[Ansteorra] Persona stuff

[willow taylor]

Thank you very much for this missive. I am tired of being told I am a old
fashion relic who should go home and stop bothering people with my
persona.
willow de wisp   Lion of Ansteorra.

On Wed, 10 Apr 2002 13:34:21 -0500 "Theron Bretz"
<tbretz at montroseclinic.org> writes:
> > Speaking as a "Lion" of Ansteorra that playing persona is not
> difficult. I
> > invite anyone who doesn't believe me to take my persona class some
> time.
> > I've also occasionally heard that those who play persona are
> stuffy and
> > boring. To that assertion, I need only point to Sir Keif, Mistress
> Mari
> and
> > a few other adept persona players and defy anyone to honestly call
> them
> > stuff and boring!
>
> [Unlurking for a topic near and dear to my heart]
>
> As a lover of persona-stuff, I'd like to chime in as well.  Doing
> persona
> play right does require a modicum of research.  But at its most
> basic level,
> it's simply thinking before you speak about whether or not a
> medieval or
> renaissance person would likely say things that way.  Edit out the
> cutesy-poo-neo-fantasy vocabulary and you're 9/10s of the way there.
>
> Now, here's the secret of doing persona play right.  First off, it's
> not
> something the Lions have a monopoly on.
>
> Secondly, it isn't memorizing a laundry list of dates, places, and
> people.
> It's a lens through which you examine your chosen place and period.
> When I
> read a book on the history of Venice, I look at it in terms of how I
> would
> have felt about the particular events.  Would I have cared what's
> going on
> back home now that I'm in Ansteorra?
>
> The third thing to know is that persona play is 99% trivia.  Knowing
> the
> exact disposition of the troops at the battle of Bouvines is a good
> deal
> less necessary than knowing what you had for breakfast, what's in
> your
> pocket, the difference between a ducat and a florin*, or who's the
> Pope.
>
> Fourth, there's presentation.  What's the point of all your research
> if you
> don't share it with the rest of the populace? Recruit some friends
> and get
> out there and do it.  I cannot stress this enough.  If you don't
> have people
> to play persona with, you're a solo performance artist.  Friends
> make your
> job easier because you can play off each other and build stories and
> experiences together.  Occasionally a running gag can also be quite
> useful.
> Be prepared to surprise yourself once you get going.
>
> Be prepared to revise. As you get into your research, you'll
> inevitably find
> information that contradicts something you thought you knew.  Adapt
> and roll
> with it.  This isn't a test, it's a hobby.
>
> Most of all have fun.  There's often-times in our Society a rather
> ridiculous notion that medieval people had no fun.  Nothing could be
> further
> from the truth.  For much of the monied classes, war and the pursuit
> of
> pleasure were their only occupations.  Games, tournaments, hunts,
> dancing,
> telling stories, all of those things that the framework of the
> Society
> already has, are aspects of medieval and renaissance recreation.
>
> Luciano Malatesta
> The Don Formerly Known as Etienne
>
> *The Ducat is the chief coin of Venice.  The Florin is the chief
> coin of
> Florence.  Florins are cut with base metal which can alchemically
> cause your
> other quality money, such as ducats, to rot into dust.  The previous
> statement has been brought to you by the Venetian Ministry of
> Coinage.
>
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