nordiclarpyearbook2015

La Sirena Varada:
Courting madness under a bright sun
- By Juan Ignacio Ros Perez
Inspirations
We have both a play and a song to blame for
the idea of the larp.
La sirena varada (The Stranded Mermaid)
was a theatrical play written in 1934 by the
Spanish dramaturge Alejandro Casona. The
original play portrayed a community of
people who wanted to live outside common
sense and social rules, and its inevitable crisis
and decay. We took the motifs, themes
and archetypes of the original and planted
them in contemporary days. That was also
food for thought: Why is it that the themes
seem as fresh today as in the original time
of the writing? Perhaps escapism is nowadays
an even more attractive answer to routines,
technification and social pressure than
in past times.
The song was inspired by the theatrical play,
and we heard it several years before knowing
that the play existed. The song is also
called La sirena varada, and was composed
by the Spanish rock band Héroes del Silencio:
Cryptic, passionate, deep as the sea.
The band dissolved several years ago but is
still regarded as one of the best examples
of Spanish rock and known by the poetry
of its lyrics.
Finally, an overarching inspiration was the
Mediterranean culture, its myths and cultural
nuances and underlying fights through all
the centuries. We wanted to reflect them in
the characters in a non -obvious way. At this
point we distanced ourselves from the existing
inspirations and turned the larp into
a different work, even if it did share a name
with the song and the play.
ø
The design used adaptations of proven
Nordic larp techniques such as Ars Marte
and Ars Amandi, and also new ideas like
deathplay (a diegetic way to allow dead
characters engaged in the larp) and childlike
eyes (that demanded from the players
to approach each interaction with a new,
fresh take).
Half of the participants were foreigners
and half of Spanish heritage, but the only
language allowed among the Free (as the
characters called themselves) was English;
this was a design choice. Having a minimum
of Spanish players transmitted the
Mediterranean flavour, but forcing them to
use English ensured there was no communication
barrier and established a common
ground.
This has been the first larp based on and
adapted from a theatrical play in Spain.
Some participants have considered it one
of the first examples of a Mediterranean
larp “school”, due to its Southern themes
and larping style.
Reactions
The larp was tremendously satisfactory.
The participants embraced the proposed
way of life, with its laconic tempo, its exaggerated
emotional outbursts and the overall
creative approach. Moreover, we noticed
that the participants increased their desire
to create during the days and weeks that
followed the event.
The techniques proposed were meaningful
to the larp, and even if they could still be
improved by more exhaustive workshops,
the natural way in which the participants
accepted them was impressive.
110 111