Sheridanne Kelley on Role Play

This would be the most significant topic we face in the lands of Sheriwood and Aglarond, and I will endeavour to offer the essence of “who we are” in our Tolkien Tribute Role Play.

Although there are many definitions of Role Play, I would offer this one:

We use the term LIVING The Silmarillion.  What this means is that we live out every day and extraordinary situations, within our specific, chosen and CLEAR characters so we interact with CONSISTENCY and strength with those around us in a harmonious, well-defined “world” or environment.

Tolkien-Tribute Role Play

Our “world” is covered in the first seven chapters of The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien.  We are not Star Wars, or the Roaring 20s, we are not Huck Finn or a shopping mall or a furry palace.

I was with Commonwealth and then Valimar and ran the Role Play Council there when they imagined playing the entire Silmarillion.  But it can’t happen because the entire book covers thousands of years of time in different places and such a vast array of characters who NEVER met.  When we began, we spent an entire YEAR planning everything from each placement of a tree to who we would be.

Vision

The vision I have for ALL who LIVE in these lands is simple: 

If JRR Tolkien took on Avatar form and walked into our lands, he would know where he was and he would recognise you as part of his amazing creation.

The way we protect all those who help administer this land is we say simply, “If you cannot find it in those first seven chapters, we are NOT going to play it and we will not argue with you about it.”

If you want to know how to play here; if you want to encourage your friends to play here, it is NOT going to be just a waltz in and use a few gestures and do “LOL”.  None of that fits!

Language Sensitivity

Everyone who stays believes in the concept of fellowship, and fellowship is about HELPING one another.  Each of us who wishes to play here can do far more than just play here.  The greatest privilege any of us ever have is to help another and if anything this is why we exist.

We do not, for instance, use Elven translators or speak through titlers.  The reason is so simple. 

For the record, the Noldor LOVED languages.  They categorised and invent and embellish words; they loved collecting knowledge.  Because of this, they NATURALLY welcome others who speak other languages (other than English as their first language). 

So we provide a simple-to-use translator for all who enter.  It translates our words to all in a special colour so it’s easy to see the words in your familiar language.  If you speak through a titler however, the colour that comes up is the same as most emotes and the colour the translator uses.  Therefore, it’s confusing and difficult to HEAR others. 

When there are individuals who speak another language (other than English), and wear a translator it translates for each person around and adds to the confusion.  If you speak in a pseudo-language, like Elven that not only displays heaps of strange words and sometimes letters (even translates into English), this is disrespectful to visitors who may not speak English. 

EVERYTHING we do here is designed to support and assist those who WANT to play here.  We use a few short phrases of Elven, but minimise this out of respect to those who enter who have enough things to contend with for role play.

Teachable Spirit

The way to love our lands is to read our book (and we have a free gift of those 67 pages for you in the Welcome Area too).  We are a stage play and I’ve already written an earlier article about this on this blog site.  Without doubt, if you are wearing a short skirt or you are half dressed as a man or you wish to come in and be Aule.  We point you to our notecards about how you play here.

There has never been one person EVER, with a TEACHEABLE spirit, who has not stayed to enjoy playing here.  What a significant, heart-racing privilege it is to attempt this tribute to Tolkien.  You don’t have to LOVE Tolkien as some of us do, but if you wish to play here, we will help you understand what this means.

There are many here who know so much from whom to learn.  During our barding times on Sundays from 12-2 PM (SLT), much valuable information is shared in bite-size pieces that make this book come alive. 

A “Natural” Look

In an attempt to help with some pictures, we have put a collection of John Howe paintings to illustrate what we see as “natural” looking.  If someone comes in and says, “But I LIKE being a dayglo furry-fairy with an AK-47.”  Point to these to help them see what we mean.

These paintings are, of course from “The Lord of the Rings” (LOTR), but they go a long way to help illustrate costume and setting.  The 7 chapters are about the Noldor…more than anything else.  We opened the Forest two years ago and we have always struggled with appearance of characters and I hope these paintings by John Howe will help us all to better clarify the “look”, without hurting anyone’s feelings. 

This is a serious stage play – we do not use scripts, we BECOME our characters using The Silmarillion as our guide..  We have costumes and parts and a stage to play upon.  The characters we play are immortal, so from the First Age (The Silmarillion) to the Fourth Age (the LOTR) many changes and developments of their personas takes place.

We are Tolkien.  We are First Age.  Two Trees (in that the First Age covers a long time and we are THAT specific too).  This means also that the race of Men is not awake yet, there are no Hobbits and Melkor is being held securely in the Halls of Mandos.  Danger and combat is sensed and being prepared for — the Noldor did much to perfect weaponry after Mahtan made alloy metals and Feanor crafted this new material in new ways. 

Not for Everyone

People WANT to be part of this fellowship and this attempt.  They want to learn and most of all to enjoy the authentic, lovely people here who share this vision.  We would love for EVERYONE to “catch this ‘Tolkien-bug’, but I know they will not.

We are NOT for everyone…but if you do catch this bug, there is nothing more satisfying that someone “recognising” you as a Noldor…and perhaps one day that someone WILL be JRR Tolkien.

We have had Ted Naismith in our lands.  He is the artist who has illustrated so many of the scenes in The Silmarillion and he DID recognise this world we have created. 

Now, just think of this.  The LOTR movie by Peter Jackson also helps us “see” a perspective of the future, and a style of clothing, weaponry, etc., but there is no film yet for “The Silmarillion”. 

When Ted Naismith came here, he set a little seed idea in our hearts.  What if those of you who live in our lands become part of the vision for a film of The Silmarillion?  That would be ultra exciting. 

So Much in 67 Pages

 At first I was afraid to insist on a high standard, to stress quality, to ask someone to “dress modestly”, to consider not having a machine gun or being a furry.  People WANT to be here and every week, every day or every week, more and more people are coming to TRY, to endeavour to learn about these seven chapters to play here.  You are actually the new leaders of this vision!!

You would think that in only 67 pages, we would not have enough material to role play with, but I can see NO end in sight.  Reading these pages is a very important start.  If you cannot find time to read them, then be sure you’re here for teachings like the culture ones Aule and I conduct, or barding or just come and learn from each other.

We long for you to have fun and to be successful.  It takes everyone in the lands helping and not in a pushy and argumentative way but in the way, I believe the Noldor would take:  gracious, patient, teaching with understanding and love.  We offer sanctuary to those who wish to embrace our culture so enjoy!

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Someday, you might wish to come to Tirion Forest where we LIVE The Silmarillion as a Tolkien-Tribute Role Play, choosing the first seven chapters of the book, or it would be impossible to “role play” it as the book covers Four Ages (we live only what is known as the Two Trees – First Age).   I never imagined anything so challenging and fun. 
 

In our Age, for instance, it details the races “awake” now.  So we have only Valar, Maiar, Dwarves (made by an impatient Valar, which is why they are so “unusual”), Ents (created in response to the Dwarves being granted life) and Elves.  From the Fallen one (see below) come the race of Balrogs, Orcs (originally Elves, but perverted), Dragons.
 

I just presented a lesson at our barding session about the difference between Ainur (the overarching term for special “holy ones”) created by Iluvatar (God in Tolkien’s writing who is also called Eru).  You may not have noticed, but as you are plowing through The Silmarillion, Tolkien went to a lot of trouble to include a thorough Index of Names, that most find quite helpful as they read the dense pages of his book.
 

Arda, is the term the races of Elves and Men gave to Ea.  Ea is “the world that is”.  Ea is the realm that Manwe (one of the Valar) rules over, also called the Undying Lands (it is not Middle Earth).
 

There were only 15 who are termed Valar or Valier (if speaking of one of the female Valar).  They were given this name by the Elves, by the way.  Sometimes this is the reason there are different names for some of the characters in The Silmarillion, in that an existing race has terms for things already named.  However, it is important to note that the Elves, in particularly, the Noldor were also responsible for cataloging knowledge and creating languages, so they LOVED words (as Tolkien actually did). 
 

Of the Ainur (all special, powerful “angels”), the Valar (were like Seraphim – powerful within the category) and Maiar (lesser in power) are sort of like volunteers who made a choice to come to earth and serve Iluvatar’s purposes on the surface of the earth and shepherd Ilvuatar’s creation.
 

Each of the Valar were given a “song” of creative responsibility.The Valar are commissioned by Iluvatar to exercise delegated authority in their spheres of rule and governance, (not creation, making or re-making of Iluvatar’s creation).  They are divine and outside creation because they existed before creation of the world.
 

Again, the Maiar are lesser in power and are “assigned” within the spheres of a Valar in their areas of specialty.  Few Maiar are named.  Some followed the Fallen one (see the next paragraph) and this is the origin of Balrogs, for instance.
 

Of the Valar, one is called the “Fallen one” and is much like Lucifer in the Bible, he was the most beautiful and the one given the most power and responsibility.  But he imagined he had better ideas of how to shape and create the world than what Iluvatar did and set himself up against Iluvatar and those who served His purposes. 
 

Seven of the remaining 14 Valar are called also Aratar (meaning they are the most powerful of the 14 (in that the Fallen one is no longer counted AS a Valar).
 

So an organisational chart might look like this:
 

  Iluvatar

       l

Aratar-Valar

      l

   Valar

     l

  Maiar
 

Hope this helps sort out these terms.  

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