If you have never participated in a larp, you should read this page.

Demetra is an immersive larp, based on the free interpretation and improvisation of the players. Imagine being the protagonist of a film, with their feelings, urges, objectives and fears. During the game, whatever action you want to perform, you will really do it! The only limits will be imposed by common sense and some simple rules to simulate those few aspects that would be too difficult or dangerous to perform for real (for example: fighting, firearms, drugs and intimate relations).

In Demetra, secrets, investigation, intrigue and conflicts both of an ideological and of a physical nature will be of great importance. The purpose of conflicts is not victory, but the construction of a common history and relationships between characters. These scenes must be imagined in a "cinematographic" way and therefore must be interesting and involving even for those who do not directly take a part in them. "Conceding" the scene to an opponent, losing a physical confrontation, or giving in to their requests, is always more fun. This game philosophy is summed up in the two principles: "play to lose" and "play to lift".

Playing to lose means accepting other people’s game and conceding them the scene and the goals of their stories, without worrying about achieving personal victory: in "playing to lose" the real objective is to build a shared narration together.

Playing for others means sustaining and supporting their actions in order to build the game on them, involving as many players as possible in our plots, distributing the game to the players around us, without centering it on ourselves.

Conflicts between characters and groups help to explore and develop relationships. The goal is to create an event that is immersive, choral and fun through the most emotionally realistic scenes achievable both for the characters directly involved and for those who are involved as spectators. We expect all participants to feel comfortable with the kind of verbal and physical intensity you would experience in a movie with action, dramatic, romantic or violent scenes. Perhaps not all players will want to take part in some of the strongest conflicts, so it is good to remember that it will always be possible to get away from a scene, if you do not want to take part in it, even just by physically leaving it, walking out of the room or stepping away.

Demetra is a larp that aims to explore gender dynamics in a dystopian and matriarchal setting, inspired by the aesthetics, atmospheres and social inequalities of the 50s and 60s.

The challenge is to abandon the "politically correct", in order to dive ourselves into the matriarchal society outlined in the setting and to emphasize and exacerbate gender differences, in order to look at the inequalities from a new perspective and to reflect on the reversed world proposed by the authors.

Through Demetra’s metaphorical dystopia we want to provide an opportunity to think about delicate issues such as gender bias and its worst consequences, exasperating it and reversing the traditional gender roles, to highlight the contradictions. In the conflict that will develop during the larp the psychological, social and dramatic aspects will prevail over the simulated physical prevarication, which, however, will still be there.

Further details on this will be explained in the EVENT GUIDE, a document that summarizes everything there is to know about the larp, and which will be published in the spring.

Besides, before entering into Demetra’s upside-down world, players will have the opportunity to gradually enter into the spirit of the event and experience the conflict dynamics in special workshops held by the staff before the beginning of the larp.