The Atlantia Royal Players are a team of performers that are both excellent performers and work to create time and space for performing arts to happen at SCA events.

This team of administrator-performers is comprised of performers from a wide variety of different performing arts as well as geographically spread throughout our fair kingdom. 

At Pennsic 2016, Their Majesties of Atlantia, Dietrich and Thora, kicked off this new experimental program at Royal Court.  At court during Pennsic 2017, Their Majesties of Atlantia, Cuan and Signy, witnessed the success of the first year of this program and blessed the team to continue.

At Pennsic Royal Court on August 8, 2018, Their Majesties of Atlantia, Dietrich and Una, will again witness and bless the Royal Players. The team members for Year 2 will be honored, and the team members for Year 3 will be introduced to the populace.

Each summer, the existing team members have the option to continue for the coming year or opt out. They also invite new members based on who they have seen devoting effort to both excellence in performing and also volunteering to create time and space for performing arts at events.

The Royal Players team for Year 2 are the following talented and hardworking performers:

1. Lady Scholastica Joycors – storytelling
2. Lady Harper an Cu – instrumental and vocal music
3. Lady Meriorie Matheson – theater
4. Lord Hákon Erfikvaethiskald – solo and ensemble singing
5. Mistress Fevronia Murometsa – instrumental and vocal music
6. Mistress Azza al Shirazi – instrumental music, specialty in dance band music
7. Lady Nicolosa d’Isenfir – European dance
8. Master Johann von Solothurn – instrumental and vocal music
9. Lady Rhiannon of Raven’s Cove – singing, multi-instrumental, European dance and starting some middle eastern
10. Lady Maia Bowen – Middle Eastern dance and music; European Dance
11. Lady Wenllyan Goch – European Dance
12. Lady Darci of Hawkwood – singer and multi-instrumentalist (including Hurdy Gurdy!)
13. Lady Machteld Cleine – Singing and theater, theater techniques and theater science, encompassing theater history, practice, sociology, audience reaction and societal context
14. Mistress Dervila Ni Leanon and Baroness Sophia the Orange – administrative and mentoring support

The Royal Players team for Year 3 will add a new member, Lord Owain Wolfe, who recently graduated from Highpoint University with a degree in Theater. He has participated in the commedia troupe I Firenzi, worked with other Royal Players Machteld, Meriorie, and Sophia to create a Theater Track at Atlantia University, and is also an avid fencer.

Year 2 team members Azza and Maia have done amazing work and are opting out for Year 3. The Atlantia Dance Band exists greatly because of the amazingly well-organized materials Mistress Azza has produced for musicians to prepare ahead of a dance band event.  Lady Maia has been impressively dedicated to teaching dance, both European and Middle Eastern to anyone in her travels. Her zills classes have been a hit at events and demos.

Mistress Dervila is also retiring from the Royal Players program this year. Her steadfast belief in the program was key to creating it and kicking it off in 2016, and we would not be here if she had not been so supportive.

The total number of activities for Performing Arts that the Royal Players have created or supported in the past year comes to 205!  The number of events that Royal Players attended totaled 48 not including rehearsals!

If you are seeking assistance in creating performing arts at your event, please reach out to the Royal Players team for support!  A public facebook group is available for anyone to post and reach the team, and anyone is welcome to email me, the administrator of the team, with any questions or requests for help. Orangesophie AT gmail

Vivant to the Royal Players of Atlantia!

With great appreciation,

Baroness Sophia the Orange

Guildmistress of the Atlantia Performing Arts Guild

Unevent will again host a business meeting for the Atlantia Performing Arts Guild!

Atlantia Performing Arts Guild – Summer 2016 – by Lady Machteld Cleine

Everyone who comes gets a KAZOO!  Because of course it can’t ALL be business…. 😉

4:30 – 5:30pm!

Come and discuss what you are doing, what you want to be doing, and what this kingdom size community of performers can do together. Event link: http://atlantia.sca.org/137-events/167-event-flyer?event_id=ebd8a9fe

I have a thousand ideas for what we can do, you guys will have even more, and we’ll never have time for all of them, so help pick! Which activities do YOU want to do in the coming year to enjoy the Performing Arts in Atlantia? Where will you find resources to help?  Who wants to join you?  Who wants to help you? Who’s already doing the same thing?

That’s what the Performing Arts Guild is for!

Here’s the Agenda for our meeting:

Agenda for Performing Arts Guild Meeting:

• Report on the Atlantia Royal Players – Year 2
• Reports from any Performing Arts Champions – What are you doing? What do you need help with?
• State of the Performing Arts in Atlantia Discussion – I’ll tell you what I see happening and you tell me what you see happening
• What specific activities to you want to do?
• What specific activities are you prepared to lead?
• Resources for getting those activities to happen
• Our new graphic logo by the magnificent Gabriel the Traveler!
  • (Here’s a sneak peek:  )
    

    Atlantia Performing Arts Guild logo

• Agenda Continued…
• What you can do with the Atlantia Performing Arts Blog
  — Publish articles you already have
  — Publish anything you want to
  — Find links for online resources
  — Get summaries of big Performing Arts activities throughout the kingdom
• Job jar! Jobs I know would help out our Performing Arts Community if anyone wanted to pitch in.
  • Do you have a job to do where you need help? Ask for help here!

Upcoming special opportunities for Performing Arts:
— Twelfth Night (Lady Kilmeny is PA Coordinator)
— Winter University (A whole Theater track!)
— Ymir
— Kingdom Arts and Sciences Festival

You can participate remotely in this meeting by logging in or calling in to a Zoom call! Use the info below to connect with us:

I Firenzi Admin is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Performing Arts Guild Meeting at Unevent 2017
Time: Dec 2, 2017 4:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/571805354

Or iPhone one-tap :
US: +16468769923,,571805354# or +16699006833,,571805354#
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location)：
US: +1 646 876 9923 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 408 638 0968
Meeting ID: 571 805 354
International numbers available: https://zoom.us/zoomconference?m=QNbctAJ4U23iq9bsM5YEAs9WBxAGRxXl

This is a rare opportunity to meet fellow performers and get organized!

With excitement and gratitude,
Baroness Sophia the Orange
Guildmistress of the Atlantia Performing Arts Guild

Last summer, our beloved Queen Thora approved and blessed a new experiment by the Atlantia Performing Arts Guild – the Royal Players program! This is a program where a team of experienced performers is gathered to represent a wide variety of performing arts and geographic locations throughout Atlantia. This team has the mission to create time and space for Performing Arts activities at events throughout the kingdom and model excellence in performing. The Royal Players team is presented and approved by Their Majesties of Atlantia and presented to the populace at Pennsic. They serve a one year term, then they have the option to continue or opt out. New members can be recommended and invited by the team.

The Royal Players for our first (experimental) year have been outstanding in their support of Performing Arts! They have proven that this is a program that works. Here are their accomplishments from the past year:

• Hosted 26 bardic circles
• Performed 9 times for background music
• Hosted 8 competitions
• Taught 35 classes
• Performed 9 concerts
• Performed music for dancing 9 times
• Created 7 dance balls or haflas
• Performed administrative duties to support Performing Arts programs at 14 events
• Wrote 4 articles or white papers on Performing Arts

Altogether, the Royal Players team created 121 activities in support of Performing Arts this year. They attended 26 events over the past year, not including rehearsals and practices.

Additional accomplishments of this team includes:

• Lady Harper an Cu was selected to be Kingdom Bard
• Johann von Solothurn was elevated to the Order of the Laurel
• Mistress Kisaya kicked off and expanded the Atlantia Middle Eastern Guild
• Mistress Azza has created a system for the Atlantia Dance Band to get organized. She posts the play list with links to sheet music and recordings of her playing the pieces. It’s an excellent way to support musicians and dancers.
• Lady Nicolosa d’Isenfir was selected as the new Chancellor of the Atlantia Academy of Dance

Royal Players Year 1 at 12th Night 2017

The Royal Players for the year of Pennsic 45-46 includes these fine performers:

• Lady Scholastica Joycors – storytelling
• Lady Harper an Cu – instrumental and vocal music
• Lady Meriorie Matheson – theater
• Lord Hákon Erfikvaethiskald – solo and ensemble singing
• Mistress Fevronia Murometsa – instrumental and vocal music
• Lady Reynsa Keyferin – vocal and ensemble music
• Mistress Azza al Shirazi – instrumental music, specialty in dance band music
• Mistress Kisaiya Zingara – middle eastern music, dance, and culture
• Lady Nicolosa d’Isenfir – European dance
• Master Johann von Solothurn – instrumental and vocal music
• Mistress Dervila Ni Leanon and Baroness Sophia the Orange – administrative support

Here are some more pics of the Royal Players in action this past year:

Meriorie running a Shakespeare competition at 12th Night 2017

Royal Players Year 1 at War of the Wings 2016

Royal Players Year 1 with Spike at War of the Wings 2016

Mistress Azza rehearsing with the dance band at WoW 2016

Next year’s Royal Players team is currently in the hands of Their Majesties, Cuan and Signy, awaiting approval. The announcement for approval and names of the team members will be made at Atlantia Royal Court at Pennsic, starting at 6:00pm on War week Wednesday.

Great Vivants to the Royal Players of Atlantia!! Great job everyone!!!

With great appreciation and applause,

Baroness Sophia the Orange,

Guildmistress of the 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.

Atlantia Performing Arts Guild meeting at Unevent: December 3, 2016

Video recording link: https://youtu.be/Ee6vHBwngw4

Agenda & Notes:

• Google resources for sharing files like class handouts etc:
  • Googlegroup email list – adding 5 more emails to the list today –  brings the total to 81 members
    
  • Membership in the googlegroup email list creates access to the Google Drive shared folder where we keep many resources like class handouts, meeting notes, links to videos, and links to many other resources:
    • https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-ta6p8JkuHPOVc0Tk0tellxcEU
    • Guild Roster is one of the spreadsheets in that folder, and anyone on the googlegroup email list can access the Guild Roster or add their name and info to it:  https://drive.google.com/open?id=1b_hh_0avEed-GEWwTLigKL5VSFYhatiXiSHBESZPNKg
• Royal Players program is going strong – 10 people across the kingdom and covering many skills in Performing Arts. Monthly check ins. Creating many opportunities for performing arts to happen at events.
  • Search Facebook with the term “Royal Players” to find their Facebook group and engage with them. Here’s the direct link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RoyalPlayersofAtlantia/ 
  • The Baroness of Marinus, Baroness Catalina, is interested in producing a run of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, so she will reach out to the Royal Player Lady Meriorie Matheson who is a Shakespeare scholar.
    • Anyone can reach out to the Royal Players via their facebook group to consult on any Performing Arts topics.
• Administrative separation from MOAS office:
  • Lord Etienne, the Kingdom MOAS, decided in June that the Guilds all needed to be completely separate from the MOAS office.
  • We (Etienne and Sophia) agreed that the one required duty for supporting performing arts in Atlantia that would remain with the MOAS office, specifically the duty of the MOAS Deputy for Performing Arts, would be creating the quarterly report on the status of Performing Arts in Atlantia. For an example of this report, see the last report submitted by Sophia for the October 2016 quarterly report here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-ta6p8JkuHPOUpmRWdXODBZcWc
  • The remaining tasks for supporting the Performing Arts in Atlantia remains with the Performing Arts Guild.
• Royal Bard competition is January 14th at the Kingdom Twelfth Night event: http://www.twelfthnight.atlantia.sca.org/activityPERF.html
  • The description offered by Royal Bard of the North, Master Ruaidhri an Cu, is this:
    • “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: raidhriancu@gmail.com  Facebook: Ruaidhri an Cu
  • The description of the Royal Bard duties from Kingdom Law is this text from Appendix E of Kingdom Law availabile here: http://atlantia.sca.org/offices/seneschal/clerk-of-law/book-of-law/laws-of-the-kingdom :
    • E.1. Duties and Responsibilities of Kingdom Royal Notables The Kingdom Royal Notables are expected to encourage the disciplines for which they are selected.
      • Suggested goals and duties are:
        • • Services in their discipline for the Crown
        • • Sponsoring at least two competitions in their field during their tenure
        • • Working with Branch Officers to encourage the growth of their discipline
        • • Teaching in such venues as are available and reasonable
    • E.2. Kingdom Royal Notables
      • E.2.1. The Royal Bard for excellence in the individual performance of any of the following fields: Singing, Instrumental music, Poetic rendition, Storytelling. The Royal Bard is encouraged to be proficient in at least two of these fields. One or two bards will serve at the same time, depending on the whim of the Crown.
  • Additional ideas about what the assembled members of the Guild wanted to see produced by the Kingdom Bard were generated:
    • Random acts of Entertainment
    • Entertainment during breaks in Crown Tourney
    • Supporting and promoting the concept of “Mug the Gate” where, at camping events, camps can issue an invitation to wandering performers to come into their camp to entertain by hanging a mug decorated with ribbons from their camp gate. See the song from Lord Drake Oranwood called “Mug Your Gate” here” https://drakethebard.com/bardic/mug-your-gate/
    • Leading groups of bards to crawl campfires at camping events to find mugged gates.
    • Passing on their knowledge by sharing lyrics and sheet music and links to recordings on You Tube
    • Producing sing alongs where people can sing along even when they’re new and don’t know the words.
    • Bringing back social and silly songs
    • Pre-court entertainment
• Conference call for discussing Performing Arts Competitions
  • Interest was moderate for participating in a conference call just to discuss Competitions
• Upcoming events with performing opportunities:
  • Twelfth Night, January 17 – ongoing mini-concert series all day; performers can sign up for 10 or 20 minute time slots.
  • Winter University, February 4 – Performing Arts Track being organized by Lord Jaume de Monco – email him at: Craig Daniel <craigbdaniel@gmail.com>.  http://university.atlantia.sca.org/
  • Ymir, February 25:  Bardic Circles in afternoon and evening, European Dancing in afternoon and evening, Commedia show and mini-class in afternoon. http://ymir.windmastershill.org
  • Kingdom Arts and Sciences Festival: March 4 – Many hours of performance opportunities and a demo hour. http://atlantia.sca.org/137-events/170-event-info?event_id=6bf73f21

The next meeting of the Atlantia Performing Arts Guild will be in January after Twelfth Night and include an introduction to the new Royal Bard who will be determined at Twelfth Night.

Link to these notes in the Google Drive shared folder: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jpTCB25lDwouuEQQGMwC-5PJxWWSNeKYbDC-Je_L6Jk/edit?usp=sharing

This Saturday, December 3, 2016 at Unevent, anyone who wants to participate remotely in the Performing Arts Guild meeting at 4:30 can do so via the Zoom.us conference call now set up. You can log into a Zoom.us conference call to participate in this meeting remotely! You can log in from your computer and use your web-cam to share your face, or not if you choose, AND you can also call in with a regular phone to enjoy audio-only participation!
Please see the log in info below and let Lara Coutinho/Sophia the Orange know if you have any tech problems!

Agenda will include and is not limited to the following topics (Just let Sophia know if you want to add topics to the agenda!):
— Sharing files and resources via the Guild’s Google Drive
— Update on the Royal Players program
— Administrative separation of the Performing Arts Guild from the Kingdom MOAS Office
— Royal Bard competition at 12th Night – January 14, 2017
— Winter University Performing Arts tracks getting organized (deadline is December 19th!)
— Kingdom Arts and Sciences Festival (March 4) Performing Arts program – lots of performing opportunities!

— Other performing opportunities at events: Ymir, Gulf Wars, Gemutlichplatz

To add your own topics to this agenda, you can add a comment to this blog post or email orangesophie AT gmail.
Performing Arts Guild of Atlantia UNEVENT meeting 3 DEC 16 Zoom.us log in info below
Time: Dec 3, 2016 4:30 PM (GMT-5:00) Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/253621368
Or iPhone one-tap (US Toll): +14086380968,253621368# or +16465588656,253621368#
Or Telephone:
Dial: +1 408 638 0968 (US Toll) or +1 646 558 8656 (US Toll)
Meeting ID: 253 621 368

Unevent 2016 Schedule

During the Royal Court at Pennsic, August 10, 2016, Their Majesties Dietrich and Thora kicked off a new program for supporting the Performing Arts in Atlantia beyond their reign:

The Royal Players of Atlantia

The Royal Players of Atlantia is a group of 10 talented performers (just 3 shown above), spread geographically throughout the kingdom, who have well developed skills in a wide variety of Performing Arts:

• Vocal and instrumental
• Solo and ensemble
• Music and theater
• Scripted and improvisation
• Secular and sacred
• Dance – both Middle Eastern and European
• And those performing arts that don’t fit into a category!

The mission of the Royal Players of Atlantia is to serve as resources for event staff to help make time and space for all Performing Arts to happen at events throughout the kingdom and then to model excellence in performing themselves.

Their term of service is one year, September to August, ensuring that among them at least one performer can travel to Gulf Wars and Pennsic to represent Atlantia in the Performing Arts communities there. For this first year, the Royal Players were appointed by Their Royal Majesties Dietrich and Thora, and future teams of Royal Players may be chosen by appointment or audition at the whim of the Crown. The Royal Bard(s) work as partners with the Royal Players and may serve as a Royal Player at the whim of the Crown. Administrative support to the Royal Players is provided by the Atlantia Performing Arts Guild.

When you have need of music, entertainment, and the environmental richness that performing arts brings, reach out to these people and they will help you create the magic!

• Lady Scholastica Joycors
  • Specialty-Storytelling
  • Location: Barony of Lochmere
• Lady Harper an Cu
  • Specialty-Instrumental Solo Music
  • Location: north end of kingdom
• Lady Meriorie Matheson
  • Specialty-Scripted Theater
  • Location: Barony of Caer Mear
• Lord Hákon Erfikvaethiskald
  • Specialty: Solo and Ensemble singing
  • Location: Barony of Black Diamond (during academic year)/Barony of Ponte Alto (home)
• Mistress Fevronia Murometsa
  • Specialty: Solo & Ensemble instrumental music and singing
  • Location: north end of kingdom
• Lady Reynsa Keyferin
  • Speciality: Ensemble instrumental music
  • Location: Barony of Nottinghil Coil
• Mistress Azza al Shirazi
  • Specialty: Middle Eastern music
  • Location: Barony of Sacred Stone
• Mistress Kisaiya Zingara
  • Specialty: Middle Eastern Dance and culture
  • Location: Barony of Sacred Stone
• Lady Nicolosa d’Isenfir
  • Specialty: European Dance
  • Location: Shire of Isenfir
• Lord Johann von Solothurn
  • Specialty: Solo instrumental and singing
  • Location: Barony of Black Diamond

Lady Sophia the Orange and Mistress Dervila Ni Leanon are serving as mentors and admin help for the team.

You can connect with The Royal Players of Atlantia in their public Facebook group here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/RoyalPlayersofAtlantia/

If you’re not a facebooker, please contact Lady Sophia the Orange via orangesophie AT gmail for email addresses to contact the Royal Players.