September 27th @ 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
The Emerson Day of Play is a day of connection, fun, and in-person play at the UnCommon Corner and Harpoon Beer Garden, located at the corner of Boylston and Tremont in the Boston Common. The event is inspired by the Come Out and Play Festivals in New York, San Francisco and Philadelphia.
Emerson students and local game designers have built six original, in-person outdoor games to get Bostonians new and old excited about the new school year. Visitors will run, jump, hunt goblins, laugh through games of chess, hit a target or two, experience the epic highs and lows of moving in Boston, learn the time-honored art of constructing giant sandwiches, and try not to explode in the process. We welcome all students, families, and passers-by to drop in or spend all day with us at the UnCommon Stage and Harpoon Beer Garden between 12 and 5PM. Play, be loud, have fun and meet some new friends!
Aiming for Emerson
Let’s face it: summer’s over, but that doesn’t mean that the fun has to end. The New England State Fair might be a two-hour drive away, but Aiming for Emerson is bringing carnival vibes right to the UnCommon Corner. Whether you want to play solo or with friends, you’ll surely be
reminded of that time as a kid that you miserably failed to win the biggest, coolest stuffed animal at the fair. What’s more fun than that?
Game Designers:
Ailey Adair, Michael Chow, Qian Luo, Wanxuan Yan, Zoe Golden
Emerson Troll Hunt
So you’re going to become a media student? Congratulations! You’d better get used to trolls early. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Start training to look for trolls hiding all around the Day of Play UnCommon Stage and Harpoon Beer Garden space. When you find one, see what it has to say and assemble the message…but don’t think too hard about it, they’re just trolls. After a while they even start to look sort of cute!
Game Designers:
Zoe Deyermond, Peyton Schweibert, Zeang Fang, Chris Fortin
Ignited Emersonians
The Little Building is a dorm at Emerson full of first-years who can’t make a midnight snack without setting off the fire alarm and thus forcing hordes of freshmen out onto the cold, dark, streets of Boston. Inspired by popular card game Exploding Kittens, Ignited Emersonians teaches players about Emerson culture while they compete to be the last person standing. Just don’t draw the fire alarm card – you’ll freeze to death outside, and worse, lose the game!
Game Designers:
Danni Yu, Noel Li, Stephanie Lu, Livia Holt, Endo Crist
Deli Demolition
John Sandwich had a dream – towering monuments of food reaching toward the heavens, bringing delight to giants who roamed the countryside. He obsessed over the concept of “food architecture” and spent his life perfecting what he called “The Grand Ritual of Sandwich Elevation.” He believed that the universe is composed of four primordial ingredients: bread, protein, toppings, and condiments. Assuming the role of sandwich architect, Deli Demolition players physically stack giant ingredients, fundamentally building the universe with each placement.
Game Designers:
Ethan Tuccillo, Ben Fine, Hannah Bambach, Jacob Schmidt, Ellie Abbey
Chess 2
Do you spend hours of your life every day playing online chess against bots? Do you also spend hours wishing there was some new way you could experience your favorite game? Well, now there is! Chess 2: The Strategic Comedy is just like regular chess, but with two new pieces: the jester and the paladin. This adds a new layer of strategy to the game, though the goal—capture the opponent’s King—remains the same.
Game Designers:
Ailey Adair, Michael Chow, Qian Luo, Wanxuan Yan, Zoe Golden
Moving Day
Did you know that ALL RENTAL LEASES in Boston begin on September 1st? If you don’t, you will someday when you join Boston Christmas: the insane, competitive, speed-based packing puzzle that is Moving Day in Boston every September. By moving more boxes than you knew you had, you’ll collaborate with your new roommates and also compete with your new roommates. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll probably scream and hopefully, eventually, you’ll move into your new apartment.
Game Designers:
Kellian Adams Pletcher and the Teams From FableVision Studios.
Music Lineup
12:00 – 2:00 PM: Ciara Moser
Ciara Moser, originally from Dublin but raised in Austria, currently calls Boston her home base. As a blind bassist of Austrian-Irish descent, she showcases her versatility across various musical styles and genres, seamlessly blending into band, orchestra, film, and ensemble projects, both in live performances and studio sessions.
She earned her Master’s in jazz performance from the Berklee Global Jazz Institute at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA under the guidance of esteemed mentors like John Patitucci, Danilo Perez, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Joe Lovano. Additionally, she holds a master’s degree in music pedagogy from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.
Since collaborating with Danilo Perez in January 2022, Ciara has graced stages with him worldwide, from the Chile Jazz Festival in Santiago, the Paradiso Jazz Festival in Italy, and the Hay Festival in the UK to the Cultural Summit in Abu Dhabi. Alongside other international performances in the UK, Panama, Ecuador, Canada, Austria, and Germany, she has shared the spotlight with renowned artists such as Braxton Cook, and Victor Wooten.
In October 2023, Ciara released her debut album, “Blind. So What?” The jazz/fusion album, exploring themes of music and blindness, received praise and major articles from publications like Premier Guitar Magazine, Bass Musician Magazine and Jazzwise Magazine. Notably, one of its tracks was honored with the “Young Jazz Composers Award 2023” by the ASCAP Foundation.
Following a successful and souled out release tour in Austria through established jazz venues such as Porgy & Bess Vienna and Jazzit Salzburg Ciara’s album gained exposure on national television and radio channels such as ORF3 and Ö1. She headlined the 20-year celebration of the Institute for Popular Music at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, showcasing a big band version of her composition “The Call to See Beyond”.
Ciara’s talent and dedication have earned her various awards such as the “next jazz legacy award”, winning the “2024new generation jazz lab competition”, the “Ascap Young Jazz composers Award” securing a spot in the Jazz Ahead Program (led by Jason Moran) and Woodshed Network Residency (led by Dee Dee Bridgewater), earning the “Matt Marvuglio Student of the Year” award in 2021, becoming a finalist in the Lee Ritenour Six String Theory Competition, receiving the Tara Life Goes On Award, receiving the “Johann Ratzenböck”-scholarship and winning the first price at the well-known austrian classical competition “Prima La Musica”.
Ciara had appearances on multiple TV shows like the austrian talk show series “Barbara Karlich” and “Vera.” Since March 2019, she has hosted her own podcast, “Blind. So What?” shedding light on life as a blind individual.
Currently, Ciara thrives as a performer and recording artist in the Boston/New York scene, alongside her role as a faculty member and staff accompanist at Berklee College of Music.
3:00 – 5:00 PM: Fabiola Méndez Trio
Fabiola Méndez is a Puerto Rican cuatro player, singer, educator, and Emmy-nominated composer that has taken part in a musical movement, crossing over the lines of genres such as Folk, Afro-Caribbean & Jazz. Recognized as the Latin Artist of the Year 2023 by the Boston Music Awards, her artistic vision and original music focus on the exploration of culture, ancestry, and identity, inviting the listener to embrace how the power of music and storytelling can unify us. After becoming the first graduate from Berklee College of Music to play the Puerto Rican cuatro as a principal instrument (2018), Fabiola focuses on performing and composing, traveling with her trio to national and international festivals. She has received numerous awards, including the Quincy Jones Award, the Brother Thomas Fellowship, ASCAP Lucille and Jack Yellen Award 2022 and a Children’s and Family Emmy nomination for Outstanding Interactive Media in 2023.