Since 2012, Blackbox Cph has provided designers, players, and curious visitors with a space to explore the borders between art, theatre, performance, and roleplaying games. And now it’s time to go again!

Blackbox Cph returns January 19th-21st 2023, and we’re now accepting proposals for the programme! If you’re a new, experienced, or potential designer and you’ve been waiting for a sign to make something with light and sound, this is it – shimmering in neon-coloured glory, telling you to send in your idea.

This year, we’ve got no specific themes, so feel free to let your ideas run wild. But if you’re looking for a source of inspiration, here are some tendencies:

• Blackbox larps often borrow from established genres – using and reshaping themes and tools from film, for instance.
• Blackbox larps often subtly reflect and re-interpret cultural tendencies, trends, and issues.
• Blackbox larps can be delightfully silly, camp, satirical, playful, and fun. They’re a space of exploration where the rules of realism are easily bent.
• Blackbox larps can be deeply serious and have been used beautifully to create scenes of the historical past and emotionally effectful stories.

Larps at Blackbox Cph have sometimes experimented with audience involvement or NPC use. Most are just for the players, but you can pull in other types of participants as well.

Not least do larps at Blackbox Cph especially have access to a large variety of high-quality technical equipment, managed by our excellent tech team, and you’ll be able to use light, shadow, sound, projection, and even smoke to create larps that are experienced by all senses.

Ground rules:

Larp + Workshop + breaks can’t be more than 4 hours in total.

Your larp should allow for a flexible number of participants, preferably down to 6 and up to at least 8 – with about 30 being the reasonable max.

The participants should be able to play without having prepared anything in advance.

Blackbox CPH is primarily a festival for premier larps, so we prioritise original larps when putting together the programme. You’re still welcome to submit reruns, and we usually do have 1-2.

For more inspiration, you can also read these guidelines.

Send in your pitch by November 16th using this form. You’ll have a chance to make changes later, so don’t worry about getting all the details perfect – just make sure your idea is clear and that you’ve thought about practical design from the start.

You can expect an answer around November 23rd.

Once your concept has been picked, you’ll be asked to write a short larp description for use on our website and to send in an illustration. You’ll also be assigned a stage and the dedicated support of one of our technicians. Members of the Blackbox organising group will be available for design guidance and support throughout the process, if you want that.

Although the questions are in English, it’s okay to answer in Scandinavian.

Nb. it’s alright to send in your larp idea as a voice or video clip, as long as you still answer all the questions. In that case, send it to gyldenfrej@gmail.com.