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Practical Details

Where and when

The larp will take place on Memorial Day weekend, Thursday, May 27 – Monday, May 31, 2027, at the DeKoven Center in Racine, WI. Note this is a day longer than most US-based larps, and playtime will be Thursday through Sunday, with Monday as a travel day.

A detailed schedule will be shared closer to the event, but it is intended that Wednesday can be an early check-in day for those who book it (for a small additional fee), Thursday is arrival day with workshops, and the larp begins after dinner.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be full days of larp, ending with a dance on Sunday evening, followed by an off-game afterparty once the larp ends. Monday will be a travel day.

The location is a former college from the 1860s. We have access to their main 4-story hall and on-site lodging rooms.
Lodging will be in double rooms with single beds, except for a couple of rooms with queen beds. During the casting process, you can share your sleeping preferences, but note that you’ll be roomingwith an in-game connection, not a potential travel or real-life partner. This could be of a different gender depending on the balance. But give us input on your needs during the signup.

Both Chicago and Milwaukee are nearby airports to the venue.

Design details in brief

  • The larp will be for 75 players.
  • 24-hour ingame larp.
  • Gothic Academia, Nordic style, high transparency, slice-of-life experience.
  • Photography by Matt Norris.
  • Some designers and writers will be participating as players.
  • Slow-escalation and tap-out mechanics.
  • No nudity allowed – bikini area has to be covered for all genders.
  • Discord will be the primary method of communication.

Cost

The cost for the whole event will be 975 USD plus taxes per person, and will cover full participation, 4 nights lodging Thursday – Monday , food (3 meals per day except for travel days), characters, pictures by Matt Norris, and everything else mentioned below and on the website. 

Sponsored tickets will be 715 USD per person, plus taxes. We will offer as many sponsored tickets as we have patrons to cover.
For those assigned a spot, the initial non-refundable down payment will be due shortly after you are offered a place. Your ticket is not guaranteed until the deposit is received.

We will offer payment plans with four payments: a deposit and three subsequent payments.

In the price you get:

  • Participation in a Nordic-style, low mechanics larp focused on drama and strong interpersonal connections. With the original creators present.
  • 5-day event. Social time on arrival day, briefing, extensive workshops, and afterparty.
  • All meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner, with snacks, coffee, and tea service.
  • 4 nights of lodging are included, along with linens and towels. Sleeping will be in double or triple rooms.
  • Safety and calibration system based on the slow escalation and tap-out mechanics.
  • Pictures from the game.

Refund policy. All of the initial 115 USD of the down payment is non-refundable. Any cancellations by you made more than 121 days before the event are 100% refundable IF we can find a replacement player to cover the ticket cost. Otherwise, we will refund what they can cover.
Cancellations made less than 120 days before the event will not be refunded.

Join the Journeys & Tales Discord Server to ask questions and learn more about Thornbridge Academy.

https://discord.gg/r7V6DMnmKR

Venue, food and lodging

The venue will be Taylor Hall at the DeKoven center, an 11 acre, 4 story house. We will have the downstairs as dedicated playspace, offgame areas in the basement and sleeping on the top floors. Since this is an old school, bathrooms and showers are communal and located in the hallways and shared between rooms.

Ingame, the larp takes place at Thornbridge Academy. Participants will be lodged in double rooms, with two single beds. On the casting form you’ll be able to give us more details about your sleeping needs and preferences. Note you will be sharing a room with your ingame connections. All linens and towels will be included.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be included in the event, and we will be able to handle allergies and dietary restrictions. We’ve not finalized mealplans yet, but food will be good and simple fitting the theme of the retreat. Snacks, coffee, water, and similar will be available throughout the event.

Small amounts of alcohol will likely be allowed, but only in measured amounts. We will not tolerate intoxicated players. Recreational drugs are not legal in Wisconsin, and will not be allowed at the event in any form. We will have a cash bar for the afterparty.

Accessibility

At Thornbridge Academy, we aim to accommodate the various accessibility needs of our participants. And we also acknowledge that we cannot have a solution for everything.

We generally believe that people with disabilities know their own situations and the accommodations they need best, so we encourage you to start a conversation with us about your specific needs. We will do our best to determine whether we can accommodate them at this event.

The site is ADA-compliant, and we should be able to accommodate other mobility needs, but drop us a note if you want to discuss your specific situation.

We can accommodate most dietary needs and restrictions; you can provide more details on the signup form.

“Transformation is not a lesson to be taught, but a passage to be survived. The wise do not fear the threshold; they prepare for it.”

– James Thornbridge, founder of thornbridge academy

Photography

We are fortunate to have Matt Norris coming out to share his incredible skills and photograph the event for us.

Matt is a well-known part of the US larp community, known for his keen eye for spotting situations and the abundance of material he produces, and we are excited to see what he will create at this event.

The Designers and Organizers

Rachel Schnitzius

Rachel has been involved in live theater either on-stage, back stage, or in a design capacity for almost 30 years. She is currently an enthusiastic LARPer and a board member for Pegasus Theatre in Dallas, TX.
For this project, Rachel is acting as a designer, writer, and editor, as well as doing the costume design and general event scenography.

Lex Pullice-Farrow

While not larping, Lex is a professor and therapist, which makes him all the more dangerous to have writing your characters. Sorry in advance.
In Thornbridge Academy Lex is designer and writer, whilst also focusing on the academic and classroom design for all the Seminars.

Misha Azose

Misha has worked in theater and LARP design for 20 years. She subsists on petting dogs and occasionally tormenting her players through traumatic backstory.
Besides being a designer and writer for both cohorts, characters, and Noctis Circles, Misha has been the main focal point behind the larp’s approach to the supernatural origins.

Meredith Christensen

Meredith Christensen is part of the creative team behind Journeys and Tales. As a lifelong storyteller, she enjoys crafting stories and characters that allow people to step into new worlds and new lives.
For Thornbridge Academy, Meredith has contributed as a writer and designer, with heavy emphasis on the professors as well as designing the academic approach and seminar setup.

Christian M. Christensen

Christian has been larping and producing events for over 20 years, both in Europe and in the US. He can usually be found with his head in a database or putting together the logistical overview.
At Thornbridge Academy, Christian is serving as the Project Manager and primary designer for the Noctis Circles and will also handle logistics and runtime for the event.

Journeys & Tales

J&T are acting as the production company behind the larp. We’ll be using their existing legal setup for all contracts, ticket sales, insurance, and related matters to running Thornbridge Larp Academy.
They have previously designed and produced their own larps, Fatal Bonds, Hartwood, and Seraph, and have also produced US runs of the larps Daemon and Helicon in collaboration with the original authors.

Sarah Clelland

Sarah lives a long way away in a fictional country, and works hard in the word mines, hewing larp characters out of the living rock. She drinks the tears of players.
For Thornbridge Academy, Sarah is writing and designing several character groups, as well as helping out with editing.

Paul Foisy

Paul is an avid larper, conflict resolution expert, and decimator comma splices. When he is not being the bane of passive voice he enjoys larping through complex emotional relationships.
Paul has helped out with most areas of the Thornbridge Academy design with general sparring and insight. In addition, he is also acting as a writer and designer of the characters, as well as a general editor.