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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">I can only speak for myself, but here are some concrete answers and suggestions to several questions that have been raised lately.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">(I apologize for the length of this …)</FONT>
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<P><B><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">What does a thriving, growing, healthy bardic community look like? How is that different than what we have now?</FONT></B>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">A thriving, growing, healthy bardic community should be easily found – at events, online, and within local branch guild meetings.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">If we had a thriving community, I should be able to go to any event and not worry about “will there be a bardic circle tonight?” because I would know “Darius (or whoever) is hosting one after feast,” or, “Maggie has organized a fire walking group.” Ideally, these responsibilities should fall to the group’s titled bard – but the ball is dropped all too often, for many reasons.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">A thriving community does not perform only in closed rooms, away from the populace. I understand that sometimes there are few other options for the competition, but especially at those events extra care should be taken to include other, more public, performance opportunities.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">A growing community must be welcoming of new talent. There must be a way of work or “best practices” in place to help keep new folks from falling through the cracks. Within the SCA at large, we have the hospitalers. At the very least, we should make sure the local hospitalers have the website address. Ideally, I’d prefer something much more personal. I’d like to see a group of folks who’ve volunteered to share their contact information – via the website & hospitalers – with anyone in their area interested in bardcraft. I’d like to see more “Bardcraft for Beginners” workshops, and more children’s bardic classes.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">With a healthy bardic community, the nobles would know that they could always count on being able to use bards to entertain the populace if court is delayed, if the next remove from feast isn’t ready, if the list field is rained out and everyone is standing around bored (and grumpy), etc. This could be accomplished a couple of ways - through a “volunteer bardic” sign in sheet at gate, or by wearing some sort of “bard targets.” The blue sashes or favors have been suggested for this purpose. I personally prefer the sashes/favors. I would love it if everyone at an event knew that you could invite that person with the blue sash to entertain you. (Likewise, when a bard wants to be “off duty,” the sash can be removed.)</FONT></P>
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<P><B><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">What would you like to see happen that isn't happening now? How can we make that happen?</FONT></B>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">I’d like to see a thriving, growing, healthy bardic community. I don’t think we, as a kingdom, have that yet. Some local groups are on the right track, but we’re not there as a kingdom.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">I’d like to see an annual Bardic Collegium. This event should move from region to region, and be held at about the same time each year. I don’t think this will be a large enough event to stand alone (at least not yet), but that might be a long-term goal. In the meantime, we should piggy-back with another event – preferably one that is not hosting a bardic competition, so participants won’t be forced to choose between classes and competition.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">I’d like to see Ansteorra host the Known World Bardic Symposium within the next 10 years.</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">I’d like to see “Voices of the Star” become an annual – or at least bi-annual – publication.</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">I’d like to see an Ansteorran CD that is supported by the Crown and Kingdom Seneschal, and whose proceeds go back to the kingdom in some way. (i.e. “Fair Lady Atlantia”) We could start with the CD that was going to be made with the anthems from the competition a few years ago. (Did anything ever happen with that?)</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">I’d like to see the DMoAS – Performing and Bardic Arts become a regular position. Just because it’s a deputy position does not mean we should not be able to count on it. (Take a look at the Rapier Marshal.)</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">I’d like to see a separate bardic war point come back to Gulf Wars.</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">I’d like to see more bardic entries and bardic research papers entered in kingdom A&S events. I’ve always felt like these were supposed to be more for the static A&S, but it doesn’t sound like it …</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">I'd like to go to an event where I don't know anybody else, and find an instant group to "hang with."</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">There are a number of ways that we could accomplish all of these goals. To me, a guild or college makes the most sense.</FONT></P>
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<P><B><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">What can [other people in] the bardic community do to help you as a bard?</FONT></B>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Offer collegiums and classes, publish “Voices” as a learning tool, host circles and competitions, be a group of familiar faces at events, offer crash space, and come up with other ideas and projects that I haven’t thought of.</FONT></P>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">What can you as a bard do to help the bardic community?</FONT>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">I can teach, host circles, fire walk, give largess, help put together another “Voices of the Star,” help with the “business end” of hosting a collegium, make sashes/favors and/or banners, give word fame, make an effort to approach new performers, share my contact information with the hospitaler, help remind my local nobility and event stewards to include the bardic arts in events, carpool/caravan with other bards to events, recommend other bards for a Sable Thistle or Iris of Merit, and in general try to help promote the bardic arts as much as possible.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">How do I feel the goals above can best be achieved? </FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">When I was growing up, I was a member of the Girl Scouts. I could have done service projects, gone camping, horseback riding, and had fun and friends without that organization, but being in a Girl Scout Troop definitely facilitated those activities. Furthermore, because of the group dynamics, we did more as a troop than we ever could have accomplished individually.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">The world is full of fellowship groups for just this same reason. People like to belong. Take a look at the Girl/Boy Scouts, fraternities/sororities, YMCA, after-school clubs, singles groups, book clubs, PTA, science clubs … the list is endless. With an organized group of people behind a project, it tends to get done better/faster/easier. Plus, it’s more fun!</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Could I accomplish my bardic goals alone? Maybe my personal ones, but not my “wish list” for the kingdom. But what if others share some of my “wish list?” Together, we might just be able to make a change.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Only by banding together as a group with a common purpose (the charter) can we make big changes. The exact organization of the group will have to depend on what we want to do. The more change we want, the more organized we’ll have to get. Whether we label folks with the term “officer” or “volunteer” or “coordinator” or “head poo-bah” doesn’t matter to me. </FONT></P>
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<P><B><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Do you want a group that will "exist under the authority of the Crown, via the Kingdom Minister of Arts and Sciences, and/or his/her appointed deputy" with "oversight of the college's adherence to Corpora, Kingdom Law, and the best interests of the kingdom" maintained through this "existing organizational channel", or do you want to join together in a co-operative venture of bards?</FONT></B></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">I don’t believe it’s an either-or question. As Ansteorrans, our group will already be under the authority of the Crown.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Should our group swear fealty? No, I think that’s a personal decision. Do I think the Crown should have some special power over our group above and beyond the populace at large? No, but I could see the crown coming to us and commissioning pieces, requesting performances, etc.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Since we are already a part of the Arts and Sciences community, we already fall “under” the KMoAS and his/her deputy. Do we need to give them any special position in the guild/college? No, they’ve already got that position within the kingdom. What we do need to do is maintain open lines of communication, and realize that many of our goals may only be accomplished with their support. We should also be willing to listen to and consider their ideas. As kingdom officers, they have a different perspective, and just may have a great solution to a problem.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">If we start violating Corpora or Kingdom Law, then we’ll hear about it. Frankly, though, I don’t see that happening. I think we already have the best interests of the kingdom at heart, although everyone’s idea of “best” may certainly be different.</FONT></P>
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<P><B><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">So, what do I want?</FONT></B>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">I would love an organized community of bards that I suppose more closely resembles a co-op than anything else, but with a few coordinators / officers / volunteers to take on various projects. For example:</FONT></P>
<P> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">A web master, and possibly assistants</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">A group of regional “bardic hospitalers”</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">A collegium event steward, and collegium event committee</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">A “Voices of the Star” editor, and assistants</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">A CD guru, and assistants</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Possibly a chronicler, who would take minutes at meetings and write the newsletter with input and assistance from the rest of us.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">(this is not meant as an end-all list of officers, I’m just brainstorming.)</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">In other words, we need people who agree to make sure the various projects we want to do get done. When more than one person wants a “position,” they could either share it, or we could vote. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">The Premier Bard is not a college competition; it is a kingdom competition. With that fact acknowledged, maybe we want to look at inviting the kingdom bard to be the “honorary head of the college/guild?” Kind of a vague title, but it allows the Kingdom Bard to work with us as much or as little as he/she likes – or even not at all.</FONT></P>
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