Dance Archives

Performers have a great many opportunities to do their thing this summer!

Ruby Joust – Memorial Day Weekend – Master Richard Wyn, this year’s Kingdom Bard, is hosting a competition for bards!  He requests that each Barony send their Performing Arts or Bardic Champion or a representative for them to come compete. It is scheduled to take place on Sunday. Richard sez: “You will be expected to perform three pieces: a documented period piece ( prior to 1620) , a Historical piece (either SCA or Period), and a performance to inspire others.
YIS,
Master Richard Wyn OL”

Highland River Melees – June 1-3 – http://highland-foorde.atlantia.sca.org/hrmelees/ans.php  In the Barony of Highland Foorde, Baroness Lanea verch Kerrigan will host Bardics! Specifically, bardics in the style of Bardic Madness! See here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NLxHgppcTzW0g0Y-ZgD-6hs78DgdPPiIIiH3wT3sNgw/edit 

Storytelling and Bardic Workshop – June 9 – http://atlantia.sca.org/137-events/167-event-flyer?event_id=3d5d23f0   The Barony of Nottinghil Cuil hosts this interactive workshop for story tellers, poets, and others interested in the bardic arts. Whether you are already performing, or are interested in giving it a try, come and learn and exchange ideas.

Summer University – June 16 – https://university.atlantia.sca.org/  The Barony of Black Diamond hosts an amazing 99th session of the Atlantia University with a TON of great music, dance, theater, and other performing classes! When the catalog is released in a few days, check it out!

Novice and Unbelt Tourney – June 23 – http://atlantia.sca.org/137-events/167-event-flyer?event_id=e73f06c1 Barony of Storvik. There will be a special Performers’ Pavilion with shade and drinks for all! Hosted by Mistress Fevronia and Master Igor. <3

Return to Crecy – June 22-24 – http://www.returntocrecy.com/ Sir Axel said: “Sat night will again be the Fete de Rue. We are still looking for performers. So, if you are interested, please drop me a line so I can schedule your stage time we are looking at 10-15 minutes sets. (music, song, poetry, story telling, juggling, etc.)”

Performers’ Revel South – June 30 – http://windmastershill.org/calendar/events/performers-revel-south/  The Canton of Elvegast again brings you a day full of JUST PERFORMING! A mildly structured day of relaxing, some workshops, and lot of playing!

King’s Assessments – July 6-8 – http://www.black-diamond.atlantia.sca.org/assessments/   Something fun always happens in the realms of bardic and dance in Black Diamond!

And that brings us to Pennsic!  If you need any help finding your way around Pennsic as a Performer, you can always ask this year’s new Dean of Performing Arts, Lady Scholastica Joycours!

 

Have fun performing this summer!!

Atlantia’s Twelfth Night event is again overflowing with amazing opportunities to enjoy the Performing Arts!

The Magnificent Lady Jeane Kilmeny has organized an embarrassment of riches for both performers looking to perform and audience looking to relax and be entertained.  If you have questions, please contact Lady Kilmeny via facebook by posting on the Atlantia Bards and Performers group at this link:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/BardsandPerformers/  If you wish to post a comment on this blog post, your question will be forwarded to Kilmeny.

The reveling begins this Friday night!

  • Friday night bardic circle: starting 8:00pm in the Hunt Room
  • Shakespeare Performance of selected scenes from Twelfth Night by i Firenzi: 11:30-12:30
  • Commedia Performance of “The Mystery of the Doge’s Swan” by i Firenzi at 4:15pm
  • Dance Band Rehearsal:
11:15am (after morning court) to 1:00pm, in the James Madison room
Dance band performing for dance classes, possibly 2:30-4:00pm.
Ball dance music list with links to the sheet music and recordings of Mistress Azza playing the tunes is available at this Google doc:
  • Dance Classes:
11:00am – 4:00pm in the dance area of the main ballroom hosted by Baron Stefan of Cambion and Baroness Evelynn Merrymet
At 3:00 in the dance room the Atlantian Academie of Dance will be filming the following dances from the ball music:
  1. Gathering Peascods
  2. Gracca Amoroso
  3. New Yer
  4. Rawty
  5. Grene Gynger
It would be awesome to have any musicians that could spare some time so that they can have a wonderful recording to help teach these dances! See you all there!
[[The above dance list, and info on dances being taped, was provided by Lady Rhiannon of Raven’s Cove, the event Dance Mistress.]]
  • Royal Bard Competition: 
Round 1: 11:30am at the Amphitheater (aka: auditorium)
Round 2: 2:00pm, at the Amphitheater (aka: auditorium)
Round 3: during Feast
Guidelines for the Royal Bard competition are posted on the event web site under “Competitions” and also here:
“The competition will be comprised of three rounds.
The guidelines for the competition are as follows:The first and second round should focus on performance of pieces in different modes: if a story is performed in the first round, the bard should perform a song, instrumental piece, poem, etc. for the second round. One of the pieces performed in the first two rounds must be period, documentation should be provided. Extra consideration shall be given to bards who perform original compositions in addition to the period piece.Those bards who are selected for the final round shall perform for Their Majesties and the populace during feast. The only rule for this round is for the bard to perform to their strengths.Questions concerning the competition, appropriate pieces, etc., may be directed to Lady Harper An Cu royalbard [AT] atlantia.sca.org”
  • Dancing, Main Hall, after Feast (hopefully starting ~7:00pm)
Baron Stefan de Cambion, our Dance Master, will be leading dance after feast. Music will be provided by the Atlantian Dance Band (led by Lady Rhiannon of Raven’s Cove).
  • An evening bardic circle will be held on Saturday night in the Amphitheatre, hosted by Mistress Dervila, starting at 8:00pm
(We are not allowed to bring outside food or drink for hospitality into this room. However, there will be food and drink available for sale in that area until 11pm.)
Just in case, here is the event’s web site if you need more general event info: http://www.twelfthnight.atlantia.sca.org/
Happy Twelfth Night to All!
Sincerely yours,
Baroness Sophia the Orange
Guildmistress, Atlantia Performing Arts Guild

The Performing Arts community achieved new heights at this year’s Twelfth Night event in the Barony of Sacred Stone! Peruse the pictures below and watch out for these gentles in the coming months if you want to come join in the fun!
1) European Dance! Sacred Stone’s own Lady Elizabeth of Northumberland led the dancing with excellent teamwork and support from Lady Nicolosa d’ Isenfir, our Royal Player in Dance. These two ladies brought dance education and graceful leadership to the event such that over 50 people got to enjoy the noble art of dance at the evening ball.

 

2) The dancing was supported by skillful and joyful efforts of Mistress Azza and the pick-up dance band under her direction! Ten instrumentalists followed Azza’s fearless direction and organization to produce high energy, live dance music deep into the night. Mistress Azza also serves as a Royal Player and will be producing live pickup bands at more events in the future. Watch for her at Ymir!

3) Our Royal Player in Theater, Lady Meriorie Matheson, produced an enlightening competition for actors to present their favorite Shakespeare pieces! Nine actors presented a wide variety of scenes from The Bard. The winner of the competition was a pair of amazing actors, Lady Machteld Cleine and an SCA newcomer, Cody, portraying Benedict and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing. See the video clip of their scene here:  https://www.facebook.com/Lara.Coutinho.Orange/videos/1877274525623126/?l=6072083277919904046

It’s one of the most excellent pieces of theater I’ve seen at an SCA event in years! These still pics are of some of the other excellent monologues.

  

 

    

4) One of Sacred Stone’s multi-talented performers, Lord Akiyama Kazuhiko, took on the great challenge of producing the Twelfth Night Murder Mystery play… and it was a hoot! The cast was talented and engaging as they kept us laughing and guessing at the causes of sudden death all day.

 

5) The Royal Bard competition proceeded per tradition at Twelfth Night with a long list of talented participants. Royal Bards for 2016, Lord Gideon ap Stephan and Master Ruaidhri an Cu, presented three brilliant performers to Their Majesties for the final competition during feast that night. Despite the most extremely challenging conditions of noise and interruptions in the feast hall, all three competitors, Lord Hakon Erfikvaethiskald, Harper an Cu, and Lord Richard Wyn, proved worthy of the position. The young lady Harper An Cu finished the evening with the title of Royal Bard!

6) The Rotunda, the circular area between the staircase and hall of art, hosted a non-stop stream of performers bringing music to the people throughout the day. Performers in the Rotunda included: Lord Johann von Solothurn, Cornelia Caeciliana, Baroness Margaret Cochrane, Baroness Morgan Wolfsinger, and the amazingly talented instrumental group Lillies Among Thorns!

7) The lunchtime tavern also brought some musical thrills when “Painted Wheel” band took the stage and kept the lunch patrons entertained!

8) Laughter brought the event to new heights with i Firenzi’s performance of Italian, 16th Century, improvised comic Commedia dell’ Arte in the afternoon’s play “Arlecchino of La Mancha!” The premier of this play included many new commedia actors enjoying their first performance. We were blessed by the presence and service of a silent herald who interpreted the whole improvised show into sign language! A special moment was also brought to us when the final scene was interrupted (with permission of the director) by Their Excellencies of Windmasters’ Hill bringing an award to one of our actors in the name of TRMs. Lord Jaume de Monco was honored with an Award of the Coral Branch for his many artistic talents including acting, stage magic, bardic performance, and brewing. See the video of the whole play and Jaume’s honoring here:  https://youtu.be/MKedlRJ-VwQ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twelfth Night again brought too much fun to cram into one day! Many thanks to the event’s Autocrat, Baroness Caitlin Macdonoughue for her tireless efforts at organizing and providing event space for the Performing Arts Community to enjoy their arts!

Performing Arts Schedule for Twelfth Night is here!

The holiday season brings a joyous occasion for our kingdom to gather in friendship and celebration of our many blessings! Many of us will enjoy the kingdom’s Twelfth Night event on January 14th, 2017 in Greensboro, NC: http://www.twelfthnight.atlantia.sca.org/

Performers and those who enjoy being an audience will revel in an embarrassment of riches at Twelfth Night! See the schedule of Performing Arts Activities below, and don’t hesitate to contact the Performing Arts Coordinator, Lady Sophia the Orange via orangesophie AT gmail DOT com for more information.

  • 10:00am
    • Dance class begins in the Grand Salon 2 (Performing Arts area upstairs middle section of Ballroom)
Our Twelfth Night Dance Leader is Lady Elizabeth of Northumberland with support from our Royal Player in DanceLady Nicolosa d’Isenfir. They will be able to teach you many dances, likely even if you have one to request that is not previously published on the evening’s dance list.
During morning court, attendees will witness the beginning act of the Twelfth Night Murder Mystery.
  • 12:00noon
    • Royal Bard competition Round 1 begins downstairs in the el Salon de Baile (Ballroom-the end of the hall with head table) run by Master Ruaidhri an Cu and Lord Gideon ap Stephan, Royal Bards of 2016.
Royal Bard’s announcement text:
“My Lords and Ladies, Most Worthy Peers, and dearest cousins, Once more the time has come to select those who will serve as Royal Bards for Their Majesties and Their successors. At the celebration of Twelfth Night a competition will be held and Lord Gideon, the Bard of the South, and I encourage all bards to come and compete. The competition will be comprised of three rounds.
In the first and second round competitors should perform pieces in different modes. For example, if a story is performed in the first round, the bard should perform a song, instrumental piece, poem, or some-such for the second round. One of the pieces performed in the first two rounds must be period, documentation should be provided. Please limit pieces to five minutes. Extra consideration shall be given to bards who perform original compositions in addition to the period piece.Those bards who are selected for the final round shall perform for Their Majesties and the populace during feast. Pieces should be limited to eight minutes. Should you have any questions, concerning the competition, appropriate pieces, etc., please feel free to contact me.
Your servant, if you would have me,
Olaugh Ruaidhri an Cu (Bard of the North) Email: ruaidhriancu@gmail.com Phone: (301)570-9434 Facebook: Ruaidhri an Cu”
Mini-Concerts run from end of morning court (~12:30pm) until the beginning of afternoon court (5:00pm).
  • 1:00pm
    • Act 2 of the Murder Mystery begins in the Grand Salon 2 (Performing Arts area upstairs middle section of Ballroom)
  • 2:00pm
    • Shakespearean Recitation Competition begins in la Rotanda. This competition is brought to you by our Royal Player in Theater, Lady Meriorie Matheson. Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-I8MzWumXriZnp7mSwj9W0XNciqinEEWHKg2fR1ortA/edit?usp=sharing  SIGN UP AT THIS LINK! THIS IS WHERE YOU SIGN UP FOR PERFORMANCE SLOTS!
      • Description of Shakespeare Competition: Friends, Atlantians, countrymen, lend me your ears! As Twelfth night is a time of frolics and festivities, we must partake in one of the most beloved entertainments of the middle ages – theater. I challenge Atlantia to bring me your best performances of a monologue from any of Shakespeare’s contemporaries, or the Bard himself. A prize for the best performance! And as Tudor theater was memorized quickly for more performances, extra prizes for anyone who’s off-book! So everyone has a chance to participate, try to keep monologues around 5 minutes in length.
    • Dance Class #2 begins in the Grand Salon 2 (Performing Arts area upstairs middle section of Ballroom)
    • Dance Band Rehearsal begins downstairs in the el Salon de Baile (Ballroom-the end of the hall with head table) The Twelfth Night Dance Band is a pick up band brought together for one day under the fearless and skilled direction of our Royal Player in Music, Mistress Azza. Any instrumentalist is welcome to join in the band.
Here is the link for the google doc with the play list and links to downloadable music: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YeM3VdOfQ1qvh-aR8lzYk4KwrJk8j_w2-y6OJF8Fryo/edit#gid=0
  • 2:30pm
    • Act 3 of the Murder Mystery begins in the Tavern
  •  3:00pm
    • Royal Bard competition Round 2 begins in Grand Salon 2 (Performing Arts area upstairs middle section of Ballroom)
    • At 3:00pm in the Throne Section of the Ballroom, there will be a “Garb Runway Challenge” hosted by the Clothiers Guild. The organizer of the event has asked for musicians to play some background music while the entrants proceed down the runway. Musicians can contact Lord Johann von Solothurn for more information. If you don’t know how to catch Johann, please direct questions to Sophia the Orange.
  • 4:00pm
    • Commedia dell’arte performance by i Firenzi of “Arlecchino of La Mancha” in the Sala del trono (throne room). Set up your seats early before court to hear the true story of how Don Quixote really went mad back in La Mancha! If you don’t know what Commedia dell’ Arte is yet, start at the troupe’s web page: http://ifirenzi.com 
  • 5:00pm
    • Their Atlantian Majesties’ Evening Court begins in the Sala del Trono (throne room)
  • 8:00pm
    • The La Danza de Oro (the Dance of Gold) begins in the upstairs Grand Salon 3

WoW Performing Arts 2016 – simplified!

War of the Wings is a huge event, and with that comes more opportunities for Performing Arts! And there are so many opportunities to get confused… so let me sum up…

 

Thursday:

Dance Band Practice 2:00 – 4:00pm in the Castle: If you told the dance band leader, Mistress Azza, that you’re coming, great! If you didn’t, show up anyway, and look here for the sheet music (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kq9aaWUo-i7S3LOrfn7qFCsVPn1rapWMh1iJOyEMHIk/edit?usp=sharing Most of it is from the Pennsic Pile #45 but some is from Eric Praetzel’s Dance Music Database). Print out and bring your own copies if you can, but show up even if you can’t bc Azza has some extra copies!

Friday:

European Dance classes throughout the day – check the site book for details!

Improvisation Skills Class 12:00 – 1:00pm: Improv theater games/training to help anyone live in persona or have better conversations at SCA events.

Bard of the People Competition 1:00 – 3:00pm: Any material welcome. Peoples’ choice for the winner!

Dance Band Practice 2:00 – 4:00pm in the Castle: same as Thursday.

Bardic Madness by the Sea 3:00 – 4:00pm: Bardic Challenges for everyone! You will most likely create the material you perform within this hour of bardic fun!

Who’s Line Doth It Be Anyway SHOW! 4:00 – 5:00pm: Anyone with the daring to do improv games is welcome to perform them, and anyone who wants to watch should come be the audience! Laughs guaranteed!

Childrens’ Ball for European Dance 7:00 – 9:00pm: Dancing focused on kids in the Castle!

Pirate Ball for European Dance 9:00-11:00pm: European dancing with a piratical theme and live dance band in the Castle!

Bardic Smackdown Competition 9:00pm start in the marketplace: This is the war-point competition for bards, and Their Excellencies have asked 8 bards to compete in tourney fashion with the Kingdom MOL keeping order.

Commedia dell’ Arte show by i Firenzi for ADULTS ONLY! We break out some period-but-not-family –friendly material for this annual “Naughty Show” which really starts at 10:00pm in Vingolf Hall regardless of what’s printed in the event book or on the web page. If you are under 18 years of age and want to see the show, bring your parent and have a deeply honest talk with the i Firenzi director, Sophia the Orange, about the adult content in the show. After complete and mature consideration, it’s your parent’s choice to let you watch or not. NO PHOTOGRAPHY OR VIDEOGRAPHY IS ALLOWED!

Saturday:

Intro to Commedia dell’ Arte class 11:00 – 12:00noon: Commedia dell’ Arte basics intended to prepare you for participation in Iron Commedia.

Iron Commedia Rehearsal 12:00 – 3:00pm:  Pull together a commedia scenario and perform it in the hour before court! Anyone is welcome to join the cast regardless of experience level, but you must commit to staying in rehearsal the entire time from 12:00 – 3:00 then the show goes on at 3:15pm!

Iron Commedia SHOW 3:15pm: Iron Commedia cast members put on the show they just invented in the hour before court!  Bring your chairs and set up for court early and be entertained with period comedy!

Musical Instrument Petting Zoo with Lord Gawain de Barri 2:00 – 4:00pm in the Castle!

There’s also a Music Solar in Tent #5 every day from 9:00 – 4:00pm!

The Raven’s Cove camp is sponsoring a Middle Eastern dancing Hofla starting at 8:00pm!

THE BIG CLIMAX of the event is the Spectacular Performance Expo starting at 8:00pm in Vingolf Hall! If you want to perform and have not yet signed up with Master Efenwealt, just show up or find him at his merchant booth – Camelot Treasures – and ask for a time slot!  ELEVEN of the kingdom’s best performers have already signed up to entertain you and bring you the best celebration ending ever!

Check out the War of the Wings web page Performing Arts section here: http://warofthewings.com/performing_arts.html

and the whole schedule here: http://warofthewings.com/schedule.html

But by all means… CHECK AT TROLL FOR CHANGES TO THE SCHEDULE!!!

And bring your comfy chair so you can sit back and be entertained by the most fun opportunities for Performing Arts you’ve ever seen in Atlantia!

The Atlantia Performing Arts Guild held a meeting at the Tournament of Ymir in the Barony of Windmasters’ Hill on February 27, 2016 from 11:00 – 12:00am in the Great Hall.

Attendees included:

  • Lady Evelynne Merrymet
  • Mistress Azza al Shirazi
  • Aplin ap Daffyd
  • Mistress Dervila Ni Leanon
  • Mistress Rosalind Jehanne
  • Eoin MacEadbhaird
  • Lady Sophia the Orange

Topics covered included:

  1. Ongoing Projects:

    1. Bardic Circles Best Practices – lead by Lord Johann von Solothurn and Lord Richard Wyn
    2. Performing Arts Competitions Best Practices – lead by Lady Scholastica Joycours and milady Reynsa Keyferin
    3. Troubleshooting group – lead by our two Kingdom Bards, Master Ruaidhri an Cu and Lord Gideon ap Stephen
    4. Online Resources for Sharing:  This one went into some detail….
      1. We have the Atlantia Performing Arts Blog here: https://perform.atlantia.sca.org/
        1. This includes a page for handy links to bardic and other performing resources recently re-organized by our friend Catarina di Paulo / Shannon Hamilton.
        2. This includes pages for: Kingdom Noteables, Performer’s Directory, Performing Groups, a separate page for the Guild, and more tidbits.
      2. Mistress Dervila is working on creating a library on this blog. It’s built with WordPress, so it’s really a Content Management System – one that Dervila has some experience with.
      3. While Dervila is working on that library, we will use a new Google Drive shared with the Google Group email list for the Guild. That means that if you’re email address is on the Google Group email list for the Guild, you have access to that shared drive on Google Drive.
        1. This allows us to share documents and resources immediately and,
        2. this allows us to see what files people want to share and what categories they settle out into before Dervila launches the new library. The categories we actually end up using over the next few months will be the ones we start with in the new library.
        3. The link for the Google Drive is here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-ta6p8JkuHPOVc0Tk0tellxcEU
        4. The link for the Google Group email list is here (if you’re not already on it):  https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/atlantiaperformingartsguild 
    5. Guild jobs
      1. The position of University of Atlantia Liaison for the Guild is being shared this year between Lady Machteld Cleine and Lord Jaume de Monco.  Machteld will handle organizing classes for Performing Arts for the Summer University session and Jaume will handle organizing classes for the Fall University session.
        1. When you’re ready to submit your classes for Summer University, please send email to Machteld first. She’s going to ensure that certain basic performing skills classes get taught for sure and that other classes for certain audiences don’t conflict (like having two commedia classes in the same hour slot). Jaume will follow in the Fall.
      2. Mistress Dervila is holding the position of our Librarian, but she and I can both use some help from folks who are savvy to Google and WordPress resources.
        1. Lord Kazuhiko and Harper an Cu both volunteered to pitch in on that after this Spring semester is over.
        2. More help is welcome!
      3. I’m still looking for a Point of Contact for every single SCA group in Atlantia. Some groups have a “Bardic Champion” or “Performing Arts Champion” but most don’t.  If you’re willing to step up as a Point of Contact for your local SCA group as the “person who knows something about Performing Arts and maybe how to get ahold of that crazy Guild”, please let me know!
  2. New Projects

    1. Lady Teleri the Well Prepared has started working with our very music-friendly Princess of Atlantia as a “Royal Entertainment Coordinator.” (That’s a draft job title.)  I did this job for Amos and Isabella during their reign, and it was rather successful at creating more performing arts activities at Royal Progress events.  Since there is a great deal of administrative legwork involved in creating Performing Arts activities that work seamlessly and smoothly with Royal Progress events, having a person on the Royal Staff that handles all that email and planning ahead is extremely helpful.
      1. We all predict that our two Kingdom Bards and Teleri will all work as a team when the opportunity presents itself to make more and better Performing Arts opportunities happen at Royal Progress events.
    2. Dance Band Musicians
      1. Lady Evelynne Merrymet expressed a deep desire to have live musicians at dance practices.  Mistress Azza concurred with this given her deep enjoyment of playing live music for dancers.
        1. I strongly recommend using the Pennsic Pile sheet music if you’re a musician playing for dancing because the copyright in versions since Pennsic 42 have been cleared to allow for use at SCA events AND the sheet music is arranged for the correct repeat structure for all the dances as they’re danced at Pennsic.
        2. Other sheet music resources exist, but respect of copyright is important, so please check the copyright before you run sheet music through a copier.
        3. Get the Pennsic Pile in PDF download here:  http://pennsicdance.aands.org/pennsic44/PennsicPile44.pdf
    3. Pictures of Performers for the Roster
      1. Mistress Dervila has a method to create a page on the Performing Arts blog that can serve as a directory that INCLUDES PICTURES! This has been a technological struggle for me. I’ve set up text only rosters for folks to submit their data on what they perform and who they are, but I have not been able to easily create a roster with pictures. Now that Dervila has a way to do it, we can now fill our roster with pictures!
      2. Please be prepared to send in pictures once we find the best place to put them before Dervila’s ready with the new directory.
    4. Performing Arts Groups
      1. I need help fleshing out the content pages for Performing Arts Groups on the blog. I need help gathering info on the following groups:
        1. Ladies Fair singing group
        2. Ponte Alto Singers
        3. PAGE
      2. If anyone’s willing to write up a blog post on any one of these groups, or any MORE groups you’re aware of – please let me know!!
    5. Guild Heraldry and Online Graphics help needed
      1. The Kingdom MOAS wants us to nail down some heraldry for the Guild. We also need some better graphics for the blog.
      2. Eoin Mac Edhbaird volunteered to help in this, and if there are other herald & graphics folks interested in helping, please pipe up! We may need a committee for this.

The next meeting of the Guild is TBD. It will be after Gulf Wars for sure!!

Thank you all for pitching in to the Atlantia Performing Arts Guild!

–Lady Sophia the Orange, Guildmistress and Kingdom MOAS Deputy for Performing Arts

 

By Lady Evelynn Merrymet

The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) dance community has been learning and teaching English dances for as long as there has been an SCA. That would be 50 years this coming spring. Most commonly taught are what is known as English Country Dances (ECD) which we take from the first edition of the Playford dance manuals first published in 1651. These were then ­traditional dances done by the gentry in their country homes. Stylistically, they are often for 2, 3 ,or 4 couples, never 1. We also have the 10 dances from the Inns of Court that were taught in the London law schools and known by all the nobility of England in the 16 couples, all doing the same thing. The 4 Inns of Court still stand and still teach, but only law these days, not dance. Check them out if you ever make it to London. The ancient trees alone are worth the side trip.

Then in 1995 someone in England was looking through some old ledger books from what is now the Gresley estates. Where they recorded how many sheep, how much grain, and the like that were harvested that year and they noticed there was something stuck into the ledger sheets. “What’s this?” It was dance notes written by the scribe who was learning to dance. Paper was expensive and so the scribe used the masters ledger sheets. Now we have student notes for 26 dances we never heard of before! Wow ­ cutting edge stuff for a historical society. One problem, however, was that with the normal language drift over so much time we don’t know what many of the words mean in terms of dance. What is a trace or a tret or a rak? So several people went to work on the text. The notes also included music for some of the dances so the music geeks went to work on that. Another problem was that the music did not always correspond to the dances. Two of those people live together with their son in Canada. She is a dance teacher. He is an accomplished period musician. Mistress Emma Dansmeyla and Master Martin Bildner worked on this project for 12 years and are nearly finished with the book and CD set that many of us are waiting for.

A few years into the project they started teaching the dances they had worked out. They released Ly Bens Distonys early on and the SCA dancers embraced it. Later on, with more experience working with the other dances, Emma and Martin would now interpret Ly Bens differently but it is too late ­ we already know it this way so that is what we do. They brought some of the Gresley dances to a Known World Dance and Music Symposium a few years back and I took the classes they offered. I was intrigued and learned as many as I could. Although they also supplied sheet music for the dances they taught, I do not have any live music at my local dance practice so I could not teach them. The next Pennsic and the next Known World Dance and Music symposium I followed Emma and Martin and begged them for recorded music. They were not ready with any of the music for publication but they burned me a copy of a practice CD they use for Emma to teach when Martin cannot come along. Here is a link to one of their handouts

http://rendance.gyges.org/content/seven_gresley_dances/KWDS_VIII_Notes.pdf

Armed with Emma’s magnificent notes and that CD, I started promoting Gresley dances in the Kingdom of Atlantia (SCA). I have been teaching 7 dances from the set for several years now at the University of Atlantia and at events and at Known World, and Pennsic if Emma is not going to be there.

Their book is mostly complete. I now have a copy for proofreading purposes. I hope to learn all the dances from the book and give them feedback as to the learnability of the notes for the proof reading before the final printing. My Lord, Master Stefan of Cambion, will do the spelling and grammar stuff I am not to be trusted with. I have now gotten through and taught the 8 dances Emma describes as easy and several of the moderate ones. Winter should be a good time to work on that. It is a very good thing we built a dance floor in the basement of our house, don’t you think?

I do not have the sources or the research Emma and Martin used. You will need to catch up with them if you have questions regarding the original text or the reconstruction process. I just teach Gresley. You can contact them at:

Emma Dansmeyla (Sarah Scroggie)  Sarah.Scroggie AT gmail DOT com

They are of course not the only folks doing this reconstruction.  Mistress Judith of Northunbria found Cait Webb and Chris Elmes in Scotland doing the same kind of work with predictably different results. They are both mostly period musicians and the music and dance steps they produced is more complex. They played and taught at the most recent Known World Music and Dance Symposium in Germany last April that Judith autocrated. I took the classes and enjoyed them immensely. They are delightful folks and truly fine musicians. Judith likes the complexity they bring to the Gresley. I, on the other hand, am in it for the joy of the dance, and the pleasure it give me to promote dance to the populace at large, and newbies in particular. That will be easier with Emma and Martin’s work so that is what I will be teaching.

Cait and Chris have published a manual and a CD with 5 or 6 Gresley dances in the mix of other period dances. They have some of the original wording, pdfs of music and downloadable recordings. They can be reached at  www.gaita.co.uk  or  Info@gaita.co.uk

One of my students, Wenllyan Goch, has found a CD with all 26  dances on it. The group is The York Waits. The CD is called Cherwell Thy Wyne, Dances of Fifteenth­century England from the Gresley manuscript. Wenllyan is trying to get a bulk rate to get more than the one copy of the CD. I will use it until I get an updated and more complete version of the Martin’s music.

I have one other lead. I was told at the last University that a group of Morris dancers under one Rose Moresk (if I have the spelling right) are working up the Gresley dances in somewhat different reconstruction.

When you search for Gresley Dance Manuscript you get 1,640,000 hits. I could spend weeks full time weeding those out for you and make this a better document. I would never catch up since new ones are added all the time. I want to teach dance and do my part of the proofreading.

As always, the historical dances we do are subject to interpretation. Different reconstructors, different teachers, different regions are bound to do them differently, as I am sure was true in period. That adds to the richness of the dance heritage and while it may put you off balance on the dance floor on occasion, we have all been there and no one will mind. Just listen to what the teacher is saying and try to do it their way so we don’t run into each other in the line and all will be well. By the way, it is a good idea to be sure you are all dancing the same version in a set, especially if you go out of your Kingdom.

The dances include 8 easy or very easy dances, 11 moderate, and 7 difficult dances. All of the dances are for 2 or 3 people. This will be very welcome to those of us teaching dance, since very often we find we do not have critical mass for our four couple dances. This will also make for many more dances we can teach at demos to random people from the crowd. The easy ones are really easy. Among the easy dances is New Year which would be boring unless you take it as a danced for drunkards and everybody pretends to be very drunk while they do it.  Many of these dances have interesting little quirks, once you get into the moderate and difficult dances. I like the funky hey in Armynn very much. Those moves may take a few tries to get, but they are fun and very worth the effort. I have taken to using some of the 1500 language for calling the dances. For example trett is enterpreted as a single. So trett, retrett, is a single forward and back. Trett, retrett is easier to call than single forward, single back and it feels good to use the original language.

I am delighted to be working with Emma and Martin’s book for many reasons but let me give you a few. They have included three tables of dances at the beginning of the book. One with the dances in the order they appeared in the manuscript. One that gives the dances in alphabetical order, and one for the musicians, giving the source of the music they are using either original from the manuscript or from other sources. They have given an introduction to the book and to each dance describing their process in reconstruction. Best of all is the instruction for each dance. These include, the original text, the musical section for each part of the dance, modern language for their reconstruction and diagrams with little people and arrows to show you what is going on at each step. I love the handouts this produces for teaching.

So, in conclusion. This is really fun to be working on totally new stuff in the dance community. I am having a good time learning and teaching it. I hope to get through my part of the proofreading this winter or at least make a grand attempt. Wish me luck.

In service to the dream,

Evelynne Merrymet

(Evelynn does not maintain an online presence, but she does teach dance at nearly every Atlantia University session, so you can catch up with her there if you’d like to continue the conversation with her about Dances from the Gresley Manuscript.  If you leave comments here, I’ll do my best to get those comments to her on your behalf – Sophia)

Here are all the Performing Arts activities in chronological order. Some locations DID change since we lost use of Vingulf Hall, so please watch for announcements, signs, and disturbances in the force to inform you of location changes once you get to site! Friday night Vingulf Hall activities moved to the Picnic Shelter “Madrassa” and Saturday night Vingulf Hall activities moved to the Bardic Center tent. See notes in red below.

FOR ALL PERFORMANCES AND CLASSES – BRING YOUR OWN CHAIR!!!

Activity Name Day and Time Location
Hofla Dance Band Practice Thursday 2:00 – 3:00pm Picnic Shelter / “Madrasa”
Beginner’s Dance Class Friday 9:00 – 11:00am Bardic Center tent
European Dance Pick Up Band rehearsal Friday 12:00noon – 3:00pm Castle
Introduction to Middle Eastern Dance class Friday 1:00 – 2:00pm Picnic Shelter / “Madrasa”
Improvisation Skills class Friday 1:00 – 2:00pm Bardic Center tent
Who’s Line Doth It Be Anyway show Friday 2:00 – 3:00pm Bardic Center tent
Tribal Improv with Sagat Friday 2:00 – 3:00pm Picnic Shelter / “Madrasa”
Hofla Dance Band Practice Friday 3:00 – 4:00pm Picnic Shelter / “Madrasa”
Unbelted Bardic Tournament Friday 3:00 – 5:00pm Bardic Center tent
European Dance Practice Ball with Pick Up Band Friday 7:00 – 10:00pm Castle
Bardic Smackdown War Point Competition Friday After the Torchlight Tourney Castle Courtyard
Bawdy Bardic By Ky (Adult Only) Friday 8:00 – 9:30pm (approx.) Picnic Shelter / “Madrasa”
Rabble Rousing skits (Adult Only) Friday 9:30 – 10:00pm (approx.) Picnic Shelter / “Madrasa”
i Firenzi Commedia dell’ Arte show (Adult Only) Friday 10:00pm – ?? Picnic Shelter / “Madrasa”
Dances for Odd Numbers class Saturday 10:00 – 11:00am Bardic Center tent
Atlantia Performers Guild meeting Saturday 11:00am – 12:00noon Bardic Center tent
European Dance Pick Up Band rehearsal Saturday 12:00noon – 3:00pm Castle
Intro to Commedia dell’ Arte class Saturday 12:00 -1:00pm Bardic Center tent
Bardic Madness Challenges Saturday 12:00 – 2:00pm Class A tent
Iron Commedia class/practice Saturday 1:00 – 4:00pm Bardic Center tent
Bardic 101/102 class Saturday 2:00 – 3:00pm Class A tent
Hofla Dance Band Practice Saturday 2:00 – 3:00pm Picnic Shelter / “Madrasa”
Research for Performers class Saturday 3:00 – 4:00pm Class A tent
Belly Dance Drills Saturday 4:00 – 5:00pm Picnic Shelter / “Madrasa”
Iron Commedia performance Saturday 4:15 – 4:45pm (approx.) Wherever Royal Court is
European Dance Masked Ball with Pick Up Band – Children start at 7:00pm; Adults start at 7:30pm. Saturday 7:00pm – 10:00pm Castle
Middle Eastern Dance Hofla Saturday starting at 8:00pm Picnic Shelter / “Madrasa”
Inter-baronial Bardic Champions Competition Saturday 9:00pm – 9:30pm Bardic Center tent
Bards and Brewers Concert at the White Phoenix Inn Saturday 9:30pm – ??? Bardic Center tent
Pouring Sophie into a cup of coffee… Sunday starting at noon… Windmasters’ Hill Camp

 

Bardic Madness Challenges have been posted!  Lady Scholastica challenges the bards and performers of Atlantia to the following Fyts of Madness:

  • A Tale a Tale, My Kingdom for a Tale (Pass the Tale)
    • All those who wish to participate get up together and tell a tale from beginning to end. The challenge’s patron will ‘conduct’ by pointing to the person whose turn it is to continue the tale, and deciding when it is time to end the tale.
  • Descriptionary
    • Sometimes words have hidden meanings and it will be up to our team to define their given word, one word at a time to the audience until the word is completely defined.
  • Wisdom is Often Fleeting
    • Aesop a mere slave, is credited for presenting teaching stories with a touch of wisdom so for this challenge you would be wise to come with a prepared Aesop story to tell. Stories should be five minutes or less.
  • Shakespeare on the Fly
    • No preparation, for you will be handed a piece by Shakespeare and must stand and perform on the fly after 60 seconds. Sing it, dramatize it …own it.

Rules of the Challenge:

  1. This is a challenge and not a competition. If you are playing then you have already won.
  2. Challenges are designed to encourage you to try your hand at something new, to stretch yourself, to enjoy, and to celebrate the creative spirit.
  3. Follow as closely as you can to the instructions as possible.
  4. In order to allow the largest number of people to participate, prepared entries should be limited to five minutes or less (that includes the introduction).

 

If you are a Baronial Champion for your Barony in the Performing Arts, and if you wish to compete in Saturday night’s Inter-baronial Bardic Champions Competition, please be sure to sign up with the MC, Lady Sophia the Orange NO LATER THAN 12:00noon on Saturday!  Please send email ahead of time to  dmoas-performance AT atlantia.sca.org OR leave an UNMISTAKABLE message at Windmasters Hill Camp.

 

DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK QUESTIONS!  Numerous folks are well versed in this whole program and ready to answer your questions! Please contact any or all of the following people to ask questions or advice on the best way to get the best bang for your buck per minute of fun at War of the Wings!

Lady Sophia the Orange, Whole Program and Commedia: dmoas-performance AT atlantia.sca.org

Lord Johann von Solothurn, Bardic Classes and Competitions: RoyalBard AT atlantia.sca.org

Vrouwe Machteld Cleine, Rabble Rousing: faerieeva AT hotmail.com

Lady Scholastica Joycors, Bardic Madness: totallystories AT gmail DOT com

Reynsa Kyferin, European dance band: meganfair.clarinet AT gmail DOT com

Lady Elizabeth de Northumberland, European Dance: mills_se AT yahoo.com

Mistress Azza: Middle Eastern Dance Hofla and Dance Band

Baroness Alianor of Sacred Stone, Bardic Smackdown War Point Competition:  https://sites.google.com/site/sscoronets/contact

The rule of the day at this event is to be as flexible, forgiving, and polite as possible to your fellow SCA volunteers. This event has had some rocky changes to juggle at the last minute, so please keep lines of communication open as we juggle and squeeze as much fun into these few days as possible!

Thanks for playing!

Lady Sophia the Orange

War of the Wings, Deputy Village Steward for Performing Arts

Kingdom of Atlantia, Minister of Arts and Sciences, Deputy for Performing Arts

Capocomico, i Firenzi

Fan of Anything That Comes To Life On Stage!

Have you ever seen performers having fun on stage and craved joining in? Well, now you can! And not just “throw them in and hope they float” Nononono….. We will actually *teach* you something before making you face the terrifying stares of an expectant audience! (WARNING: All shows at War of the Wings are BYOChair!  There will NOT be enough chairs for everyone, so BRING YOUR OWN CHAIR PLEASE!)  And don’t worry about the deadline to register for classes… just show up if you haven’t registered and we’ll make room for you! No class size limits on Performing Arts Classes!

Friday:

1) Who’s Line Doth It Be?   Improvisation Skills class and Show 1:00 – 3:00pm

Have you ever seen the TV show “Who’s Line Is It Anyway?” either the American version hosted by Drew Cary or the original on BBC? We’re going to run a mini-version of that show ourselves at WoW based on the version die hard performing arts geeks at Pennsic have been doing for many years.

But before that, a class will be taught in Improvisation Skills. You must take the class if you want to be in the show, but you can take the class and not perform in the show.  The class will run through six basic rules of improvisation that can help you in everyday conversation, living in persona at SCA events, better performance during SCA court schtick, and also performing improvised commedia dell’ arte. We will also learn the short form improv theater games that will serve as the structure of our Who’s Line Doth It Be Show.

Improvisation Skills Class runs from 1:00 – 2:00pm. Who’s Line Doth It Be show runs from 2:00 – 3:00pm.

2) European Dance Pick Up Band:  Rehearsal 12:00 – 3:00pm;  Performance 7:00 – 10:00pm (both Friday and Saturday)

Any and all musicians are welcome to join in a new kind of pick up band! To sign up, click here!

A lovely new professional music teacher and band director has joined the Barony of Nottinghill Coil a couple years ago and brings with her a passion for period music! Our new best friend,  milady Reynsa, will lead volunteer musicians through a rehearsal with Pennsic Pile sheet music from 12:00 noon to 3:00pm on Friday and Saturday to prep for playing for the balls on both Friday and Saturday nights starting at 7:00pm.  Click here for details including links to the sheet music, dance list, and recordings:   http://warofthewings.com/details/pick_up_band.html

3) Middle Eastern Dance:  Band Rehearsals Thursday – Saturday

Middle Eastern Dance Band will Rehearse on Thursday 2-3:00, Friday 3-4:00, and Saturday 2-3:00, then play for a Hofla dance party starting at 8:30pm Saturday night!

Three classes are also offered for learning middle eastern dance.

See the Dance page for details: http://warofthewings.com/details/dancing.html

Saturday:

1) European Dance: 10:00 – 11:00am

The ball on Friday night is a practice ball, so all the dances will be taught then, but more dances will be taught Saturday morning in this class (New Yere, Bel Fiore, Petite Vriens, and some bransles). The ball Saturday night will also have some teaching time.  For more details about learning and performing European dance, click here: http://warofthewings.com/details/dancing.html

2) Commedia dell’ Arte: Intro class and Iron Commedia show 12:00 noon – 5:00pm

Learn the basics of Commedia dell’ Arte, the Italian improvised comedy play style that was very popular throughout Europe in the 16th century.  Intro to commedia class runs from 12:00 – 1:00pm.

Then whoever is ready for an intense creative thrill… we will run an Iron Commedia session from 1:00 to 4:00pm where we will write a commedia scenario based on who shows up and what characters people want to play. We will rehearse until 4:00, then we will put on our short play in the half hour before court as pre-court entertainment!  (Court starts at 5:00pm) Anyone who wants a part in the play gets one, but you have to have taken the Intro to Commedia class either that day or some other day to join in. Once we start writing the scenario at 1:00pm, the process takes off like a rocket!

3) Bardic Madness: Challenges and Performances  12:00 – 2:00pm

The Challenges put forth by Lady Scholastica Joycors, Kingdom Bard of 2014, are set forth as “Fyts of Madness” which will challenge bards to create material either ahead of time or in the moment.  Bards will then also have the opportunity to perform their material right there in the midst of madness!  Depending on how many participants show up, bards can exchange critique and improve on their works, discuss, challenge each other more, and let the madness lead them.

4) Bardic 101 & 102:  A class in all things Bardic 2:00 – 3:00pm

Lord Johann von Solothurn, the current Kingdom Bard, will help you get started in becoming a bard and/or help you take your bardic lifestyle to the next level based on who shows up to the class and what questions they bring.

5) Research for Performers:  A multi-purpose performers class 3:00 – 4:00pm

Lord Johann von Solothurn continues to spread the wisdom by offering resources for research for all kinds of performers.

6) Bards and Brewers Concert at the White Phoenix Inn – Starting at 9:00pm in Vingulf Hall

On Saturday evening, after you’ve had all this great instruction on performing all day Friday and Saturday, you can put it to good use if you signed up ahead of time to claim a 10 minute performing slot during the Saturday night concert!  Now, the Saturday night performances will begin with the Inter-Baronial Bardic Champions Competition starting at 9:00pm where those performers who have earned the honor of serving as their barony’s Champion in a performing art will compete for glory, honor, and spiffy prizes.  AFTER, the Champions have competed, the regular concert will commence with a lineup of performers who only had to sign up ahead of time.  Did you sign up ahead of time on the Google Form here?  If you miss signing up, you just move to the end of the line and a sign up sheet will be posted in Vingulf Hall so the organized concert can devolve into an all-night jam if performers show up who wish to share the space.

To sign up for a 10 minute performance slot in the Bards and Brewers Concert on Saturday night, click here!

The Kingdom’s Royal Brewer is leading his fellow brewers in gathering in the same space as the concert in Vingulf Hall on Saturday night starting at 9:00pm to share the fruits of their labor. So, no need to sign up, just bring your brewed creations to share!  Rumor has it that a special friend from the Barony of Windmasters’ Hill is also bringing a supply of Savory Toasted Cheese, so the evening will be full of brews, cheese, and song!

Stay tuned for two more blog posts covering the rest of the extensive Performing Arts Program at War of the Wings!  http://warofthewings.com/performing_arts.html 

Sincerely Yours,

Lady Sophia the Orange

War of the Wings, Deputy Village Steward for Performing Arts

Kingdom of Atlantia, Minister of Arts and Sciences, Deputy for Performing Arts

Capocomico, i Firenzi

Fan of Anything That Comes To Life On Stage!

 

What Really Happened At Pennsic 44

By Lady Sophia the Orange

You never really know what’s going to happen at Pennsic until it does. A lot gets planned, and a lot happens, and the overlap is always an amusing gamble in the end. So here’s some of what really happened in the Performing Arts arena by the time Pennsic 44 was over:

Most performances did get produced according to plan as laid out in this blog post before Pennsic: https://perform.atlantia.sca.org/?p=152 .

Upon arrival at Pennsic, the staff discovered a significant infestation of hornets throughout the Amphitheater requiring a move of all Peace Week activities from the Amphitheater to the Great Hall.  However, reports of our own Lord Richard Wynn’s first solo concert and Lady Scholastica’s Shakespeare Open Mike Night in that space were outstandingly positive!  The commedia dell’ arte rehearsals in that space also found it excellent, so the hornet issue did not get in the way of our fun during Peace Week!

Lord Manus MacDhai and I did perform as planned in i Verdi Confusi’s Saturday night commedia dell’ arte play, but what was not planned was the autographing scene where I experienced a “Pennsic First” of autographing a man’s chest. Tis the joy of improv!

Another commedia thrill that was unplanned was a visit from His Majesty Stephan, the King of Lochac! This gentleman is also a Laurel in the art of Theater, and he enjoyed a day with us in the Iron Commedia session #1 on Friday of Peace Week!  He played Pantalone in the play conceived and produced in one afternoon, and you can see a tiny bit of the production here: https://www.facebook.com/Lara.Coutinho.Orange/videos/vob.100000217895334/1321810187836232/?type=2&theater

Pennsic 44 iron commedia 1 w king stephan King Stephan of Lochac playing Pantalone with the Iron Commedia cast of Iron Commedia Session #1 of Pennsic 44!

Another surprise from the commedia track came when Isabella the Pirate Queen, also serving as the Assistant Director of the Pennsic Commedia All Stars Troupe, broke her arm during the first 5 minutes rehearsing with her new band of pirates. Twenty volunteer pirates were given three days with the Assistant Director to create, learn, and rehearse their parts for the big Thursday night commedia show, but their fearless leader fell prey to the deep, hard mud ruts in the ground around the Amphitheater left after the last rock music event at Cooper’s Lake Campground by tripping over a rut and falling on her wrist. Crazy Pennsic luck being what it is, the Pennsic Commedia All Stars cast happened to include a blacksmithing Laurel who had a working forge back at camp, so the next rehearsal included a custom made hook for our Pirate Queen. Her final costume included a custom ladies’ pirate hook, personalized eye patch, borrowed ducal coronet, and spiffy red Italian gown. Best looking Pirate Queen Pennsic’s ever seen!

Isabella the pirate queen w oratio Isabella the Pirate Queen with patch, coronet, and custom hook!

Master Efenwealt and Mistress Dervila did, in fact, produce their retelling of the legendary tale “Love Will Return; The Story of Heloise & Abelard” with the new sources and 100+ letters Dervila discovered. What we didn’t know ahead of time was how the various skills of Maîtresse Aénor d’Anjou would add to the beauty of the presentation and how support of indigogo supporters can make a simple Pennsic performance last forever. Watch for the crowdfunded DVD that includes footage from this performance to launch next summer.

Our own Lord Yakov did adjust to unexpected changes in his modern employment schedule and change his originally scheduled performance into a private camp bardic performance that had not been promoted enough for the amazing brilliance it ended up being! About 25 people got to witness Yakov’s telling of a reconstruction of a period collection of stories called “Sefer Hashashuim” (“The Book of Delights”) written by the Jewish physician Joseph Zabara in Seville in about 1200. The collection was originally written in poetic form, with a framing story providing a nested “story-within-a-story” structure similar to that of the Arabian Nights. In reconstructing the collection as a performance, he eliminated the poetic form and somewhat edited and restructured the story to enhance performability. For this reason, it is a reconstruction and re-editing and not an actual translation. This beautiful performance was enjoyed by a small group of lucky Pennsic campers who got the message about rescheduling, and hopefully, Yakov will be able to share it again back home in Atlantia for the rest of us.

And it was not a surprise at all that our dear friend, Margherita Battistina, was successfully elevated to the Order of the Laurel for her accomplishments in the art of European Dance as predicted and planned.  The vigil was lovely, and I enjoyed jumping in at the end, thanks to the efforts of many including Master Solvar, Lady Marion the Red, Baron Lorenzo, Master Stephan, and Lady Evelynn. The elevation ceremony in the dance tent was attended by a magnificent inter-kingdom dance community that testifies to Margherita’s great positive impact on a great many lovers of dance.

margaret and scroll  Mistress Margherita, the first Atlantia recognized Dance Laurel in 16 years!

A final big surprise on the final Friday of Pennsic, for the final show, the Known World Players enjoyed the thrill of seeing the electric power to Cooper’s Lake Campground go out half an hour before their 8:00pm production of the Merchant of Venice. Seeing the sun set and leaving the stage in darkness, but never questioning the dedication to “The Show Must Go On!”, the KWP troupe, Pennsic Performing Arts staff, and various supporters moved the entire production out into the courtyard and established portable lighting. A combination of tiki torches, a single propane torch, and Manus MacDhai’s camp lantern footlights normally used at the Amphitheater created enough light in the right places for the actors to be seen. The instant teamwork brought to life a magical Shakespeare environment that became beautiful and memorable for all.

KWP Merchant of Venice Pennsic 44 Known World Players producing Merchant of Venice with torchlight and camp lantern footlights.

So, if you missed Pennsic, or if you missed the many Atlantians performing beautiful, funny, and impressive works of art at Pennsic, find them here at home and ask them for a repeat performance!

–Lady Sophia the Orange, Co-Track-Lead for Commedia, Foolery, and Physical Theater at Pennsic Performing Arts, Pennsic University, Pennsic 44 and  Atlantia MOAS Deputy for Performing Arts

 Page 1 of 2  1  2 »