Greetings! Before the Gregorian calendar ticks up another notch, I thought I would sum up my SCA experiences for 2023.
In general, it's been a good year. By my count, I went to 11 in-person SCA events and activities, including Pennsic 50, as mentioned in the previous post. I have also attended three online/virtual events -- we're not done with those, even though the pandemic state of emergency is over. Quite honestly, most Atlantians are thankful that the Kingdom's annual business meeting, known as Unevent, is now entirely virtual, as it makes officers from the entire length of Atlantia -- some 660 miles, more or less, if you drive -- able to attend without much inconvenience.
What have I done within the SCA?
In terms of arts & sciences, I'd describe the year as moderately productive. I continue to rehearse and perform with Laydes Fayre, the interbaronial all-women singing group. Mistress Arianna moved me down from second soprano to alto. I'm no soloist, but I've been learning to harmonize. Having MIDI files for home practice helps me greatly.
I continue to dance with the Three Left Feet group, and went to a few dances at Pennsic. Earlier this year I slipped on a patch of mud and wrenched my knee, which set me back a bit, but it's all better now.
A few weeks ago, I had some fun with SCA dance music. At the Dun Carraig Baronial Investiture, there was an A&S competition called "Make the Laurels Cry," which was for "best use of a modern material in an arts competition." Laydes Fayre had been considering a performance involving a modern pop song in the style of an English madrigal, but we didn't get it down well enough to sing it in front of the Queen and other Laurels. (To really make such a mash-up effective, a performance has to be tight.) So I wondered how I could enter the competition as an individual. I didn't really want to spend dollars and hours sewing a medieval dress out of neon-green polyester, or something like that, so I kept thinking about music. I got my old Casio keyboard out of storage and started experimenting.
Back in my teen years I used to play a two-manual-plus-pedals organ well enough to serve as a church organist, but I never quite got the single-manual style of playing. It turns out that not only does this model of electronic keyboard play major chords with a single touch of the left finger, but it also starts and stops the chords in time with the rhythm box (or whatever you call the built-in synthesized percussion sounds). So I did some experimenting. A fair number of English country dance tunes are in minor keys, but I managed to "funk up" "Sellinger's Round" and reset "Petit Riens" to a jaunty ska beat. I practiced these adaptations for a couple of days before the event ... and Her Majesty loved the results! I even sparked a conga line going across the floor! So I ended up winning the competition (the prize was a large multi-pack of Sharpie pens). I felt a tiny bit bad because I'm sure some of the other competitors put a lot more effort into their entries ... but I think Her Majesty was looking for humor and whimsy.
I will address the "SCA service" topic in a future entry. Happy New Year!
