Personna views was RE: Magic Moments

[cmwalden at flash.net]

> In a message dated 97-06-28 18:06:46 EDT, you write:
> 
> > Giovanni interprets that as "Florence is the height of civilization!
> >  Of course, everyone else is backward!"  [insert huge grin]
> >  
> >  ****
> >  
> >  Anybody else wish to contribute?  I think this would make nifty 
> >  thing to discuss and share notes about.

I came in the middle of this, so please bear with me if I repeat.

I feel that the best way to deal with our temporal and cultural 
diversity is to ignore it.  I have heard many creative ways to 
explain why we are all here, and I find that for my brain I can't do 
that approach without feeling silly.  But I find that in reality, it 
rarely comes up.  When was the last time that someone asked you what 
year it was?  When have you asked someone what country you are in?

I am a firm believer that "high persona" is not as mysterious as we 
tend to make it out to be.  In fact I fell that that term is 
unnecessarily lofty and makes persona play sound like a game for only 
the most skilled and arrogant.  In reality, persona is only a matter 
of adult pretend.  Some people have some problems with the pretend 
side, and need some help with atmosphere and other tools to make them 
comfortable so they can relax and let go a little.  So here are some 
guidelines that I try to use when I do stuff to provide some 
atmosphere and some depth to my SCA time:

1.	Saying "Something isn't period," is not period.
This doesn't mean that we shouldn't strive for quality and accuracy. 
But breaking the atmosphere by siting references to prove that
someone else is breaking the atmosphere is silly.  Take such
conversations off-line.

2.	Don't talk about yourself in third person.  
It annoyed me when Bob Dole did it.  It annoys me when we talk about
our personas as though they were D & D characters.  "My persona is a
third level cadet who is trying to accumulate enough experience
points..."

3.	Not everything has to fit.  
You don't have to explain why 12th century Norseman are eating at the
next table.  How do you know they are 12th century Norsemen?  Your
persona only knows that those are strangely dressed folk with strange
ways.  We often impose our modern knowledge in situations where our
persona's reactions would be much simpler. 

4.	Play with someone else who does your thing. 
I have found people that are interested in doing the same things that
I do.  We do them together.  The atmosphere is easier to attain and
maintain.  It's amazing how French things become when some of the
business is handled in that language.  It's not necessarily arrogant
or cliquish to surround yourself with like-minded folks. It allows 
you to focus and combine your knowledge and skills for a type of 
synergy.  It becomes a problem when you never...  (See below.)

5.	Try someone else's thing from time to time.
I am overtly late-period.  The medieval thing doesn't necessarily get
my blood pumping.  That doesn't mean that I can't don a more servile
outfit and lend support at a medieval event.  I don't have to be in
the spot-light all the time.  And it's nice to watch other people 
have their moments as well, as long as there is balance and we all 
get a shot.

6.	Share your culture.  
I speak French to others who can.  I use a French accent to those
who don't.  That's a skill that I have and I use it to lend flavor
and atmosphere.  I'm learning about the French point of view on
etiquette and customs.  I do these things as I learn them.  I also
try to accept and respect the customs of other cultures that I
encounter.  I have a friend who is Japanese.  I have finally learned
to stop calling him by his first name.  Do we have cultural
differences?  You betcha!  Do we get along?  Absolutely.  We are
both richer for it.  Use what you learn.  If you are respectful of
others you will not offend.  You will enlighten.

7.	Take responsibility for your own game.
If I never get to have the experience of a period Frenchman on a 
Saturday afternoon, that is not the fault of the SCA.  That is my 
fault for not expending the effort.  My atmosphere did not come 
pre-packaged in a kit.  We add pieces as we find them, and it gets 
better as we go.  If no one is doing what you want, then there's a 
hole waiting for you to fill it.  You'll probably find that others 
are interested, but no one knew where to begin.  Do something.  If 
it's not exactly right people will crawl out of the woodwork to 
correct you.  Then you'll get the starting information that you need 
to do the digging.

8.	Read a book.
Don't be afraid of the library.  I have had many people of great 
authority tell me things about being a period Frenchman that were 
flatly wrong.  It wasn't their fault.  They were telling me how to be 
a period Englishman.  Only by doing a little checking on my own did I 
find the information I needed to step beyond "generic late-period 
man."  You don't have to read dry historical information.  There are 
period stories, letters, essays.  I've been amazed at the stuff I 
enjoy reading once I took the plunge.  Don't always take someone 
else's word for it.  Look it up.

9.	Try not to get obsessed.
It's admirable to have the perfect atmosphere on command.  It is 
wonderful to look at the Ansteorran King, and have that feeling that 
you are looking at the real royalty appropriate to your persona.  But 
don't forget that it's just a game.  The King is a plumber.  The 
Corporation is a taxing entity.  Don't let the pecadillos of the SCA 
game cause you to become a lunatic.  Don't lose perspective of the 
fact that YOU have the most control of anyone of what your game is 
like.

10.  Have some fun, dammit!
Every once in a while just let it all go and have a good time in 
spite of all the holes and imperfections.  There is a balance that 
must be maintained to be happy.  Sometimes it is time to make a 
stand.  Sometimes it is time to relax and enjoy it.

Ultimately I picture myself as participating in an enjoyable hobby 
where I get to learn and do cool stuff.  Beyond that I picture 
myself in a sort of United Nations atmosphere where, for some reason 
that I need not name, I encounter many different cultures.  However, 
I do not have the authority to start a war, so I have to be polite.

I hope this sparked some ideas for some of you.
M. Antoine Doré
Pour vous servir.