COSTUME GUIDE
Costume Guide
The Orpheus Theatre is known for the hazy, unreal midnight celebrations following its premieres and productions. Actors, art students, derelicts, junkies, the stars of yesterday, and the promising talent of tomorrow all creep in for that sordid dance-floor magic, for the slow, horny chaos of drugged up 3 AM confusion. Emerging in the early hours, steeped in bizarre regrets and haunting memories, you wonder whether everything really happened.
But how do people dress at these parties? The first time you are there you would be confused and not really able to parse what is going on. So many styles mixed together in one place: Glitter and LED clad burner types, fetish queens in revealing latex, suit boys wearing shades indoors, a group of clearly homeless people, stage crew in plain t-shirts and jeans and actors in elaborate surrealist-inspired stage costumes from previous plays.
After a while you realize that one thing is important and that is you want to impress everybody there. There are many ways to impress. Most try to impress by wearing a fantastic and elaborate outfit. Something that shows your true personality. Your other secret self that is screaming to get out. You dress more sexy or extreme than you would dare anywhere else. One thing is sure: no matter how all out you have gone, there will be another that has done more. Has put on more makeup, an even shorter dress, more sequins, is bare chested, has higher heels….
Others impress by not dressing up at all. These are often already powerful and rich. Not that the powerful and rich never dress up, but they don’t have to. They impress by not giving a shit.
It is tradition for people connected to the Orpheus Theatre to raid the old costume storage room and wear bits and pieces mixed with club clothes for these parties. This way you have the option to talk about which play a clothing item is from and show how much you are in the inner circle of the theatre. (This way you can wear almost anything you already have lying around as long as it is weird, extreme, sexy or surrealist.)
It is also tradition to ask another guest you find attractive if they want to borrow some of your outfit. You could also ask to borrow something from someone else. If you get a no it is not seen as a rejection but that the other person is satisfied with their outfit. (Of course only share a piece of your outfit that you can afford to lose. It is notoriously hard to find anything when a larp is over so be mindful of that.)
Since you will be at a larp that functions as an after-party after a play, you need to wear something where you can move around. Maybe not comfortably but at least you need to be able to move, sit and dance.
Your outfit should be something that makes you feel glamorous, sexy and powerful or transgressive. All the characters at 3 AM Forever are powerful or transgressive in one way or the other. Either a powerhouse in the community or powerful on a personal level for example by having extreme confidence in themselves and their abilities. Transgressive because they break social norms or because they transgress against their own limitations. Try to let that shine through in your outfit or outfits. Be brave and wear that amazing outfit you have hanging in your closet but never dare to wear. Now is the time! We want all participants to feel powerful, sexy, outrageous, beautiful, glamorous and perfect at 3 AM Forever. You are all invited to act glamorous and be beautiful at this larp no matter your genders, sexuality, age and body. We will all together help each other to achieve this.
The thing you are not allowed to bring is a mask. Masks are used as a way to show the magical glamour of the Fae so the only masks that are allowed at the larp are brought by the organizers. Face paint is fine as long as it cannot be mistaken for a mask. To avoid confusion, you should also steer clear of horns and elf ears.
We have made a Pinterest board you can see below. Your imagination is what sets the boundaries of your outfit. See below or follow this link.