Drake OranwoodDrake Oranwood (Eric Schrager) is a singer, songwriter, producer, lutenist, and medieval enthusiast who brings modern sensibilities to original songs set long ago and far away.
Last weekend, my first scroll text for a kingdom level award went out in the Consules’ court. My friend Agnes Marie de Calais was inducted into the Order of the Silver Wheel for service, and Collette d’Avignon, who was responsible for creating the scroll, asked if I would be willing to compose the text to honor her. I was delighted to be asked, and set to researching and creating something that would, I hoped, fit Agnes like a glove.
Tonight and tomorrow, lovers of spoken word, particularly of epic sagas, can enjoy a live, two-part performance of Beowulf on the East Kingdom’s YouTube channel. This is my first time participating in a live group performance event of this kind. (I have long wanted to, and generally scheduling conflicts and other priorities held sway. I’ll embrace the silver linings of our quarantine year as best I can.)
I’m incredibly excited to be part of an all-star lineup of phenomenal performers from around the Known World, including my teachers, Toki (who’s also directing) and Peregrine, as well as my former Laurel Zsof, my co-champion Grim, his Majesty Tindal of the East, and too many bardic friends to count.
Per the press release:
On November 14 and 15, Beowulf the Ethereal Event will present all of Beowulf, performed live on Zoom. Beowulf the Ethereal Event will feature the talents of 50 performers from 8 kingdoms: East, AEthelmearc, Atlantia, Ealdormere, Meridies, Midrealm, Northshield, and West. The performance being produced by artistic team from Beowulf the Event (East Kingdom, 2011), Beowulf the Roadshow (Pennsic 2011 & 2012), and Njal’s Saga (AEthelmearc, 2017). Beowulf the Ethereal Event will be livestreamed to the East Kingdom’s YouTube channel.
The entire epic will be split into two performances: Saturday night, Nov 14, starting at 7:30 pm; and Sunday afternoon, Nov 15, at 2 pm.
The poem tells the story of the hero Beowulf, who rescues the Danes by killing the monstrous Grendel. He goes on to kill Grendel’s mother, become king, and then—in his old age—must face a dragon. Throughout, he learns lessons about kingship, feud, and the dangers inherent in fighting monsterThe performance will be presented with the natural, organic backgrounds of our homes—bookshelves, workshops, home offices, kitchens, and living rooms. We will tell the story without stage magic, but instead will use the available medium to bring Beowulf into the homes of the audience. While the exact age of Beowulf is not known, the anonymously written poem is the earliest work of full-scale English literature. Beowulf consists of 3,182 lines of poetry. It takes three and a half hours to perform it in its entirety.
Contact Information: Toki Skáldagörvir: tokiredbeard@gmail.com
This is the latest in a series of fantastic live performances by the SCA’s performance community, which have recently included live streams of Henry V (gender-swapped) and Hamlet. This is not an easy time for anyone, but it’s a fascinating time for medievalist performers. Perhaps I’ll see you there.
Hi everyone. I only just discovered last night that over the summer, I apparently made a really bad edit to the “Hold the Door Open” song page, cutting out close to half the content (including the back story behind its composition, and the annotated version of the complete lyrics).
GAAAAAAH!
Fortunately, WordPress maintains revisions, so I have restored the song in its full obsessively geeky glory (nearly 60 footnotes on every source and decision made in creating the piece). Feel free to explore.
Happy Halloween, Samhain, or whatever gets you through the fall. My incredibly talented bard friend Elaisse de Garrigues of Calontir (one of the winners of last weekend’s online Winter Nights event), accepted my invitation to throw a little trick and treat together with Dave on guitar…
…And she delivered. Check it out.
The East Kingdom had our first virtual Coronation on Saturday, August 15, when Margarita De’ Siena completed her unprecedented and eventful reign, and Magnus Tindal and Alberic von Ron Rostock became the new Consules of the Eastern Empire. Grim as Sovereign’s Bard, and I as Consort’s Bard, asked their then-Highnesses what, if any, service we might provide to add to the ceremonies they were planning. As luck would have it, Tindal had a number of thoughts that played well to my strengths, and one that provided Grim and me a joint opportunity.
So…the EK Midrealm Bardic Showcase went off with nary a hitch worth noting. That was spectacular. (Available on YouTube if you missed it, or want to see it agaion.) I want to take a moment to recognize all the effort that went into making this Pennsic highlight a reality in this unique moment.
First, to my fellow kingdom bards:
I’ve shared this elsewhere, but not here. (It’s under the wire, right?)
The Interkingdom Bardic Showcase is a long standing tradition held at Pennsic. It provides an opportunity for our kingdoms to come together and celebrate the performing arts. (Note: per tradition, the lineup of performers is pre-selected in consultation with the wishes of the SCA’s kingdom royals.)
This will be a YouTube livestream event (link here).
Join us for this year’s online Post-Pennsic showcase, featuring notable and rising performers representing various Kingdoms of the Known World:
Today was my last day as Queen’s Bard for Margarita De’ Siena. She is now sitting vigil as a new Lady of the Rose, and her magnificent heirs, Magnus Tindal and Alberic von Rostock, have been crowned Consuls of the East.
As the Known World rings with praise for Margarita’s incredible and unprecedented reign, I have put together my tribute. It’s my first new piece since I became Royal Bard, and I’m grateful to my muse, my wife Jessa, my teacher Peregrine, and my right-hand guitarist Dave Lambert, for all helping bring this to life in less than a week (the full draft finally took form last Sunday).
There is a song page with lyrics and the like. Some time soon I will add back story on the creative process that went into this (it’s been brewing since the start of the reign). For now, though, I have words and feelings, and I share them with you.
Drake, Consort’s Bard of the East
Hi everyone. This continues to be a challenging time, and finding the energy and will to blog regularly is much heavier. And I’m pushing through that today, because there are some recent developments I think are worth taking the time to share.
Recently, I have made a significant change around my moderation duties on Facebook. After eight glorious years, I have handed over the reins of the SCA Bardic Arts group to my long-time co-moderator Aneleda Falconbridge, and recruited a new team of moderators to help keep the group thriving into the future (more on that below). I’ve done this to provide me time and space to focus on a new FB I’ve just launched, SCA Neurodiversity. The group has been operating for nearly 3 weeks, and I’m very pleased with the growth and the responses from new members.
It’s good to be back with a new video for the first time in a while. With Hamilton streaming on people’s TVs this past week, I got inspired to ask My Gosling for permission to adapt another one of her brilliant Shakespeare/Hamilton filks. (There should be more where that came from in the near future. In the mean time, I’ve set up a page to collect all of these.)
