Managing Aesthetic Distance

Abstract

Aesthetic distance is the central, crucial factor that makes living role-play possible. Successful facilitation has a lot to do with knowing how to manage this one factor, and many of the difficulties experienced by facilitators are due to ignorance of this foundational skill. A well-devised scenario and a committed actor provide plausibility for the players to buy into the illusion. A knowledgeable facilitator nurtures and reenergises the fragile virtual world, and guides players safely back towards the central, creative zone of aesthetic distance if they succumb either to over- or underdistance. Observation can be enhanced with discrepant awareness to counter tendencies to remain distanced, and substitution of the command “Pause” for the usual “Timeout” reduces distance if discussion becomes too intellectual and detached.

Because of the centrality of aesthetic distance to role-play, this chapter is devoted to a practical consideration of how it works in practice. Many of the techniques and practices of facilitation have a lot to do with knowing how to manage this one factor.