“Project Ghostlight”: thoughts and a Fanzine

Thoughts:

*“Project Ghostlight: Private Nightmares” is a[ “Vampire: The Masquerade”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire:_The_Masquerade) *actual play series with Alex Ward as the Storyteller and Mayanna Berrin, Aabria Iyengar, Xander Jeanneret, Gina DeVivo, and Luis Carazo as the Coterie, aka players.

The year 2026 started for me by devouring the 11 episodes of season one. I knew that this show had high potential to be a blast, having seen and loved the cast in other projects, and to no one’s surprise, they delivered.

But what made me even more giddy was the unique approach this show took. Most TTRPGs are (as the name suggests) played at a table with the players using minis, maps, and their minds to tell the story. Acting out moments is still a part, but confined to the measures of a table. Which is to say that this isn’t a restriction by any means, but I think rather that this is where the magic lies in TTRPG; we can all agree that it is mighty cool to battle monsters, traverse terrains, and solve mysteries with just pen and paper and a whole bunch of awesome imagination. This aside, “Project Ghostlight: Private Nightmares” plays out on the stage of a theater. The players do sit down as well (in armchairs and a couch) but are encouraged to switch seats and to walk around the stage.

Alex W.: […] the show is different than any other. Mayanna B.: Absolutely. Just the composition of it, from the fact that it’s in a theater and we get up and play in that way, is already so different. […] Gina D.: I just wanted us all to get up, cuz I was like, we are going to blow everyone’s minds when they see that there is a live person behind the camera who’s going to follow me and zoom in. […] I get to sit at the edge of the stage and zone out and have a moment, and the camera is going to be able to zoom in and also catch the person behind me and see what they’re doing. You get to have composition! […] Mayanna B.: Cuz it’s live theater. It’s like this cool thing that you get to do with a space when you have the depth and abilities to set up a space. - Private Nightmares Season 1 — Decompression Session

And my mind was indeed blown! “Vampire: The Masquerade” is a roleplaying-heavy game in the first place, so to have that be fed by the possibilities and flexibilities of a stage was a joy to watch. The Beast (the inner voice of the vampires) actually lured behind them, intercepting and prompting as the looming apparition that is Alex Ward. The intimacy of an emotional conversation became palpable by the actual closeness of the actors. Every emotion, every dread and tension, got heightened by the inspiration brought forth by the stage.

The Fanzine:

As an artist I always feel the itch to capture the giddiness a story makes me feel by creating something. This time it became a fanzine*. *It was a challenge to fit 11 episodes, aka around 23 hours of material, into 8 pages. But that is what art does so well: it alchemizes something into its core essence.

So here is a short breakdown of the pages (you can find the fanzine free to download at the end of the article):

The cover page: This page serves as an overview, answering the “what,” “who,” and “where”. Something I wanted to incorporate were the short clips that were published on Instagram and made me aware of the show in the first place. In it the Beast (Alex) interviews each vampire alone, meaning they give a great introduction to the different characters. The lamps and exit sign were added as nods to the stage setup.

Page 1 / Churches and Religion 1: The pages are somewhat chronological, so the first screenshot and notes I had saved were from the scenes in the church. Gabel ties perfectly to that with the quote.

Page 2 / Churches and Religion 2: Here I give a spotlight to Katie, as the conversation with her sister gives such a great insight into he character. I also had to add that fantastic quote from Naomi, written on the picture that shows off how Alex was always lurking behind the players as the Beast.

Page 3 / Museum and Musing: I think I didn’t have to add those quotes (which I took from that heartwrenching conversation she later on has with Eddie) to convey the core struggle of Naomi; the picture alone shows that. Speaking of Eddie: Jade’s quote not only revealed facets of him, but the picture also shows off the storytelling power of the stage. The third and last quote I picked from a future episode; it just felt fitting. Also yes, those are “dino bones”; if you know, you know.

Page 4 / The Battles of a Vampire: Both pictures portray the core battles of a Kindred. The “jellyfish-lady” (as Katie called her) summarized it in that quote from the roof. The “5” is a nod to the hunger Katie and Eddie felt (after having their minds messed with) and to which they succumb at the end. I also could of course not leave out Coco.

Pages 5 and 6 / Monologues: These pages are dedicated to the monologue episode, because how unbelievably awesome was that!? It also serves as a way to circle back to the cover page and the introductions, as these monologues deepen these early characterizations. First Jade with that fortuneteller POV. Just wow, what a performance. I edited together multiple screenshots, because Alex hovering back and forth in the background was too cool to not show off (the glass caused the image to distort and double at the sides). Eddie’s scene moved us into the audience, because he too is a father who can only watch. The light shining from below was not only a great way to solve the logistics of lighting the actors but also a horror movie “cliche” that made Alex Beast’s face a true grimace. And he switched into Eddie’s ex with an ease that caused Luis to seemingly miss that his character was no longer talking to the Beast but to his ex — what great storytelling. Lastly, Katie. I couldn’t help myself from writing down my thoughts about Abria’s choice to, in a way, take on the role of the Storyteller to show her hunger for power, because how genius was that!? Gabel’s scene with his drag queen friend explored his struggles and concern beautifully, but it was so wholesome it did not match the tone of the other previously mentioned scenes/pictures. So I used one from the conversation he had with his dancer friend.

Backpage: This was a remnant of a page I had named in my prep notes as “goofy-wholesome-page,” but I cut it out to give more room for the story and the characters. But I couldn’t part with that specific scene (laying down and looking up into the starry sky became somewhat of a sweet routine), so I used it to close this zine, as it also matched Jade’s quote from the last episode.

I just love to nerd out about stories and the approach of how they are told. You are more than welcome to print the fanzine if you want something that holds the memory of this first season.

Any money you want to give me, please give it to a charity of your choice. You can follow me on Instagram (julestoryteller) to keep up with my shenanigans, one of them being the soon-to-be-released *(indie-author style) *vampire novella centering around an asexual main character.

Download the fanzine here: https://linktr.ee/jule_storyteller

! Do not distribute the zine anywhere else without my consent, and also do not make any profit. All pictures I used are screenshots of the recordings, and all art added is made by me, with my own hands and mind. No AI was used in the making of the fanzine or this article !