"...This is the funniest and the most fun poll yet!
People may find this weird, but I take role-playing very seriously and very
lightly.
I have been researching and writing a book on "The function of Roleplaying
in Society: Storytelling and Mythmaking" and a Direct Action Role-playing
game. Here is some basic ideas off the top of my head.
A role is a dramatic part, socially prescribed pattern of behavior. We
"take on" many roles in our lives, daughter/son, sister/brother,
mother/father, care-giver, "worker" (and the various types of workers
roles). . .
T categorized three factors of role-playing that are of interest to
anarchist- activist role-playing, fantasy role-playing and situationist
role-playing.
What I call activist role-playing is the play-acting done by Ruckus
Society, street medics, those boring pacifists, and others who are building
skills and a role in activism.
I isolate three main concepts of roleplaying- role-taking, role-playing and
meta-role-playing.
Role-taking is a performance of an identity by a person who has passively,
ritually, engaged in a role.
Role-playing is a performance of an identity by a person who is activily
engaged in a role.
Meta-role-playing is creation of identity by a person who is actively
modifying their roles.
Fantasy role-playing is the playing of make believe. It has several
variations, most notably role-playing games (RPG) and interactive theatre
(Live Action Role-playing, interactive drama). Fanatsy role-playing is
commonly played by children. . .
Situationist role-playing is more complex. Historically it has been engaged
in by clowns, jesters, revolutionaries, artists, writers, and the third
gender of many native american communities. It is the act of playing WITH
roles and outside of roles.
Infoshop poll thread.
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/pollbooth.php
