NATIONAL STAFF
Kyle Elliott-CEO
I am the personification of the term “The Greater Fool”. I love many things in life, and chief among them is making others happy. That is why I stepped into this role and position, and it is what I will constantly remind myself and strive to do. Please PLEASE PLEASE reach out to me to chat any time about almost anything.
Here’s the rest of my team- the folks who make the whole thing work.
Lauren Demers-Executive Admin
When you think of customer service, you are already thinking of Lauren. No one in the history of DR has been able to get everyone to agree on anything, except that Lauren is the best. She also understands the various ways and tricks to get and keep me on task, an epic feat in and of itself.
Jeff Thelen- Head of Rules, Blueprints, GDrive
Some people look at rules and wonder why they exist. Jeff Thelen looks and rules and wonders why they exist as well, but for a much different reason. Why do they exist in an imperfect way when they could exist in a better way? The Mensch of the DR mechanics, Jeff Thelen might be a big gruff around the edges but is nonetheless the go to brain on what makes DR mechanics function and the design theory behind them.
Gloria Budiman- Database
Gloria built the character database “for fun”. Then made it even better. Then they built more things on top of that, again and again and again. Then found a way to incorporate all of that into a cohesive design to make managing a large network of LARPing easier to codify and organize. She is an absolute amazement of technocratic wizardry.
Jeff Dahl- Rules, Blueprints, Special Projects
If Jeff Thelen is the logic of the DR rule set, Dahl is the soul. Crafting parts of this world after having been witness to a majority of its creation, implementation, and destruction, Jeff Dahl is now helping craft the world he has traversed throughout for over a decade. If I ever understand how his mind actually works I’d either be one step closer to the elder gods themselves or my own demise. Either way it’s brilliant to see one thought enter and a coherent product emerge.
Phil Grau-Archon Plot, Ottomans Plot, Blueprints, Special Projects
Some people are just chaos personified, and little does the world know how much it is needed. Phil is a traveling plot poker, planner, and proliferator. If I ever have a question on what the community thinks, he is one of my go to spots for information and in the field feedback and implementation. I’ve lost count of the various amount of NPC’s he has wound up in putting plot out…
Evie Ende- Communications, Special Projects
Evie is the sanity check for the entire national team. She brings us all a perspective I often do not consider actively, and that reminder is absolutely key for creating the community that we have at DR. Evie writes just about all of our announcements, and also filters my raw and often “written as I would speak” thoughts into more cohesive lines of impactful and empathetic phrasing to convey to the community at large.
Caryn Coyne- Database, Owner Liaison, Special Projects
The thing everyone needs to understand about Caryn is that she is the eye of storm where ever she goes. Organizing and leading efforts to make all of the online oddities translate back into in live logic as well as helping handle various community concerns. Caryn once took a head dive at game and while being severely concussed called to let me know that “they were all right and on the way to the hospital so I shouldn’t worry.” That’s just one example of how they put others before themselves on a constant basis.
Damien Burke- Blueprints, Special Projects
My first interaction with Damien Burke was him giving me a detailed engineering list of why we should be allowed to mod nerf guns and the safety outliers and concerns about doing so. It was 14 pages long and included impact strength at mass of dart x velocity of modded gun and drop off and distance variables. Damien brings a focus and perspective to the blueprint council that has made a wider impact on the new direction and mechanical development of the game. To quote Lauren “Whenever Damien says to me ‘So Lauren…’, I know I am in for a new project.” That’s only one part of Damiens driving dedication to this community.
Joshua Demers- Blueprints, Special Projects
You cannot be in proximity to the organization of all of DR and not get hit by some blowback. In this case the blowback is getting roped into helping out, but that isn’t a negative when you are player number 4. Josh has seen every crazy thing DR has done, and now provides that legacy of knowledge to the national team. I’m learning more and more amazing things about the man who has spent his entire life devoted to supporting the theatrical arts in all fashions, and that has included DR from before I was even aware of its existence.
Will- Owner Liaison, Special Projects
Will is one of those voices that is constant and polite about the things the game needs and the work that must be completed for the efforts of the game runners to proceed cleaner and smoother. He keeps the compass pointed in the direction of need for my overall focus, and always has a snark about his problems and how to solve them that can be shared in those moments where everything seems too much. I’d tag him as a battle buddy.
Jeff Southern-Safety
When I purchased DR Jeff Southern messaged me right away and asked how he could help noting that he doesn’t have much experience in a lot of things other than safety. I asked him and questioned him about his experience in it, and when he started telling me his work experience it became clear where his area of expertise is. Whenever there is a question about new toys, tech, or any aspect of physical game design and safety this Jeff is the analytical mind to consider what I never would. I couldn’t ask for a better person to look out for all of our interests.
Frank Benvenuto- Writing, Special Projects
Even from the start of my time as the network owner, Frank has been one of the people most enthusiastic to volunteer and help out. He’s always bursting with ideas, and he’s always ready to find a way to put them into action. Now as a member of our team he’s able to apply that outlook to his writing projects, and his energy helps keep us all moving forward.
Razz – Discord Guru
Razz is our “make it go” team member, and the person who is always bringing us into new ideas and community support efforts. I’ve known them since day 1 of my time at DR, and they put out so much love and effort to help this community in so many ways. While rarely in the lime light of the workings of the national team they are the cog that keeps pushing us out of stagnation and into new avenues of community engagement.
