JCBP 2.1 and Spaces of Acceptable Risk

The new issue of the Journal of Consent-Based Performance has been published, and I’m excited about a specific piece contained therein. Laura Rikard and I co-authored a Note From the Field, offering “Spaces of Acceptable Risk” rather than ‘Safe’ or ‘Brave’ Spaces.

I first encountered the concept of acceptable risk when chatting with Ryan Hart, who is an impeccable larp designer as well as a pilot and airline safety specialist. He told me that in the military, officers understand that they do not conduct risk assessments to guarantee safety; rather, they conduct risk assessments “so that we know what risks we can take given the parameters of the equipment we’re using” Risk assessments cannot guarantee safety. They are built to let us know what the limits are, so that we can be conscious of the risks that we can likely take prior to causing equipment failure. Risk assessments help us understand the given parameters—the limits within which we must engage.

So, too, does boundary establishment in consent-based practices. Therefore, we should call our rehearsal, classroom, and production spaces what they are: not “safe” spaces, but “Spaces of acceptable risk.”

Want to know more? Read the article in the JCBP!