CLUB FELIS:
Everybody Wants to be a Cat
~~~ REGISTER HERE ~~~

Cats of the Twin Cities, come gather and play at our very own nightclub: Club Felis. Here the stray cats and posh house cats mingle. They flirt, play, drink milk, and enjoy their cat mint. In particular they participate in or enjoy watching the Cat of the Year competition, which is held “every week.”  For one evening only, Caydence Records & Coffee in Saint Paul, MN will host the hottest night club in the Twin Cities for all things cool cats and hot jazz: Club Felis!

“Welcome all you cats and friends to Club Felis! Not everyone is welcome here, but you are! Are there any dogs among the audience maybe? Not so? Are there any mice among the audience? Not that either? But can everyone who belongs to the family of cats raise their paws and give me a resounding MEOW! Tonight we will announce who is the deserving winner of the Cat of the Year award! Those of you who want to brave the competition should talk with Agent Orange. Apart from that, enjoy the milk and other extravaganza. You have been here before, so you know what the deal is. Please welcome Scat Cats! (music!)”

– George – master of ceremonies at Club Felis

All Swinging Cats, show off your talents, sing/yowl your heart out, or jump into the Scat Cats improv jazz jam, playing awesome pick up standards. Scheme with your friends, disdain your enemies, and use impeccable cat logic to prove YOU deserve to help decide who wins Cat of the Year this week. Because everybody wants to be a swinging cat!

The 4 W’s

Who

Presented by Larp House Role Play Collective and the Make a Scene Scenario Festival 

Organized by Micah Amundsen (they/them), Jamie Bordewick (they/them),  and Katherine Shane (she/her).

And hopefully attended by you!

What

Club Felis is a Nordic style larp by Martin Brodén, Ada Fredelius and Anna-Karin Linder about cats living in the city and meeting in their very own nightclub: Club Felis.

Players: 20-40 players

Run Time: 3 hours, including about an hour of prep time to don your cat ears, practice your cat moves, and get your Cat of the Year talents or karaoke hits to our very own Club Felis music & talent team!

Where

Caydence Records & Coffee, 900 Payne Avenue • St Paul MN

Metro Transit route 64 with 14, 30, and 32 stops nearby. Street parking available.

When

Friday May 12, 2023, from 6-10 PM

Tickets

Get a ticket by filling out the Club Felis registration form. Once you have a ticket we will send you game information, but you don’t need to do anything else besides show up to play!

On the day of the event we request a pay-what-you-want good will donation ($5-$20 suggested) to support low-cost immersive scenarios in Minnesota. No one will be turned away if they do not make a donation. 

 

 

Safety and Accessibility

Content Advisory

This game encourages sensual—but non-sexual—touch, but does not require it.  Be ready to use touch in play that respects the boundaries of others, to ask if you don’t know, and to respect and maintain your own boundaries. 

Ths space may be loud and crowded, and some use of lighting effects to create a nightclub atmosphere is possible. 

Safety Tools

Touch boundaries will be set before play, and look down, check-in, brake and cut techniques will be discussed and practiced before play begins.

Following play, we will debrief on the patio to discuss our experiences and shed the roles we assumed for the game. The debrief is encouraged, but not required, should you choose to leave following play.

COVID-19 Policy

Attendees need to be vaccinated for COVID-19 and boosted to the extent recommended by the CDC for their demographic group. Bring proof of your vaccination status for inspection during check in, which could be your card, a picture of it, or a document on your phone. This will mean at at least one round of initial vaccinations and one booster for most people. You will be turned away at the door if you cannot provide proof of vaccination. 

Please reach out if you have any questions about this.

N95 respirators or better are required, and we will have a few to share. We also will provide surgical masks with cat faces for fun. We will be playing in a fairly crowded space, so masks will promote health and safety for everyone. Masks may be removed while performing on stage or in the outside patio space. If you have any symptoms of COVID-19, stay home. If you are able to, please take a rapid test before arrival.

Accessibility

Our venue is in a coffee and record store. The building is ADA compliant. Our playspace is mostly standing room, but there will be seating available. Access to the stage area for performers requires stairs. If you want to perform and this is a barrier for you, please let us know on your registration or reach out to the game runners.

There is one gender-neutral restroom available on the ground floor.

Food & Drink

Caydence Records and Coffee will be selling coffee and other beverages and some food and snacks. World Famous Club Felis Milk Drinks will head the menu. The space is all-ages, so beverages are non-alcoholic for the safety and enjoyment of everyone.  Please enjoy a beverage to support our venue. 

Details of the Game

Play Style: Find your Inner Cat 

This playing style of this larp is quite physical. The characters are all cats, although not regular “realistic” cats. They are anthropomorphic cats like you will find in a cartoon or in the musical “Cats”. To be able to behave like a cat you have to move and use your body in a different way than in a regular larp where people play human characters. One guideline can be to aim at moving around like you’re 70% human and 30% cat. 

Cat of the Year 

During the course of the evening someone will be awarded as Cat of the Year, something which happens every week at Cub Felis. Cat of the Year is a talent competition. If you want to do something on stage, go ahead! During the year many cats have won Cat of Year. Mephestoffilies is sure to remind you that it has won the competition many times. You can prepare in advance, or do something completely spontaneous. The winner is decided by a jury of some of the most prominent cats present at Club Felis that night. If you think you will want to perform in Cat of The Year, please indicate this on your registration so we can plan for your awesome!  Karaoke, stand-up, improv,  and talent (or talentless) acts lasting under 6 minutes are ideal. All cats must be able to get on and off stage fast – no full bands. The winner is selected based on cat-like non-logic not talent, so just have fun with it!

Acts with racist, homophobic, misogynist, transphobic, ableist, body shaming or other negative content are unwelcome. Anyone presenting this type of content will be asked to leave.

Scatcats 

The resident jazz band of Club Felis. It varies from night to night exactly which cats are playing in Scatcats. It also varies which instruments they play. The only thing you can be certain about is that Scatcats will play some great hits during the night and that Missy will sing her heart out with them. If you want to play in or sing with the Scat Cats, please register as soon as possible and communicate with Micah who is leading the jazz section. 

Gender: A Cat is Always It 

Even though most cats know which sex they are this is not considered important when they are not in heat. This is a larp that gives the participants the opportunity to play with gender stereotypes. When they are not in heat, a cats biological sex isn’t important – at least not in this game. All characters can be played by people of any gender. A man can play a posh diva and a woman a rough alley cat. The important thing is that the gender of the player shouldn’t limit which character one can play. The personal pronoun to use for a cat is it, not he, she or they. Example: I’ve met Waddy, and I like it. 

This game is place to explore treating gender like it just doesn’t matter,

Physical Play, Romance, Flirting, Sensuality, and Sexuality 

Cats don’t have sex, they mate. This is something they do when they are in heat and is not linked to love or romance. The cats are not in heat during the game. Cats are however quite physical with each other. They show physical tenderness through playing and touching each other with paws and arms, or by bumping up against one another.  Some cats, however, dislike touch and all cats dislike touch at some times or from some cats. All players will have the opportunity to set their own touch boundaries for the game and anyone can decline touch at any time for any reason. 

Explore sensuality, touch, affection, flirting, and even romance if you wish, with no connection to gender and no expectation of sex. 

Housecats and Alley Cats 

The housecats and alley cats are like oil and water. Those alley cats which once were housecats but who ran away talk about always having humans around them and not being free to do whatever they wanted when they wanted. On the other hand an abandoned summer cat can tell about the longing for loving hands, warm and dry houses and regular meals. The alley cats can’t help sometimes almost despising the house cats, who sacrifice freedom for comfort. But the housecats know better, they sit dry and comfortable in the window looking down on the scruffy hairballs in the gutters. 

But can a housecat and an alley cat befriend, or even love each other? The thought is absurd and ridiculous, the alley cats and the housecats play a paw length apart. To join the other’s dance is to cross an invisible border. A lone housecat venturing onto the alley cats’ territory should watch their step. Loving is even more difficult. But nothing is so difficult that a curious cat doesn’t consider the adventure. Maybe Club Felis will have their own Romeo and Juliet? 

Romance between cats is non-sexual and gender neutral. Club Felis is not the place for mating or fighting. 

The Name of a Cat 

But I tell you a cat needs a name that’s particular
A name that’s peculiar, and more dignified
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride? 

~ T.S. Elliot, Old Possums Book of Practical Cats

Most cats have two names. The housecats get their first name from their human owners. This name often says more about their owners than about the cat itself. A scarred fighter living with humans might well end up with a name like Maia. The last name of a house cat describes the area of the city it’s living in, such as Maia from Tangletown.

The first name of an allay cat often refer to something the cat is associated with. The second name can, similar to the name of a house cat, say something about where it lives. But more often it says something about who the cat is or what it has achieved, for example Fisher, boss of the Mississippi Flats or Wilson, Hider in the Stacks.

Costuming

No costuming needed, however it is welcome and we encourage cat ears to help set the mood for everyone.  Some will be provided at the game, but we encourage you to bring your own.  Because this a masked event for COVID safely, you can certaly decorate your N95 with a cat face and we will be providing surgical masks with cat faces. 

If you want to wear  a fancier costume, or something that makes you feel like a cat, go for it!

What this Larp is Aiming for: 

Yes: 

• Catlike sensuality without sexuality
• Gender-free play
• Playfulness
• Respect
• Catlike non-logic
• An open mind for the other players’ initiatives. 

No: 

• Sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ablism, body shaming, or generally being a jerk
• Harassment of any kind – No means no
• World of Darkness
• Power-gaming
• Violence
• To sit in a corner and look enigmatic the whole evening