[Bards] Pennsic Bardic Symposium

[Cerian Cantwr]

Greetings,

This year’s Pennsic Bardic Symposium will begin in just two short weeks.
This year's topics have been suggested by various members of the
community. I don't believe any of them have been discussed in previous
years. Please note the change in schedule for Friday.

Mon - Thu 3 -5, Fri 12:30 - 2:30

Life is going to prevent a couple of our panelists from attending on
Thursday and Friday. I”m looking for some additional volunteers for
those days.

The week’s topics are described below. Hope to see many of you there.

Cerian Cantwr - Herder of Cats :-)
Provost, Bardic Symposium


_____ War Week Symposium Schedule:_____
The Bardic Symposium is an open gathering for special forums, topics,
and discussions for the Bardic Community.

___ Monday 8/07- 3:00 - 5:00 ___
Introductions & Meet & Greet:
Meet your fellow bards. While many of us already know each other, this
will give newcomers a chance to match names to faces.

Those Damn Words:
Memorization can be one of the more challenging aspects of our art. It
is a skill that is very different from both the creation and performance
of our works. While some places are accepting of performers holding
lyrics, in others it’s taboo. How can we make the words stay in our
brain? What can we do if they don’t? What can we do if kingdom custom
toward non-memorized work is to say, “Harrumph?”

Confirmed Panelists:
Mistress Amelie d’Anjou
Lady Dearbhforgaill an Chomhaidh
THL Brendan O Corraidhe
Mistress Fiana of Clare

___ Tuesday 8/08- 3:00 - 5:00 ___
Fitting Round Pegs into Square Holes:
Neither bardic, nor the other performing arts, fit very comfortably into
the various Kingdom A&S systems. Are there ways we can help ease this
incompatibility? What sorts of improvements might be made to our various
sets of criteria? Are there procedural changes that could make things
easier? How else might these two disparate things be made to work
together better?

Confirmed Panelists:
Mistress Halla of Mugmort (bard & MK KMOAS),
Duke Frederick of Holland,
Master Efenwealt Wystle

___ Wednesday 8/09 - 3:00 - 5:00 ___
Pulling the Teeth of the Muse aka Inspiration vs Perspiration:
Damn that plain piece of paper! It can be the most intimidating foe in
the world. What to do when the idea is there, but the word’s just don’t
want to come? Brainstorming? Head-butting standing masonry? Pan galactic
gargle blasters? What?

Confirmed Panelists:
Duke Frederick of Holland,
THL Emer nic Aidan
Master Michael Alewright
Mistress Fiana of Clare

___ Thursday 8/10 - 3:00 - 5:00 ___
AUGH! Get Your Chocolate Out of My Peanut Butter:
There are lots of different flavors of bardic out there. In general,
they’re all wonderful and should be able to co-exist peacefully. Sadly,
this does not always seem to be the case. There has been friction
\between those more focused on social bardic or the current middle ages
\and those fonder of the documentable to period or more A&S-centric
works. How can we arrange peace talks?

Confirmed Panelists:
Mistress Tyzes Sofia (Zsof),
Master Efenwealt Wystle

___ Friday 8/11 - 12:30 - 2:30 ___
These Are Not the Bards You’re Looking For, Move Along:
Some bardic circles are built around specific, over-arching themes:
family friendly, bawdy, enchanted ground, etc. Are there ways, other
than the Old Jedi Mind Trick, to clue new arrivals in on what sort of
circle they’ve arrived at? How do we handle things when someone
powerfully breaks the theme (ie: The kids are all awake and this guy is
starting in on the Moose Song)?

Confirmed Panelists:
THL Aibhilin inghean Daibhidh
Baroness Morgan Wolfsinger

Wrapping Up:
What can we improve? What’s missing? What classes do we want to see
taught that aren’t? What topics do we want to discuss? How can we make
the bardic arts and its class tracks even better?