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.
Okay, it’s official. My first solo stint on the Performing Arts stage at Pennsic will be 6:30-7:00 pm on Sunday of War Week (August 3). I get to lead off an evening of serious (and probably not-so-serious) minstrelsy.
Hope to see you there!
I haven’t checked in around this in a while, but my studies with Maistre Lucien have been a source of constant joy throughout the year to this point. Lucien has been unfailingly supportive, even as he continues to hold me to high standards, with a gently probing Socratic approach.
This last session, Lucien presented me with an assignment to stretch and test my understanding of period music and language, which I enjoyed immensely. He has granted his kind permission for me to publish what I produced in response, and I share it here.
This year, I will be joining the Pennsic War staff as co-provost (along with my friend Widow Kate of Ealdormeare) of the Bardic Collegium. This is one of the hidden gems of the ultimate SCA event for bards: a series of 5 daily panel sessions during War Week. It is an honor and a privilege to take over planning and hosting these sessions, which were my first true connection to the bardic community back on 2012.
This year, all sessions will be from 3 to 5 pm. Here is the agenda (we are skipping Monday to avoid conflicting with the Bardic Exposition that day):
Checking in with some small things. For one, my wife posted my private performance of “Silverhair” to Ose from her vigil, with Ose’s permission:
And just to note, I finally spent a few minutes figuring out how to format the images and videos on this blog so they look less egregious. I’ve updated the existing pages (I know, I’m almost as bad as George Lucas) so they all look a bit better.
And now, some mixing and editing work on the “Tam Lin” recording.
Maestra Sol la Cantor took video of the performances at King’s and Queen’s Bardic Championships last weekend, and has posted most of them to YouTube, including my two performances during the competition:
Round Two:
(Updated 3/16 to use less obnoxious embed sizes.)
As I indicated in my previous post, I had two performance opportunities at yesterday’s EK Bardic Championships (which were held alongside Novice Schola, a free event for to introduce newcomers to the SCA, its culture, and the sorts of classes that are offered at events). The second one involved an elevation (or induction) into the Order of the Laurel for Ose Silverhair, a part of our extended SCA “family”.
I had a fantastic day at EK Bardic Championships. Paradoxically, I did and did not achieve my goals. I did not make it to the third round, but I gave exactly the performances I was aiming for. I dialed back the overt theatricality I’ve relied on, in favor of something more authentic and allowing connection with the audience. I came here to deliver something richer than they’d seen from me before, choosing to omit swagger and bravado as much as possible, keeping my introductions short and simple.
Time to plant a stake in the ground. The East Kingdom King’s and Queen’s Bardic Championships are this Saturday. At my mentor’s and my wife’s suggestion, this year I will be competing.
My goal is to make it to the final round (round 3). The first two rounds require competing bards to perform a documentably period piece (which will be my first time doing so), and a song about the Modern Middle Ages in the SCA (I’ve prepared “Lady of the Rose”), in whichever order they prefer. The third round will be their Majesties’ choice for the finalists. That part is a job interview, so I can’t control the outcome.
But regardless…consider it brung.
We’re setting up a monthly cadence for 2014 to get the songs all recorded for this album, so that it will be ready for Pennsic 44 next year. Today is my wife’s favorite, “Changeling”. I get giddy as a kid skipping around doing this stuff, I really do.
Yesterday, I had a wonderful time at the EK A&S championship. I quite enjoyed working gate, observing all the beautiful art and science on display, connecting with fellow Scadians, and not performing at all.
(Not that I don’t enjoy performing. I still very much do. Looking forward to it in 2 weeks, at the EK Bardic Championship where I will compete for the first time. But it was lovely to be part of an event in a different space and not feel any need to be “on”. I’d go so far as to speculate that others might have found that refreshing as well.) 🙂
Drake Oranwood