The Encyclopedia of Interactive Performance

Guarded spects want everything explicitly spelled out before they’re willing to engage in the fiction. Your best approach is to remain friendly, clarify ambiguity with defined offers, and reinterpret the subtext of their offers to fit the context.

Susan approaches Kali (spect) for the first time in the story. “Kali, I love your new apartment.” Kali pulls back. “Do I know you?” “Sweetheart, I know I’ve been busy, but I’m still your mother and I wanted to see your new place.” “You’re my mother?” Susan laughs good-naturedly. “Fair enough. I should have come to visit sooner. Here, I brought you a house-warming present.”

When the context is clear, guarded spects eventually join you in the fiction. As you move forward with this kind of spect, continue to use defined offers to clarify who’s who, where they are, and what’s going on.