SCA participate

[juldea]

siderea's latest post on the Three-Fold Paradigm of Human Endeavor and how it relates to the SCA has gotten me to thinking. I am not doing well at pursuing the endeavor that appeals to me the most (of course I have a little of each in me).

I am totally a participator. I attend dance practice almost entirely for the social aspect. I make garb only because it's expected of a member, and then I prefer to sew as a social activity, with someone else there to talk to. I really don't have a burning desire to know what colors and fabrics I would and wouldn't wear as a 14th century French peasant. Nor do I want to autocrat an event or be in charge of, well, most anything. ;) I want to talk and laugh and make friends.

That being said, what does the society have to offer me - short, out-of-shape me - in regards to participation, besides dance? The idea of fight practice is fairly laughable, and that's really the only other thing I know about...

Comments

[tpau]

fencing, archery, musical; performance, theater, comedia, i think there ar emore, i jsut cna't htink of any with my poor sick brain

[karldark.livejournal.com]

you are making me homesick... i didnt go to pennsic this year...

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Well that's your own damn fault, isn't it? ;)

[oakleaf-mirror.livejournal.com]

In the combat portion, besides heavy list, there's fencing, archery and thrown weapons. The later two don't really care so much about your height or your stamina. You can come to an event on September 12th to try fencing and thrown weapons.

In the service area, there are a great many things you can do that don't require you to be in charge of anything. Pick up a broom after an event and help clean up the hall. Work at the gate, and chat with the all the folks that come in as you help them sign in. You can come to an event on Sept 12th to try out a low impact form of volunteerism, if you wish.

In the arts and sciences portion, there's all sorts of things besides dancing and sewing. Cooking, calligraphy and illumination, story telling, brewing and singing, to name just a few. Singing, in particular, will be done at an event, on Sept 12th. :)

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Heh. I'm already booked for Sept. 12th...

I like the idea of archery.

As to the others, I wasn't listing things I don't like to do at all... just what parts of those things I don't like. I'm a social creature and I want more social activities!

[siderea]

Are Cooks and Brewers actually holding meetings? Is Storytellers?

[oakleaf-mirror.livejournal.com]

Brewers and storytellers seem to be. Cooks, not so much.

I was at a brewers meeting in late May, which I think was the most recent.

I recall recent announcements of storytellers meetings from council, though I've never been.

The last cooks meeting I know of was last October. There's a number of cooks that have commented that these should be happening more frequently.

[zenandtheart.livejournal.com]

yeah cooking! I had some awesome and interesting food at SCA things.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

While I'm certainly interested in food, cooking is less a social activity. I mean, yes, a group of people can get together and cook, but it can be done just fine by oneself.

That's why I don't really like to cook unless there's someone helping me.

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

Hah. Wanna help with my feast in December? There will be multiple people in the kitchen, so social and fun and stuff, yes!

[juldea.livejournal.com]

I'll be interested but can't commit until I know more about my schedule then. :)

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

OKay. I will also need help with pre-cooking, whihc will need to be done at other people's houses, so.. I'll keep ya posted. :)

[learnedax.livejournal.com]

You haven't been paying attention. In Carolingia (and lots of other SCA branches) the dense core of socializing at events is historically in the kitchen.

Next time you're at an event with a feast, try volunteering in the kitchen - but present yourself early, because feast frequently have to turn away additional eager volunteers later in the event.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I don't think it's not that I've been not paying attention, but rather that I've yet to attend an event with a feast. I've assumed wrong, I suppose.

[oakleaf-mirror.livejournal.com]

As has been said, cooking at an event can be very social. When I went down to an event near Philly early this year, my main interest was the evening dancing. Since I only knew the folks I'd travelled with, and the day activities weren't to my taste, I presented myself to the kitchen and offered to help. It was a very social time, and I made several new friends out of it, as well as getting a good sense of accomplishment (once they realized I knew what I was doing, they turned over complete dishes to me).

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

Whihc reminds me... we need to talk about the dayboard.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Heh. Well, I won't know quite as well what I'm doing, but I'm certainly willing to be a help chopping vegetables or whatnot while talking and making friends!

Well, there is dance...

[cristovau.livejournal.com]

You are a fine dancer and socializer. This isn't to be overlooked. A friendly face having a good time keeps things interesting. Why do you feel the need to be more? It's enough.

If you want to expand this into a larger SCA culture, I'd suggest the courtier archtype, a person who attends and enjoys watching and mildly participating in activities. These hangers-on kept the courts alive. Participants need an audience. I disagree with the premise that everyone in the SCA has to be super-active. Participate as little or as much as you are comfortable with.

There is the maxim that "This is what we do for fun. If it isn't fun, don't do it." You enjoy socializing, schmoozing, dabbling in crafts, dancing and occasionally playing dress-up. Keep doing that. If something else grabs you, try that.

The SCA has, as siderea noted, many things to offer it's members. Sometimes the menu seems overwhelming. The most important question is "What do you want from the SCA?" If it is defined solely as socializing, I'd say continue to go to dance practice and a small handful of events.

To continue siderea's model,
The one who comes to schmooze approaches the demo table and says, "I share your taste for transport and for exoticism and for floofy white shirts. I have come to schmooze; what have you for me here?" And the allegorical Chatelain says, "Here, we will provide you with an elaborate social structure to discuss, heroes to praise, endeavors to witness and entertainment to amuse. We provide weekly gatherings where the only requirement be that you arrive and where you will meet a prismatic conglomeration of people. Our social history, oral tradition and communication tools are yours to gossip and comment on. Through socializing in our society, you will gain a vast network of interconnected friends and acquaintances. Should you need it, doors will open and banquets will be served to you anywhere in our vast lands because you are one of us. You will always welcome in our society as long as you wish." The one who comes to schmooze says, "Well it is. I shall be one of you."

Re: Well, there is dance...

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Why do you feel the need to be more? It's enough.

It's not enough for me!

If I were content to just stay and schmooze at dance practice, I wouldn't be asking for information on other areas within the SCA to explore. ;) I'm not trying to knock dance practice or the wonderful people I've met there, but frankly the dance part is getting boring. I like a certain amount of Learning to go along with my Socializing, and I have passed beyond the amount of Learning that Wednesday night dance practice can offer me (curse my absorbs-choreography-quickly brain, I guess). So now I'm wondering what else in the SCA I can learn in a social context. I'm not going to quit dance, I'm just curious to expand. Not because anyone else thinks I should; because I want to!

Re: Well, there is dance...

[cristovau.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I was going on the "I want to be social riff" and missed the learn something request. While the three fold principle is a great paradigm, we all have a bit of service, arts and participant in us.

Dance and council are our biggest schmoozefests outside of events, which also are incredibly social. Other activities focus on the art or skill more, or aren't heavily attended. They are as social as six people can get.

Listing things: Calligrapher's Guild, theater, commedia, fencing, cooks, brewers, heavy list, low company (gaming), storytellers, Quire, Waites, archery, thrown weapons, needleworkers, woodworkers. Beyond this people host special interest nights like bardic circles, hurley, soapmaking, stitch'n'bitch parties, gaming nights and household meetings depending on interest.

Council should be on the Monday, Sept. 6th and should be well attended by the guild leaders. That is probably the best place to start.

Re: Well, there is dance...

[juldea.livejournal.com]

I hadn't before mentioned the learning thing too. I was just generally ranting. :)

Hmm, Council. I always assumed that was a bureaucratic-type thing, for... "staff" isn't the right word, but ... people with agendas.

Re: Well, there is dance...

[cristovau.livejournal.com]

I always assumed that was a bureaucratic-type thing, for... "staff" isn't the right word, but ... people with agendas.

Yes, there is and has been a focus at council that this is where we do our business. However, the heads of all the guilds are asked to attend and make announcements, so often council becomes a session of announcements more detailed than those in the middle of dance practice. Afterwards, people generally talk to one another to gain more info on an interesting subject and/or to schmooze. Often people head out in groups to get food.

If you are interested in a subset of the barony, that subset should be represented at council which means there will be someone you can talk to about it. It's a good place to make a contact and maybe talk about projects or the state of the activity. Plus, you'll probably see a lot of familiar faces.

The council meeting itself isn't highly interesting, but it gives you an idea of the range of possibilities and you get to schmooze before and afterwards. Since you want to find something new, this might be a good place to start. It isn't something I recommend doing regularly unless you had a purpose or agenda. But right now, you do have an agenda; you want to find something new and fun to do. So, enjoy your agenda.

Re: Well, there is dance...

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

I had a response half-formulated, but Cristovau just made all my points excellently, so... "What he said."

Re: Well, there is dance...

[siderea]

Then you should read my reply to Cristovau.

Re: Well, there is dance...

[siderea]

Sometimes the menu seems overwhelming

And sometimes the menu seems bare. She's already explained where you went wrong, so I don't have to. :)

If she knew what was on the menu, she wouldn't be asking. And, locally, the menu may not be as big as many of us Service and Pursuit types would like to believe. I have a whole long discussion about that, but not right now.

It's good to let people know that they don't have to be more involved when they want to be, but you might want to be a little careful with that rant. Being involved in a borough, I've run into far, far more situations like this one, where the reason someone was asking about participation options was because they wanted more, not because they were feeling pressured; and when someone "reassured" them they didn't need to do more, they were offended, put off, and turned off. Imagine if you asked a waitress, "What's the special?" and she said, "You don't need that much to eat. Have a salad instead."

Re: Well, there is dance...

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Imagine if you asked a waitress, "What's the special?" and she said, "You don't need that much to eat. Have a salad instead."

...but without the possibility of being misinterpreted as, "You're fat." ;)

Re: Well, there is dance...

[cristovau.livejournal.com]

And, locally, the menu may not be as big as many of us Service and Pursuit types would like to believe.

I agree that the menu isn't as big as it seems. Many of the groups meet irregularly, are small or are dormant. Meanwhile some unofficial groups like hurley are active. A lot of groups are listed as active to inflate our sense that we are doing things, even if we aren't.

It's good to let people know that they don't have to be more involved when they want to be, but you might want to be a little careful with that rant.

Fair enough. I made too much of the phrase, "I want to talk and laugh and make friends." When I asked "Why do you want to do more?" I wasn't being rhetorical. From what I can tell, other areas have more fringe players than Carolingia and I'm worried that we are fightening away people who are mostly interested in other things (Fandom, larp, goth) but willing to play in the SCA casually.

The local options for casual social play are dance, events and maybe council. Perhaps there should be more. As we discuss the state of things in Carolingia, I agree more with your premise that theater is hurting the Barony.

Imagine if you asked a waitress, "What's the special?" and she said, "You don't need that much to eat. Have a salad instead."

Yeah, when it comes down to it, I'm worried that the special isn't really all that special after all. I think what I did was say "Special? Well, you have a might large appetizer there, are you sure you want to have the special? Heck, that tasty appetizer is pretty special on it's own, isn't it?" If I was offering a salad that would sound like "You should go to commedia." :^)

Thank you for calling me on my bad habits. Sorry if I was more rant-like than necessary.

Re: Well, there is dance...

[juldea.livejournal.com]

From what I can tell, other areas have more fringe players than Carolingia and I'm worried that we are fightening away people who are mostly interested in other things (Fandom, larp, goth) but willing to play in the SCA casually.

I can't say that I'm not intimidated at times by the depth that several people have gone to in/for the SCA... and I'm also sometimes irritated when they seem to want me to be just as intense as they are, and I'm just not. Maybe someday I'll be the type to travel to distant lands just for an event that I have to camp at, but right now I'm sticking with the occasional dress-up.

...but curious as to what else I can do while dressed up. :)