Support Palestinian Larp
We acknowledge that genocide in Gaza is a tragedy beyond words. However, we believe in the ability of art, and in particular larp, to embody experiences that we cannot describe. In the midst of this catastrophe, Bait Byout, a Palestinian larp organization, is giving voice to their comrades and telling stories under impossible conditions. And we would like to support them.
We’re running two of Bait Byout’s larps in New York City on October 25 and 26. We’d like to invite you to support us and buy a ticket; 100% of all proceeds will go to Bait Byout. If you can’t make it, we hope you’ll purchase a Supporter ticket to be with us in spirit.
About Bait Byout
Bait Byout is the sole larp organization in Palestine, and the first in the Arab world. Over the past decade, they've dedicated themselves to creating safe, creative, and transformative spaces for young people through larp; spaces that have become even more vital during these challenging times. What began as a group of volunteers in 2016 has blossomed into a thriving community that employs larp as an interactive tool to foster dialogue in an environment that empowers the decision-making of its participants.
Today, they face significant operational challenges. The ongoing economic disruptions in their region have severely impacted their funding sources. Many organizations can no longer afford Bait Byout’s services, and without access to flexible core funding, their sustainability is at risk. Each donation is more than financial support — it fuels imagination, healing, and hope.
Why We Support Them
Larp is an international community, and Palestine is part of that community. While we think it’s essential to do all that we can to end human suffering, sometimes people aren’t sure what to do or where to start. Our solution? Start with your own community.
Over the years, we’ve run dozens of larps and raised over half a million dollars in revenue. We’re hoping to take just 1% of that support over the next month, and send it to our neighbors making larp in Palestine. Your support will keep their doors open and let them continue to deliver their work of imagination and resilience to the young people in Palestine.
How To Support
Our goal is to raise $5,000 to donate to Bait Byout. We’re giving you two options to help us:
First, you can purchase a ticket to one of two larps: So You Think You Can Dance, by Riad Mustafa, Ureib Samad, and Mohamad Rabah, or Tiny Steps In Heaven, by Tamara Nassar. Tickets for these larps will be $100 with all proceeds going to Bait Byout. We have 10 tickets for So You Think You Can Dance and 15 for Tiny Steps In Heaven, so selling out these two larps gets us halfway to our goal.
For the other half, we’re looking for anyone who wants to support Palestinian larp to buy a Support Ticket for $25. You can help us from anywhere in the world (and do so multiple times if you like). In return for your support, we’ll send you a PDF of the larp of your choice (so that you can run it on your own). You can support Bait Byout multiple times if you want copies of multiple larps.
The Larps
We don’t just want to support Bait Byout financially—we want to share their work with our New York community. As such, we’re presenting two larps.
So You Think You Can Dance, by Riad Mustafa, Ureib Samad, and Mohamad Rabah, will run Saturday, October 25, at 1900. This larp is an educational larp for non-Palestinians about the internal Palestinian political situation. The players will assume different characters representing various political views on finding a solution to end the occupation, as well as their visions for the Palestinian State. Designed for 5 to 10 participants, the game events took place in 2002 during the Israeli military invasion of Ramallah in a transitional prison camp.
Content Notice: This larp is about Palestinian prisoners being held in an Israeli prison.
Tiny Steps In Heaven, by Tamara Nassar, will run Sunday, October 26, at 1900. The objective of this larp is for participants to explore the feeling of loss and embody the spirits of the children who lost their lives all too soon in the war in Gaza, creating a collective memory that honours their lives and the dreams they held dear. The larp serves as a journey of remembrance so that we won’t forget the names of these children and recognize that they are not just numbers or statistics. The winner of the Echoes of the Innocent larp design competition, this larp previously ran at the Immersion Larp Festival in Turku this year.
Content Notice: This larp is about actual Palestinian children who have been killed in Gaza.
Both larps will be hosted at Theatre of the Oppressed NYC, in their Mincy Room. TONYC is located at 758 8th Ave in midtown Manhattan, between 46th St and 47th St. You can find accessibility information here.
Financial Transparency
We’re organizing this fundraiser as a private company to quickly and effectively raise money for Bait Byout. Doing so in this particular amount and in this manner allows us to transfer the money during a period of time when larger funds would have difficulty. However, this means your purchase is not tax-deductible, nor are we doing this in association with any other organization.
All costs associated with this fundraiser (primarily labor, venue costs, and financial fees) will be paid for by Sinking Ship Creations. When you purchase a ticket, every dollar will be sent to Bait Byout as soon as possible. We consider the costs incurred (between $600 and $650) to be our personal donation to the project.
Why We're Doing This
Fundraiser
Option One: Play
So You Think You Can Dance
By Riad Mustafa, Ureib Samad, and Mohamad Rabah
Saturday, October 25, 1900
Tiny Steps In Heaven
By Tamara Nassar
Sunday, October 26, 1900
Theatre of the Oppressed, NYC
758 8th Ave in midtown Manhattan between 46th St and 47th St
Price: $100
Option Two: Support
Purchase a Supporter Ticket for $25 and receive a PDF copy of the larp of your choice (can be purchased multiple times).
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All proceeds go to Bait Byout.
This is a personal statement from Ryan, the Creative Director of Sinking Ship Creations.
What is happening in Gaza is genocide, and it is unequivocally wrong. I feel unable to say anything else about what’s happening in Gaza because the wrongness is so great. I can’t bring myself to discuss history, or politics, or even a solution. I just have to say this is wrong.
What’s more, I am a Jew. And I feel a special pain while watching a Jewish state commit this atrocity. And I feel the need to do something, to demonstrate that I can be Jewish and oppose the actions of Israel at the same time.
And finally, I am a larper. For better or worse, I spend most of my time creating, producing, and playing in larps. If I were to do something, it should be within the larp community.
And I feel this isn’t controversial. There’s this terrible thing in Gaza. And here’s a group of larpers that it affects. They asked for help in this way, and we can do that.
Please help. Buying a ticket just says “I support this group of Palestinian larpers.” And that, in this time and place, is a rare thing that happens to be unequivocally good.