— REGISTER HERE —
Join us on June 13, 2026
You are a group of musicians and producers trying to make art under an authoritarian regime’s censorship. Listen to and curate protest music, and talk about the impact music can have when performed. Shape your character’s story as you navigate the consequences of state censorship, grapple with the spectre of self-censorship, and try to stay true to your artistic vision and your ideals–or perhaps change them, in the face of your experiences. Can you collectively organize a resistance strong enough to speak out against the Regime?
What
A live action game about music censorship.
Duration: 5 hours
Players: 6 to 12 players
Designed and Facilitated by Michelle Hofeldt
Admin support from Jon Cole
This event is a playtest. This larp isn’t finished, though it will be a complete play experience. Portions of it have been playtested before, but there might be some parts that still need more polish. If this game sounds interesting to you even though it is not in its final form, we will be very glad to have you join us! If you’d rather wait for its final form, this game will premiere at Make A Scene!, the Twin Cities’ premiere larp festival on August 14-16.
When
Saturday June 13th, 2026
noon to 5 pm
Where
Roosevelt Library, 4026 28th Avenue South Minneapolis , MN 55406
Transit: Serviced by Metro Transit buses 14, 22, 38, 46
Parking: Handful of spaces behind the library, otherwise street parking on nearby side streets.
Tickets
Get a ticket here! This playtest is free. Once you have filled out our form you don’t need to do anything else besides show up to play. If the event fills up, the same form is how you join the waitlist.
Story
Characters live within an increasingly authoritarian state which utilizes different kinds of censorship, propaganda, and oppression to influence what kinds of music reach a wide audience.
Half the characters are music artists / songwriters, and the other half are producers who have the access to distribute music. Characters fall along a spectrum from “publicly complying with the regime while opposing it privately” to “already rejected by the regime and living outside of the system.”
During gameplay, duos of 1 songwriter + 1 producer listen to a curated playlist of music together, and discuss about which 1-minute clip of a song they will jointly and publicly present to an audience, and how they contextualize the performance (for example, giving the song a more political title, calling for a protest, or speaking about the meaning of the song on stage or in an interview). These conversations between songwriter and producer will involve negotiations and compromises about artistic vision, and characters have a chance to express their deep values about music as they plan how openly or covertly subversive to make their next song.
Consequences that characters encounter as a result of the songs they present can be positive or negative, depending on what the regime thinks about their music. Consequences will be drawn from real-life instances of censorship that have happened all throughout history and all around the world. Consequences will affect play and shape players’ choices; however, they will never remove a player from active play.
At the culmination of the game, the larger network of anti-regime songwriters and producers plan an action at a highly visible public performance, akin to a Super Bowl Halftime Show. Prepared for collective action means overcoming or setting aside differences, grappling with a diversity of tactics, and committing to use whatever privilege or access they’ve maintained under the regime. After the performance there will be a brief round of epilogues.
Structure
Pre-written character sheets will be provided, and players will have an opportunity to choose their character from a number of options.
Players will be made aware of a few of the rules of censorship that the Regime enforces ahead of time, but other censorship rules will not be explicitly stated; instead, players may encounter them without being aware ahead of time that they are breaking a rule, and may be surprised by the consequences. Consequences are described rather than acted out, and won’t result in a player missing out on play.
Content Notice
We will use larp calibration and safety techniques.
This scenario includes censorship by an authoritarian state (including censorship and oppression of queer- and transness), institutional racism and how it intersects with censorship, and self-censorship. Transphobia and homophobia will not be acted out between players, nor will arrest or brutality by law enforcement. Some of the music that players will listen to and discuss contains explicit language.
Costuming
No costuming is needed, though if you’d like to wear something that makes you feel like a rebellious musical artist or trend-setting music producer go right ahead!
Because listening to and discussing music is a key part of game, it’d be helpful if you brought your own wired headphones and smartphone to stream music via the library’s wifi. We’ll have music players and headphones to share as well.
Covid policy
N95 respirators or better are required for everyone at this event, and we will have a few to share.
We strongly recommend all attendees get the Fall 2025 covid vaccine before attending this event. The Minnesota Department of Health has stated that in Minnesota you don’t need a reason or to be at extra risk to receive this important annual vaccination.
If you have any symptoms of COVID-19, stay home. If you are able to, take a rapid test before arrival. Please reach out if you have any questions about our policy.
Why make a larp about censorship?
I hope that players will learn more than they knew before about the tactics that authoritarian regimes (throughout history and today) use to try to censor the voices of artists, protestors, and ordinary people, so that their eyes and ears are more wary of how this affects their daily lives and the media they consume. I also hope that they come away dreaming of new ways to resist and subvert all of these forms of censorship, in community with each other. It is my hope that the more people learn about how to collectively organize and speak out in this way, the more we will resist oppression together and move toward futures full of liberation.
Other Information
Calibration and Consent Tools
We will learn and practice calibration tools like cut and slow.
Players will have a debrief afterwards to share what they experienced and noticed over the course of play, and what conclusions they have drawn about state or private censorship, self-censorship, and collective resistance organizing. The debrief is encouraged, but not required, and players are always free to leave for their well-being.
Social
After the event some folks will get food together to continue to hang out at Northbound Smokehouse & Brewpub. Hanging out afterwards is totally optional, and we think it’s fun to get to know your fellow players as people, not just as their characters. Folks who didn’t attend the event are welcome to attend this part.
Accessibility
Our venue is climate controlled. Our play space has plenty of seating, and is located on the main level. The main entrance has doors that can be opened by button-push, there are accessible restrooms though you may have to wait in a line of other patrons to use them.
No food will be provided. Water will be available, and we recommend bringing a water bottle for your ease of access.
Minors
This larp might be appropriate for a someone under 18 years old, depending on their prior roleplaying experience and familiarity with the source material. Since Larp House is a group of volunteers without a legal entity, we require a parent or guardian to attend alongside any minor who’d like to participate. By all means reach out if you are unsure if this larp is a good fit for your child.
Contact
Contact us with any questions or concerns!
Image credits
Photos by Evgeniy Smersh, Simon Noh, Matthew Moloney, krisna azie, Zalfa Imani, and Les Taylor.