[Bards] no suger coating on this

Brian O'hUilliam brianoftheloch at gmail.com
Tue Oct 31 08:34:21 PST 2006


Ivo,
  Good Lord, while I do agree that lack of audience is a problem, I do not
feel that we have a bad reputation.  Perhaps this is just reflective of what
I see in the Coast, but I feel a big issue is event overcrowding.  What I
mean by that is, at most events, you will have an archery competition,
rapier tournament, chiv tournament, and so on.  People want to compte in or
see everything, so they watch a few bardic performances and move on.  I know
several people, myself included, who try to compete in multiple
competitions, so quite often I will go, compete, and leave.

  On the other hand, I have seen people enjoy bardic circles for hours upon
hours late into the night.  Why?  Because that's the only thing to do at
night!  Do I have a suggestion to fix this?  Sure.  I have seen bardic
competitions done at the evening bardic circle on Saturday night and
announced in Court Sunday morning.  That's ok for a multiple day event, but
it a pain for people who day trip.  I have seen a bardic competition done on
Friday evening (ok, I heard about it, I didn't get there until Saturday.)  I
hate that format.  But what Seawinds did last year was to have the bardic
competition during feast and then the nobles decided who their champion was
and announced him at the end of feast.  Everyone saw the bards and enjoyed
the competitio.n  Of course this wont work if you have many bards
competing.  Perhaps what Loch Ruadh did a few years ago where they had the
competition and then the final round during feast....

  It ultimately comes down to what the coordinator and nobles want.  And
again, this may only reflect what I have seen here in the Coastal Region and
in my travels (which are not often enough to my friends in the North.)


Brian





On 10/31/06, Cisco Cividanes <engtrktwo at earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> Okay, time to make everyone mad at me.
>
> Sorry , but this is how I see it, and I say what I am about to say with
> all the respect due to the audience present.
>
> Guys, Hollywood makes movies for millions of dollars, they run for upwards
> of two to three hours a pop, and during the summer, most theaters can't sell
> $12.00 tickets fast enough.
>
> We do 3 - 10 minute performances for FREE, and do them to an audience that
> is much, much more homogeneous than the one Hollywood markets to. And yet,
> we still have trouble getting people to sit through the first round of most
> bardic competitions, IF we can get them to show up at all.
>
> You know, If I presented this scenario to a theater operator, a director,
> or a performing arts teachers, I am highly suspicious the answer would be a
> pointed and painful rendition of "Wow, you guys must be pretty bad."
>
>
> You know what? I think we have a bad reputation.
>
> We are an entertainment industry. Weather we deal in dollar figures or
> championships or just prestigue, we are subject to supply and demand just
> like Hollywood.
>
> If a Movie directer couldn't fill a theater once every three weeks with a
> $.50 ticket sale, we would all say he sucked.
>
> Right now, we--the bards of Ansteorra--cant seem to fill some
> competitions, and they are free attendance. So what dose that say about us?
>
>
> Okay, break here---
>
> I'm sorry guys, I honestly don't want to hurt people's feelings, and I
> don't want to make enemies, but I just feel that the truth is looking us in
> the face--or part of the truth anyway--and a lot of people aren't addressing
> it.
>
> Yes, I play in the north, so my opinion is reflective of my location.
> Yes, those who know me know I am passionate and rarely soft spoke,
> And yes, I LOVE Ansteora and I love Bardic,
> I'm just more than a little frustrated as watching what I see as a decline
> in both out prestige and out influence.
>
> More to follow momentarily......watch the list.
>
> Ivo Blackhawk
>
>
>
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>
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