Category: bardic

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bardic concert First Bardic War general SCA

The First Bardic War (Upcoming)

On January 23 of this year, there was a wonderful Zoom concert called the Journeyman’s Concert hosted by the Midrealm, where I had the privilege to perform. This is coming to be known as The Concert that Started a War, because the couple dozen or so folks attending or performing in the concert, had a conversation that catalyzed the upcoming First Bardic War.

At the center of that conversation were Hilla Stormbringer of the Midrealm, who was one of hosts of the concert, and Laila al-Sanna al-Andalusiyya, former Queen’s Bard of the East, who had been performing. TLDR: There were a lot of Atlantian bards invited to a Midrealm event. The word “invasion” was used, followed by a discussion of holding the Atlantian bards for “ransom”, and the boast that if the bards of the East and Atlantia banded together, they could take over the known world… Within the hour, Hilla had posted in the SCA Bardic Arts group that she had instigated an “interkingdom incident”, and people were discussing a full-scale War event.

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bardic Competition concert inclusion Neurodiversity

Panel: Neurodiversity in the SCA and Bardic

The weekend before last, the Second Ethereal Bardic Symposium happened, spearheaded by Hilla Stormbringer, the Bard of the Midlands in the Middle Kingdom, and staffed by some dedicated people.

This wonderful weekend of classes, performances, and conversations may well have unexpected consequences (which I will discuss with relish in an upcoming post). But Hilla also set up a round table panel discussion on Neurodiversity in the Bardic and SCA communities, which I was privileged to take part in.

The panel consisted of Hilla, myself, and Ruqayya bint Rabi’a al-Aliyya of Atlantia. It was not live-streamed, but we had good participation from interested parties, both Neurodivergent and Neurotypical, who attended on Zoom. We had the opportunity to get into some “real talk” about issues that come up in the Society, and in Bardic, for those of us who are Neurodivergent. The session is now available on YouTube if you wish to check it out:

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bardic Competition SCA SCAatHome

EK Bardic Champs: 4/24

Grim and I have been the East Kingdom’s Bardic Champions for just over 11 months now. This has been, it doesn’t bear repeating, a most unusual year–but even as we speak, our A&S Champion counterparts are conducting the competition online to choose their successors, and we have announced our plans to do the same.

The next East Kingdom Bardic Championships will be held on Saturday, April 24 (click for details). Performance is, indeed, the best suited activity for a virtual competition of practically anything we do in the SCA. (Click here to check into the Facebook event. The YouTube livestream will be here.)

Grim and I are looking forward to hearing from entrants (note per the event page: You must email us 2 weeks in advance, so that we can plan out the competition day with a sense of how many competitors we have.

We will be holding an online tech check a month or so out before the event, so participants have a chance to verify that their setups work for live online performance. The participants will be on Zoom, and the audience will be able to watch it live-streamed on the East Kingdom’s YouTube channel.

We will share further updates as it approaches.
In service,
Grim and Drake, Sovereign’s and Consort’s Bards

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bardic theater video

Beowulf: The Ethereal Event

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.

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bardic

Song page FIXED: Hold the Door Open

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.

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bardic SCA SCAatHome

Looking back on Coronation

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.

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bardic Pennsic SCAatHome

A Successful Bardic Showcase

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:

  • THL Honor von Atzinger, Dragon Bard, whose enthusiasm, delight, and communication to all the royals of the Known World made this possible, coupled her with her irresistible Master of Ceremonies skills.
  • Master Grim the Skald, Sovereign’s Bard who introduced me to the EK Bardic community once upon a time, thank you for bringing an experienced, steady, supportive hand, and a critical dose of zen. Your comfort sitting backstage and sharing the live stream audience feedback was wonderful for our composure and morale.
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bardic Pennsic SCAatHome video

EK / Midrealm Bardic Showcase Tonight!

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:

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bardic teaching video

Recording from “New Bard’s Road Map” is up

Hi friends!

Thanks to everyone who came to yesterday’s online class, “The New Bard’s Road Map”. The recording is now up on YouTube.

Cheers, Drake

Categories
bardic teaching

Online class: New Bard’s Road Map

Greetings all,

I’ll be teaching “The New Bard’s Road Map” online this coming Sunday afternoon (3-4:30 pm Eastern). Please check it out, and let me know if you’re thinking of attending (via the Facebook event page).

Cheers, Drake

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