2010 West/An Tir War Playspace/Salon Musings

[callistotoni]

The following thoughts are floating around in my brain, prompted by Ysabella's last post. Totally unorganized thoughts, sorry! Just thinking outloud, as it were. Chime in with your own thoughts, please, if you're at all interested.

- We could put on some sort of period time and/or place playspace. This could lean towards Vittoria's more cohesive Taverns or it could be the usual Salons, which sometimes turn into (very fun!) costume-coherent parties.
-- Goal would be to have fun, because we can, and because wars are good places to do these things (witness the great turnout we had at the latest Mists/Cynagua War. OK, so free mimosas helped...)
-- Another goal would be to demonstrate to a wider audience what's possible.

- 16th or 14th C?
-- Pro 16th: I'm more comfortable in the 16th -- I think I have a good handle on that mindset. It's more flashy to the outside observer, and so may draw more attention. The food is super good, as is the music and dance and art and games and literature -- lots of very accessible elements to choose from. More and more people have the clothes. Cadre of people exists that know thier stuff about this period. If it were hot we could quickly convert to a Gods and Goddesses party.

-- Pro 14th C: Would be more of a challange, would take a differnet shape and so break the rut that my Salons have fallen into. a cadre of people (some overlap, some not) are already totally into this period. Would fit into the 14th C playspace building going on for J/S and my encampment, and would make J/S happy. :-) Food recipes are good. Clothing suited to hot or cold event. Might come across as more "do-able"/accessible to onlookers/guests because the clothes appear to be easier to make. May come across as more guy-friendly, esp. because the armor of the period is super cool.

Crazy Idea: Do both, on different days. Possible, but probably a suicidally bad idea.

Cons (lumped together)

- There's supposed to be another Perfectly Period Feast (PPF) in 2010, and that may take all the energy from (at least a large porportion of) the folks inclined to participate in any sort of period playspace.

- Would need committment from enough folks to attend the War and play.

- additonal Cost (Salons aren't free to those that put them on or to those who contribute food/drink/booze, plus travel and everything else one spends going to a long event)

- Would compete with other things. Maybe people just want to focus on taking classes from out of kingdom folks? Maybe the horse activites are super cool and need participating in. Would inevitably take away at least some of my ability to support the household and J/S :-( .

- The Rut issue. My 16th C salons always have the same stuff. Would like to improve playspace idea by incorporating new stuff, but I, personally, just couldn't handle the complexity (or the food!) of Vittoria's and Vincent's Tavern activities.

OK, that's it for what's in my brain right now. As I said above, if the topic interests you I'd be interested in your thoughts.

Comments

[ldyanna.livejournal.com]

Doing both on different days:

Big con is that they need different setups, which means bringing two sets of stuff. Unless two completely different set of people this, most of us don't have the space in our vehicles.

Second con is that, like you said, we will be busy with PPF next year and will be slightly burned by July (although we may have started to recup by then).

Could we recreate the PPF we will do in the spring? Most of the An Tirians would not have attended and we could spread the love?!

[ysabella-dolfin.livejournal.com]

I am more inclined to do the 16th Century one and would participate actively in that one with food etc. We could do some of the classes in a playspace like that (for example needle lace, or late period embroidery etc)... but I would love to just have it as a hang out and be sexy space!

We could set up big Bellatrix like we did for the M/C War salon?

[ppfuf.livejournal.com]

"There's supposed to be another Perfectly Period Feast (PPF) in 2010, and that may take all the energy from (at least a large porportion of) the folks inclined to participate in any sort of period playspace."
I think as long as someone else is organizing it, most of the people from the PPF would be happy to play in the playspace.
Can we try a small 14th century playspace for Mists Coronet? I'd like to have a cook's play date there, and we could cook from Cury on English or Goodman of Paris.

[callistotoni.livejournal.com]

>Can we try a small 14th century playspace for Mists Coronet? I'd like to have a cook's play date there, and we could cook from Cury on English or Goodman of Paris.

Looks like this is taking shape. :-) In what forum would you like to talk about this? LJ? Email? The PPF Yahoo Group? Lunch or dinner sometime?

[vittoriosa.livejournal.com]

I have to admit right now that cost is going to be a major issue for me, esp. if I end up not getting a summer job next year. (Given how burned out I am right now and how busy next year will be, I may just decide to study independently and not teach.) And as you note, the Tavern setup is pretty intense... but, on the other hand, it doesn't HAVE to be. This year I basically did a full-on feast menu. All the food was simple and came out as one course, but there was still a lot of it. The original tavern concept was "plunk down $3 for stew and bread in period playspace". It got more elaborate because I got overenthusiastic ;-) but in theory it could still be very simple. And if the cooks' camp is willing, we could easily get a group effort on the food -- today everyone cooks 14th c, or everyone cooks 16th c, and it all goes to the playground.

I agree with ldyanna that doing both would be really hard.

Recreating a scaled-down version of the PPF would be awesome, but I don't really know what plans are in the work for that so far... the PPF list has been awfully quiet.

[joycebre.livejournal.com]

doing PPF lite took a LOT of work. Klaus worked like a madman, and you need a huge amount of people committed to act as servers. (at least I think so, but I was in the kitchen and didn't see most of what happened). We borrowed from everyone (our household just isn't that big!) to get enough people, clothing, dishes, etc. We have a lot more of the infrastructure now, but still, it's a lot of work and a lot of stuff to haul to an interkingdom event.
I'm partial to the tavern idea.
Even more, I'd still like to do a 'market' with food booths, tavern/pub, village square kind of thing. But I have delusions of grandeur.

[callistotoni.livejournal.com]

>Even more, I'd still like to do a 'market' with food booths, tavern/pub, village square kind of thing. But I have delusions of grandeur.

Ya know, you could totally do this with enough time and planning. I know there was talk of doing a long event, like one one weekend having A&S, camping through the week, and then having June Crown. Or, when is the next big WK/SCA anniversary? You could tap into your Rowen-et all peeps. I'm all about upper class stuff, but if you did this over a year from now (since I've just filled my plate for the next year with a EQ research paper/class and an, it looks like, a 16th C Day at W/AT 2010) I'd do what I could to help. :-) It would be a very very cool playspace to work towards.

[joycebre.livejournal.com]

or I could do the re-enactment of the 14thC peeps re-enacting an Arthurian feast (complete with Pas if some people have their way)Which is something we've been kicking around for 2011. Or any of the other grandiose ideas I have. If I just didn't have to work for a living my SCA world would be a much cooler place.
I really need to sit down and think about what I want vs what I can do. :-)

[j-i-m-r.livejournal.com]

Your 16th c Salons are not "old hat" to the An Tirians. There may be later period souls up there who are tired of being surrounded by Norsky Norseguyson and would like to play with like minded individuals. Also, we may be able to convert some An Tirians to the 16th c when we show them how much fun it is. Also, that you've done these a few times makes the whole thing easier to do because you know what works, what doesn't and you've got the stuff. So, unsuprisingly, my advise is for a 16th c Salon at the next West An Tir War.

Also, Crystal's suggestion of a 14th c playspace at some event would be particularly good at an event J/S could come to ... making him feel welcomed and loved by the rest of us would be a good thing, yes?

[callistotoni.livejournal.com]

Now I'm thinking that, since we don't have plans for October yet maybe we could do Mists Coronet and a 14th C playspace there. Need to check with Himself. :-)

[callistotoni.livejournal.com]

Oh, and that also means probably not going to Oct Crown, because I want to go to Collegium and 2 big events per month is all I can handle. :-0

[sarahbellem.livejournal.com]

You know me, I'm all in for the 16th century. 14th century is more "eh, take it or leave it" for me, but this isn't about ME... Me me me. ;)

Anyway, if it were 16th c. focused, it would probably be the deciding factor for me in terms of attending W/AT (at least committing to the idea this far in advance). And also in terms of being able to contribute to the party/play space in general. I just don't have the extensive kit for the 14th century that I do for the 16th, and all of the relevant cultural things that go along with it like poetry, philosophy, music, etc. Not saying that branching out is a bad thing, just that I'm not there, nor do I see myself there in the 14th century that I am in the 16th century. But again, not about me. ;)

[trystbat.livejournal.com]

Ditto & I might be convinced to take the time off to go up there if I was guaranteed a cool 16th-c. event! And as noted above, AnTirians can't possibly be "tired" of your 16th-c. salons (as if anyone could be, imo ;-).

[zoccolaro.livejournal.com]

Another vote here for the 16th - I think it's more accessible in terms of period playspace.

You mentioned that you have "the same stuff" every time. If we want to mix it up, I would make some suggestions along the following lines:

- have a brief play reading. Something fun that people are already familiar with, like Much Ado, or even something a bit more risque. =) The point of the idea being to get people doing something together as a group. Maybe even act out a scene or something.

- Maybe a round-table like thing, story telling or singing. I think everyone can bring something to the table, be it a sonnet or a story or musical performance or whatever.

- I really enjoyed writing letters...I think it would be delightful to have a stack of letters, sealed and perfumed, delivered to fighters on the field. =) Or elsewhere, for that matter.

The problem with 1 and 2 is that they do require people to be a bit captive, but nothing is to say that if you're not participating, you can't just hang out in the corner and talk. Anyway, just some thoughts.

- V

[sarahbellem.livejournal.com]

I'm of the mind that if you "stack the audience" with a few people whose entire purpose is to keep the party and the atmosphere going, the captive audience thing matters less. I did that once for a friend's 1920s themed wedding; myself and three others were there to work the crowd and keep people in the 1920s spirit and it was a ton of fun for me, because I got to do persona play and flirt and shmooze and amuse people. And afterward, a number of the guests came up and thanked us for making the party feel so authentic and for spreading the cheer and keeping the crowd entertained.

I think with a handful of "hosts/hostesses" on hand who are dedicated to keeping the spirit of the party constant and keeping the attendees engaged, people will feel more comfortable with sticking around. Also, it might make it easier for people feel relaxed if they don't feel obligated to "be" on the spot all the time. And our group of friends is the sort of group that would make their own fun no matter who comes and goes throughout the day, but would also be inclusive to new people.

[lifeofglamour.livejournal.com]

Another vote for 16th century. I'll be around to help next time! :-)

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

I'll be the obligatory sole vote for non-16th century.

[mad-duchess.livejournal.com]

I'm with the baker guy. I much prefer the 14th C and would happily lend my assortment of period appropriate seating to the endeavour.

[callistotoni.livejournal.com]

What about trying to do what Crystal suggests, namely, a small 14th C playspace at Mists Coronet in October?

[mad-duchess.livejournal.com]

Sure--sounds fun

[ppfuf.livejournal.com]

Ok then! I'm in for cooking, and I'm gonna drag learnteach along with me.

[mad-duchess.livejournal.com]

I am a good prep/sous chef if you need things chopped, peeled, or stirred.

[syele.livejournal.com]

I'll come play whatever you do! I had the greatest time at our salon...