Just a Little Lovin'
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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.
| Just a Little Lovin' | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tagline | 1982: It was the summer AIDS came to New York City |
| Duration | 5 days |
| Designed by | |
| Techniques | |
| Participants | ~60 |
| First run | 2011 in Norway |
| Website | just-a-little-lovin |
It was first produced in Norway in 2011 by the designers Tor Kjetil Edland and Hanne Grasmo.
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
| Run of | Just a Little Lovin' |
|---|---|
| Website | just-a-little-lovin |
| Information | |
| Date | 2011 |
| Location | Lunde Leirsted, south of Oslo, Norway |
| Participants | 60 |
| Credits | |
| Produced by | |
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
| Run of | Just a Little Lovin' |
|---|---|
| Organized by | LajvVerkstaden |
| Information | |
| Date | 2012 |
| Location | Gålögården on Gålö south of Stockholm, Sweden |
| Participants | 54 |
| Credits | |
| Designed by | |
| Produced by | |
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
| Run of | Just a Little Lovin' |
|---|---|
| Organized by | Rollespilsfabrikken |
| Information | |
| Date | 2013 |
| Location | Arresøcentret, Frederiksværk, Denmark |
| Participants | 64 |
| Credits | |
| Designed by | |
| Produced by | |
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
| Run of | Just a Little Lovin' |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Date | 2015 |
| Location | Lejrcenter, Tølløse, Denmark |
| Participants | 67 |
| Credits | |
| Designed by | |
| Produced by | |
| Creators |
|
| Crew |
|
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' 2018 - 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.
Book project
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.