Thank You!
First off, WOW!
The Gamerunning team was blown away by the interest from our community to serve on our Season 5 team! Some of the application areas were extremely competitive and we deliberated on these selections with open minds and open hearts!
In the end, we ultimately selected people by focusing on two specific criteria. The first criteria was picking the person we think fits the role best, and we did this by reading your applications and observing your interaction and dedication to our community. If we reached out to you for a role you didn’t initially apply for, it’s not because we don’t like you. It’s because we believe that your strengths in serving our game would be better fit in a different capacity. If you want to know more about the details of each role, you can find those written up here.
The second criteria was choosing applicants we felt would best represent DR:TX team values going into Season 5. The Gamerunners and previous teams have worked hard to establish our brand, including these values:
Radical Trust/Radical Honesty - This is the philosophy that we have adopted the hardest and it is the foundation that lends itself to a successful and cohesive team. It bleeds into every aspect of decision making on both the storytelling side and the player side of the game. Assume that everyone in the game is acting in good faith. That’s it. Trust your people.
Be authentic - be someone who does what they say they will do - life happens, but own your words and take responsibility for your actions.
Collaboration- we believe the collabortive cycle is the backbone of the game that we run. It’s the way we communcation with one another. It’s the way be build stories together. to serve on our team you have to be willing to partner with your team and players willingly and enthusiastically! This also means the ability to hear and accept critical feedback and adjust to it!
Positive life/hobby Balance- it’s a well known that fact that members of a larp team are often donating their time, effort, and labor with very little pay out for them. You should not volunteer your time to the point that you no longer enjoy volunteering or the game as a whole. We expect that each member of our team maintains a positive hobby/life balance when they volunteer. we love and will honor boundaries, so we appriciate team members that know how to set them!
With these values in mind; we selected the team that we feel will meet them above and beyond our expectations.
Don’t worry; if you didn’t get selected for the Season 5 team or you were offered a different role but are still interested in the role you originally applied for— we will have many shadowing opportunities this season. Look for a blog about how our Shadowing Program will function later this summer.
If you have any questions about our decisions or would like feedback on your application, please reach out to Jonathan, Amber, or email info@dystopiarisingtx.com and we will be happy to talk to you!
We will begin on-boarding our team over the next week! If we need something specific from you, either Amber or Ren will reach out to obtain it. IMPORTANT: The Storytelling Senate will have its first on-boarding meeting June 21, 2023 at 7pm in the Bravado After Party Discord. Please be prepared to attend this meeting if you are selected.
But for now, onto the news you have all been waiting for - the DR:TX Season 5 Team.
(If you would like your name displayed differently to be public facing, please email info@dystopiarisingtx.com or message Amber directly and we will gladly change it for you!)
gamerunners
Shan Lindley- Regional Director
Jonathan Loyd- Storytelling Director
Amber Cleek- Logistics Director
Heather Halstead- Operational Storyteller
Ren Lewis- Storytelling Admin Assistant
Joscelyn Benoit- Logistics Admin Assistant/Onsite Coordinator
Kiara Everlen- Marketing Lead
general storytellers
Kalen Lewis
Mae Wilder
Stephanie Patrick-Muñoz
Luka Drystan
Matt Hoadley
Karin Stephanofsky
Andrew Harper
Brett Moulton
Specialized Storyteller: Criminal
Chase Lira
Specialized Storyteller: gravemind
Ash Sexton
Noah Goodman
New player Storyteller/guides
Barbara Vold
Joel Vold
rules guides
John Crown
Beau Lee
Cory Maughmer
Matthew Stasio
Avery Clark
Nick Hiser
Jo Brown
Casie Spivey
Weston Harper
coord guides
Stephanie Sakovich
Ian Workman
Momo Morlan
Shawn Kneupper
Kieran Turner
Kat Drinjak
LJ Graves
Calie Spivey
setup/truck team
Clint Preston [Team Lead]
Liz Harvey
Jefferson White
Jason Dumas
settings/Props team
Amber Cleek [Team Lead]
Ren Lewis [Team Lead]
Riva Amyett
Poe Popek
Matt Hoadley
Kat Drinjak
photography team
Kiara Everlen [Team Lead]
Max Pohlmeier
Jason Dumas
Medical/emotional support team
Amber Cleek [Team Lead]
Joscelyn Benoit [Team Lead]
Barbara Vold
Riva Amyett
We anticipate offering a second round of applications for Coord Guides, Setup/Truck Team, and Safety/Medical Guide later in the summer. If you were hesitant to apply the first go-around, this will be your chance to jump in!
Congratulations to the DR:TX Season 5 team! The Gamerunners are excited to work with you all, and even more excited about the Season 5 game we will build together!