GLOAM ENSEMBLE
A LIVE ACTION ROLE PLAY OF A CUTTING-EDGE PSYCHOSOMATIC THEATRE GROUP
Brooklyn Art Exchange, 421 5th Ave Brooklyn NY
Friday September 26 - Sunday 28th, 2025
Application Deadline: August 1st
$200-400
Gloam Ensemble is a 3-day immersive experience structured as a Nordic LARP. We will play a self described avant garde theater group that has decided it is ready to come out to the public. A little-known curator has contracted the group to do a single performance at PS1 for a hand selected audience, and we reluctantly decide that after 5 years of research and practice, we are ready to debut our unique style of psychological here-and-now theater. The LARP is set in the last few days of our rehearsal, struggling to design a small private showcase for friends that is meant as a practice round for the PS1 debut.
WHY?
We, Netta Sadovsky and Aaron Finbloom, have (genuinely) been experimenting with the line between therapy and performance for years, practicing and studying forms of performing somatic, experiential parts work. We share a fantasy of forming a real theater group like the one in the LARP, and we want to use the technology of the LARP to play with and inside of this dream. We are fascinated by the aestheticization of emergent emotional experience, and we want to call in others who feel similarly to play with us as though we have been for many years.
Methods that inspire us include: performance art, Family Constellations, Psychodrama, Internal Family Systems, Process Work, Fooling, clowning, Authentic Relating, Tavistock Group Relations, and Contact Improvisation.
But why is it called a LARP? Is that like swords and elves and knights? No it’s really not. We’re drawing on the tradition of Nordic LARP, which unlike regular LARPing is minimalistic, usually centers around realistic circumstances, and invites contemplation through slightly tilting something about reality to see what emerges. Think of it like sci fi: an opportunity to live into a world that is not-quite-this-one, as someone who is not-quite-you.
The LARP is simultaneously a tool of exploring the intersections of here-and-now parts work within the realms of aesthetics and spectacle, and an attempt to peek into an idealized future in which these interests have blossomed into an invested, multi-year collaboration with fellow artist-researchers.
Our primary intention is to use the fiction of the LARP to immerse ourselves ever-more-fully in these practices. We are experts. This practice is our life blood. This added layer can help us to embody focus, intensity, and devotion. The fiction of us having worked together for years will have an effect in our actual bodies and relationships - helping us to push past inhibitions and play more loosely and extravagantly.
Methods that inspire us include: performance art, Family Constellations, Psychodrama, Internal Family Systems, Process Work, Fooling, clowning, Authentic Relating, Tavistock Group Relations, and Contact Improvisation.
But why is it called a LARP? Is that like swords and elves and knights? No it’s really not. We’re drawing on the tradition of Nordic LARP, which unlike regular LARPing is minimalistic, usually centers around realistic circumstances, and invites contemplation through slightly tilting something about reality to see what emerges. Think of it like sci fi: an opportunity to live into a world that is not-quite-this-one, as someone who is not-quite-you.
The LARP is simultaneously a tool of exploring the intersections of here-and-now parts work within the realms of aesthetics and spectacle, and an attempt to peek into an idealized future in which these interests have blossomed into an invested, multi-year collaboration with fellow artist-researchers.
Our primary intention is to use the fiction of the LARP to immerse ourselves ever-more-fully in these practices. We are experts. This practice is our life blood. This added layer can help us to embody focus, intensity, and devotion. The fiction of us having worked together for years will have an effect in our actual bodies and relationships - helping us to push past inhibitions and play more loosely and extravagantly.
HOW?
Participants will have an opportunity to play a character that is similar to but slightly different than themselves. The character will push edges of personality in ways that interest them. For example, a participant who is less confident in group settings might choose to play a flashy showman, or a near-silent priest. A participant who struggles to assert their opinions might like to play a stubborn ideologue. A participant who fears showing sadness might play up despondency or exaggerate their cheeriness.
The LARP will involve character and relationship development, world development, and the teaching of a form of here-and-now somatic group work that we will perform together. The form will be an assemblage of Circling, Fooling, and Psychodrama, and you need not be familiar with these to participate. The basic form of the performance will be designed in advance by Netta and Aaron, and within the LARP we will have a chance to make aesthetic and structural decisions and alterations to that form.
Please note that this LARP requires participants to have some familiarity and ease with expressing emotionality and being in front of an audience. Keep in mind the LARP fictional world can help some to push us past the uncomfortable edges of expression.
The LARP will involve character and relationship development, world development, and the teaching of a form of here-and-now somatic group work that we will perform together. The form will be an assemblage of Circling, Fooling, and Psychodrama, and you need not be familiar with these to participate. The basic form of the performance will be designed in advance by Netta and Aaron, and within the LARP we will have a chance to make aesthetic and structural decisions and alterations to that form.
Please note that this LARP requires participants to have some familiarity and ease with expressing emotionality and being in front of an audience. Keep in mind the LARP fictional world can help some to push us past the uncomfortable edges of expression.
THIS IS INTENDED FOR PEOPLE WHO:
- Do not have experience with LARPing or role play. Those who do have experience are also welcome it’s just not a requirement
- Have familiarity or deep interest in embodied psychotherapeutic practices such as: Psychodrama, IFS, Family Constellations, Gestalt, somatic parts work, Meisner or Chekov’s psychological gesture work, Hakomi, Alexander Technique, Drama Therapy, etc.
- Have familiarity or deep interest in dramatic improvised theatre, roleplay or expressive art practice
- Are interested in radically honest expression, and the refinement of this expression through imaginative exercises
- Are not averse to rules and structures
- Are comfortable knowing their boundaries, expressing a “no” within dynamic and intense relational contexts, and understand/consent to the potentiality of emotional fallout that occurs within relational here-and-now explorations
- Have emotional support and resources in place, in case they are needed for aftercare
- Are comfortable giving and receiving non-sexual, physical touch with strangers
HOW WE WILL NAVIGATE SAFETY
The application process is meant to vet for participants that meet the descriptions above. The weekend will begin out-of-character - going over safety agreements, and practicing them together. Once the LARP begins we will institute a safe-word policy that indicates a participant needs to step out-of-character and is making a request for another player to also step out to navigate some dynamic out-of-character.
We hope to create a “safe enough” environment through planning, structuring, leadership and vetting to mitigate risks. Edges will be explored, boundaries may accidentally be crossed, and emotional fallout may occur. We will be designing a structure that lessens the potential for that fallout, and will use our many years’ of experience in somatic and relational parts work to inform that design. That said, this is our first time running this structure, and we will be learning alongside you.
We hope to create a “safe enough” environment through planning, structuring, leadership and vetting to mitigate risks. Edges will be explored, boundaries may accidentally be crossed, and emotional fallout may occur. We will be designing a structure that lessens the potential for that fallout, and will use our many years’ of experience in somatic and relational parts work to inform that design. That said, this is our first time running this structure, and we will be learning alongside you.
SAMPLE SCHEDULE
Friday
7:15-9:15pm Opening Circle, Safety Agreements, Workshopping our Characters and World [OUT OF CHARACTER]
Saturday
10am-12pm Warmup and Teaching Final Score [IN CHARACTER]
Lunch from 12-1pm [OUT OF CHARACTER]
1-6pm Rehearsal [IN CHARACTER]
Sunday
10am-12pm Rehearsal [IN CHARACTER]
Lunch from 12-1pm [OUT OF CHARACTER]
1-4pm Rehearsal [IN CHARACTER]
4-5:30 Performance [IN CHARACTER]
5:30-6:00 pm Discussion [OUT OF CHARACTER]
Participants will be responsible for bringing their own lunch or finding lunch nearby.
7:15-9:15pm Opening Circle, Safety Agreements, Workshopping our Characters and World [OUT OF CHARACTER]
Saturday
10am-12pm Warmup and Teaching Final Score [IN CHARACTER]
Lunch from 12-1pm [OUT OF CHARACTER]
1-6pm Rehearsal [IN CHARACTER]
Sunday
10am-12pm Rehearsal [IN CHARACTER]
Lunch from 12-1pm [OUT OF CHARACTER]
1-4pm Rehearsal [IN CHARACTER]
4-5:30 Performance [IN CHARACTER]
5:30-6:00 pm Discussion [OUT OF CHARACTER]
Participants will be responsible for bringing their own lunch or finding lunch nearby.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Our application process is meant to select participants who are right for this particular LARP - those with some moderate amount of necessary emotional, creative and expressive experience. Selected applicants will have a brief zoom interview with us prior to registration.
VENUE
The event will take at Brooklyn Art Exchange, a multigenerational arts organization nurturing creative expression and artistic process through education, residencies, and performance located in Park Slope. Friday evening will be in 1 studio (for out of character investigations and openings). And then Saturday through Sunday will be another studio where we will be entirely in character within. The studio space for the bulk of the weekend is 28 x 42 and features a hardwood floor, riser seating, moveable black wrap-around curtains, and lighting equipment. Unfortunately, the space is not ADA accessible due to several flights of stairs and the absence of an elevator.
OUT-OF-TOWN PARTICIPANTS
Our event does not directly accommodate out-of-town participants. If you are not a NYC resident you will need to secure your own accommodations. DPI is also not able to refund any travel or housing costs in the unlikely event of cancellation.
PRICE
The cost of the 3-day LARP will be sliding scale income-based tuition. It will have 3 tiers: $200, $300, and $400. Please try to reasonably and honestly select the price that reflects your economic situation. If you are unable to find a price that is suitable for you, please get in touch [[email protected]]. We are committed to covering our basic costs, while also making this possible for everyone who wants it.
SIZE OF OUR GROUP
Our LARP will have anywhere from 5-12 participants, and 2 facilitators (Aaron and Netta, who will also be in character). The performance at the end will have an additional 10-15 audience members.
COVID POLICY
We will follow CDC protocol regarding covid isolation and engagement. If any participant has symptoms of covid (i.e. cold symptoms), we ask you to please take a home-test and if you test positive you cannot attend the program. If you test negative, and you are sick, we ask you to still wear a mask or stay at home (as tests can deliver false negatives). For everyone else, masks are optional. This policy may be updated prior to the event to ensure additional safety.
CANCELLATION POLICY
If we are able to fill your spot with a participant on the waitlist, refunds are available up to 30 days before the event. After this time we are unable to provide a refund. Partial refunds might be given if a cancellation takes place under extenuating circumstances (e.g. a death of a 1st or 2nd degree family member, serious non-preventable illness or accident requiring hospitalization). Refunds in such cases remain at the discretion of the local organizers and will be decided on a case to case basis.
FACLITATORS BIOS
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Aaron Finbloom is a philosopher, artist, therapist, and educator whose work aims to expand transformative inquiry through relational games, role play, performance art, and conversation scores. He co-founded The School of Making Thinking (SMT) and is the founder and director of The Deep Play Institute (DPI). His projects have been featured internationally at venues such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Gallery 151 in New York, Maschinenhaus Kulturbrauerei in Berlin, UNAM in Mexico City, Performance Works Northwest in Portland, and MainLine Theatre in Montreal. Trained in Circling, Psychodrama, Buddhist Meditation, and Processwork, Aaron holds a PhD in Interdisciplinary Humanities from Concordia University in Montreal and teaches philosophy at the City College of New York. www.finblooming.com.
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Netta Sadovsky, MFA, LSW (she/they) is an artist and therapist living in Philadelphia, PA, and the Assistant Director at The Deep Play Institute. Netta leads retreats and events in their role at The Deep Play Institute, and has a passion for building community around relational mindfulness and creativity. At West Philly Therapy Center, they provide individual and relationship therapy specializing in Somatic Internal Family Systems, working with kink, polyamory, challenges of artmaking, and healing from relational trauma. Netta has a Masters in Social Work and Social Research from Bryn Mawr College, has level 1 training in Internal Family Systems Therapy, small group consultancy training in Tavistock Group Relations, and extensive training in Psychodrama and Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. Netta has a background in visual art, with an MFA from Tyler School of Art.
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