L.A.R.P.-ing: taking costumes to the next level

By Maya Puvvala on October 31, 2016 • ( 1 Comment )

Oh, how fun it is to larp! Wait, you’ve never heard of larping? “L.A.R.P” stands for Live Action Role Play, and it’s awesome! It’s a type of game where a group of people wear costumes each representing a character they create to participate in an agreed fantasy/sci-fi world. For example, people larping in the Lord of the Rings world would dress up like Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, and even Gollum (MY PRECIOUS) and use sticks as swords, foam balls or styrofoam as magic and other props to live in Middle Earth. Halloween is a huge day for larpers as they dress up in the coolest of homemade or store bought costumes and dive into a fantasy world of awesomeness! People could dress up as Jedi Knights and battle droids to reenact the Battle of Geonosis as seen in Star Wars Episode II: The Attack of the Clones. A group of friends could dress up as orcs and quest on an adventurous journey from World of Warcraft. Larping is where fantasy meets reality!

LARPing as depicted in Role Models. Source: Universal Pictures

Speaking of costumes, there are some pretty cool ones out there. For any of you who have ever been to any sort of Comic Con would notice people dressing up in outstanding costumes and really act like the person they are playing. These costumes are super time consuming as they require a lot of effort. However, the hard work pays off because on Halloween, trick-or-treating is really just a trick as people will notice the costume and the person and wouldn’t tell the difference! All you need to make these amazing and artistically dynamic costumes is creativity and effort, and lots of money as some of these costumes cost a lot.

Anyone wanna LARP as Jon Snow? Source: HBO

If you are thinking about what to larp about or make costumes about, here are some tips to help you from me. Ok, I really like to larp in Middle Earth from the Lord of the Rings and that galaxy far away in Star Wars. First of all, it’s really funny when some really tall guy wears a sorcerer’s hat or not, grey or white robes, a grey or white beard, and talks like Gandalf – because he IS Gandalf! It’s also funny to see two short hobbits in real life – one always saying “Mister Frodo,” and the other always saying “The ring is my burden, Sam.” It’s also really fun to lightsaber duel like Jedi and Sith from Star Wars. Though to other people watching you lightsaber dueling, you are a nerd, but who cares – you’re having all the fun! Other people are just watching you in jealousy! No matter what you like, you can always larp, even if your favorite show is a sitcom.