Support Sereia's Vision: Sin & Surveillance LARP

Sereia Spinner is organizing this fundraiser.

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Wait a minute. Who are you?

Hi, it's a ya boi Sereia, a queer Black nonbinary larp designer and player based out of Richmond. I've been larping since 2017 and sensitivity consulting for various projects since 2021. In 2024, I ran a playtest of my first game, Sin & Surveillance, a historical fanfiction of a larp based on one of the sub-projects of MK-Ultra. As a playtest, it went pretty well and gave me lots to think about on how to take the game from playtest to polished run.

Sin & Surveillance? Sounds provocative, what is it?

Thanks! Sin & Surveillance is a character-driven LARP (Live-Action Roleplaying) game about Operation Midnight Climax, one of the sub-projects of the CIA's MK-Ultra. Operation Midnight Climax involved using government safehouses as br0t-hels where s3x w0rkerZ would serve laced drinks to unwitting clients while CIA agents watched and listened. Set in 1963, this is a historical er-tic fanfiction of fictionalized events that will lead to the project's exposure and subsequent shutdown. The intention of this game is if a declassified CIA dossier and a sleazy pulp novel had a baby. I am planning to run the game in August 2026.

Oh, wow, okay. Again, sounds provocative. Wait, August 2026? That's like...really far from now.

Yeah, for real. There's a lot of work I still have to do to take the game from playtest to polished version. Re-writes, additional characters, referencing feedback and historical sources, and getting the funds together. Plus 2025 is shaping up to be absolutely stacked with amazing larps that I don't want to encroach on (and selfishly want to play in!)

So why the gofundme?

The short answer: I'm trying to secure a venue and caterer for the first official run of the game.

The longer answer: Running a game of any size requires start-up capital to book the venues, hire staff, source props and set dressing, and all that sweet stuff that goes into running a larp. Unfortunately, I don't have that sweet, sweet start-up cash to get started. I do intend to have a ticket cost, but I don't believe in selling tickets to an event without a secured venue. In addition, this fundraiser serves two purposes: supporting the work of a Black creative in a space that is traditionally thought of as a White space as well as helping to lower the ticket cost.

Oh, awesome! So how exactly will the funds be used?

$4,500 will go towards the cost of securing the venue. I plan to use a vacation home rented through either VRBO or AirBnB. I need to find a place that's big enough to hold players and staff which will be a maximum of 30 people. Most sites I'm looking at have yet to open their books for 2026, so I'm having to make some estimates. The places that I have on my radar require a down payment, which will I will use the funds from this GFM for. So far I've seen $3,500-4,000 as a down payment and I've been estimating a 15% increase from 2025 to 2026. The remainder of the venue cost will be paid for from ticket sales.
The remaining amount ($1,500) will go towards the cost of the caterer for meals. I understand it would lower the cost of tickets to not include meals, but I've found that having to source and prepare your own food during game is an additional cost of money and labor for players. There's also a high chance that this game will take place in either the Poconos or the Catskills so going out for meals might not be an option. Providing the food takes a lot of that stress off of the players. Plus the caterer we will be using is not only an experienced larp caterer but an experienced larper as well. And his cooking absolutely SLAPS. The remainder of the catering cost will be paid from ticket sales.

That's really dope! What happens if you don't meet your goal?

Why would you speak that into existence, friend? *If* we don't meet the goal, then all of the money raised will go towards the venue, no matter what the amount is. Whatever is not covered, I will have to pay out of pocket and then charge accordingly for the cost of the event and to recoup whatever I paid out of pocket. I am not looking to profit off this, this is me wanting to share my art with the world.

Word. What happens if you exceed your goal?

If we exceed the goal, all additional funds will go towards providing sponsored tickets for players who might not necessarily have the funds to play. As a recipient of such generosity in previous larps, I'd love to be able to provide that for players that need it.

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