lovin' (2013 Denmark Run) was made. The book was edited by Claus Raasted and Casper Gronemann with support from Søren Lyng Ebbehøj through Rollespilsakademiet. It is available free as PDF.

External links

• Official larp website
• Just a LittLe Lovin - The Larp Script Book as PDF on Alexandria - Scenario page
• Photos by Tore Olbert, Frida Sofie Jansen and Li Xin.
• Review of JALL 2012 by Elin Dalstål on Gaming as Women
• Wrap-up about JALL 2012 and interviews with the designers by producer Petter Karlsson
• Review of JALL 2013 by Vincent Choupaut on Electro-LARP