[Ansteorra] New Announcement

[Kingdom Seneschal]

>From Their Highnesses:

Greetings great bards of the sable star! This is Miguel, heir to the sable
throne.

Conal and I wish to raise the bardic arts in the eyes and ears of Ansteorrans.
As part of this goal, we want to highlight our best performers and some of
our best pieces since the founding of the kingdom. Help us to make this the
reign of music, merriment, and laughter!

We also want to increase the frequency of Eisteddfod to that of many of the
other high-profile tourneys in the kingdom (Queen’s Champion, King’s
Champion, etc...). As such, that would make Eisteddfod a twice a year event.

For our reign that would put it at Coronation. But in order to fit all the
performances in with the other activities on that most busy day, we want to
stage the competition with the finals occurring at Coronation. We are
opening the competition to individuals or duets.

Anyone interested in competing to be the next Kingdom Bard will need to:
1. Submit a letter of intent by October 6th either online at
prince at coronet.ansteorra.org or in person at an event.
a. Please include:
i. Your name
ii. What % of the events in the reign you can make
iii. Your main style of performance, and
iv. Roughly how long you can perform or how many pieces you can perform.

2. Find us at an event (after (or when) we have received your letter of
intent) and perform 1 or more pieces at our leisure at that event. This
will be considered the first round of elimination. Those who pass the first
round of competition will be notified that day or by no later than October
6th.

3. Compete at Coronation in the semis and in the finals.
Note: Depending on the number of entrants, you may need 4 or more pieces
that day. If performances are too close to call, additional pieces may be
needed.

Important:
1. We will limit the number of performers at coronation to 16 for time
purposes.
(We may not get nearly this many, but in case we do, I don’t want to
surprise anyone.)

2. If you wish to compete and meet the requirements, but cannot perform
prior to coronation, please reach out to me at prince at coronet.ansteorra.org
for options.

We expect the winner(s) to:
1. Be near us at events as needed (likely at court) and be able to perform
at each event at a moment’s notice to improve the ambience of the kingdom.

2. Be able to travel to at least 75% of the events in our reign (barring
unforeseen issues).

3. Find a replacement for when he/she/they cannot make an event.

4. Help us to schedule other bards to entertain at events.

5. Lead by example and help promote the bardic arts in the kingdom.

Hints for the competition:
• We would prefer to hear upbeat pieces that are period in style (or
period).
• We would prefer not to hear really slow pieces, “filks” to modern tunes,
or long stories with a pun, joke, or pointless ending.
• If your piece is over 6 minutes, please clear it with us beforehand.

Bonuses for:
• Original pieces
• Making us laugh, cry, or jump up and call for our weapons (and not
against you) 
• Songs with instrumental accompaniment, or that get us and others singing
along with you
• Subject matter relevant to King Henry V’s Europe
• Not having to read the piece or refer to notes
• Performing before coronation

Judging
In a very period fashion, we will be the judge, but we may seek input from
accomplished performers. We will not be using a judging form, but we will
be considering the following criteria:
• Audience Impact
• Ability to be heard (We want a performer who can quiet an angry mob.) ;-)
• Good introductions and short backstories to set the mood or for clarity
• Pitch (We like it!)
• Timing and Meter
• Performance perfection (line remembrance, mood, physicality, pace, &
pronunciation)

We look forward to hearing may fantastic performances!

Yours in Service,

Miguel
Prince of Ansteorra