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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Greetings my fellow bards:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>I will be teaching a class at Steppes Warlord on “How
(Not) to Host a <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Bardic Circle</st1:address></st1:Street>.”
The class is scheduled for 11:00 am on Saturday and will take place
wherever the event steward tells me to. If “experience” is
the lesson learned by one’s own failures and “wisdom” is the
lesson learned by the failures of others, then I invite one and all to come and
be wizened from my own personal experience!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>(This is a slightly serious, but mostly tongue-in-cheek
class. However, you should be able to walk away with some useful
information, or you can use the handout as a firestarter.)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>However, in making my final preparations on this class, I’d
like to enlist the help of my fellow entertainers, who I trust to have more
success in this venue than I. If you’re so inclined, please answer
the following questions:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.5in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>1.<font size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font><![endif]><font face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial'>What’s your favorite and least favorite bardic
circle format, and why? (For instance: pass & play, where a candle is
passed from person to person and the holder of the candle either performs,
requests a performance from another, or passes the candle to the next person.)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.5in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>2.<font size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font><![endif]><font face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial'>Do you set a “theme” for the circle
beforehand? If so, what do you do to keep a circle on track? Is
there a point where you let a themed bardic run itself? (For instance: a
bardic circle at a melee event may have a “war” theme but the
majority of attendees want to hear and are performing romantic or bawdy pieces –
what do you do?)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.5in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>3.<font size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font><![endif]><font face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial'>(The $64 question!) What do you do to save your
circle when someone performs a circle-killing piece? (For instance: Joe
Schmo has decided, after maybe one or two too many, that he is a legendary bard
and decides to perform the one piece he knows, a 45-minute epic punctuated by
off-key choruses and a liberal helping of “Um,” “Uh,”
and “No, wait …” – people are getting quickly
distracted and frustrated with Joe – how do you handle the situation to
get the circle going again?)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>There, that should get you guys talking for a couple days, I
hope. Otherwise my class might be shorter than I’d like it to be.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Health and fortune,</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>HL <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Snorri Hallsson</st1:PersonName></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><a href="mailto:snorri@houston.rr.com">snorri@houston.rr.com</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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