[Loch-Ruadh] populace (Long reply)

[Klfrench1023 at aol.com]

Aingeal certainly makes many good points.  All in all, I think that I  have 
to side with the Old Wolf, though.  I, too, think that we are totally  missing 
the mark.  Populace meetings are for business, not necessarily of  great 
interest to newcomers.  There is plenty of time to bore them with our  political 
trifles once they are caught up in the game.  I did not seek the  SCA to find a 
political venue.  I came for King Arthur.  I wanted the  chance to escape from 
the mundanity of my life.  It was the costumes, the  pageantry, the fighting, 
the chivalry, and the persona play that enraptured  me.  That is what draws 
people into our game.  This is why Fighter  Practice can be the most important 
weapon in the arsenal for drawing in  newcomers, and in keeping them.  When 
utilized properly, Fighter Practice  can be a free demo for the SCA.  We used to 
bring whatever we were working  on every week to practice, and it was a 
social event as well.  We tried to  wear garb even if we were only spectators, and 
talk to people who would  curiously approach our strange entourage.  We brought
 in so many people  that way.  Holding it near the University of Colorado 
didn't hurt,  either.  In fact, in winter our fighter practice was inside the 
field house  at the University stadium.  I agree that you have to invest a lot of 
time  inducting newcomers to the game, and that it takes a lot of mentoring 
for  younger recruits.  But I do believe that persona play and forsooth speech  
play an important part, too.  We are so much more than just a medieval  
interest group.  We have the opportunity to bring history to life, and  to entice 
others to join us by making it look like fun.  There  have been those rare 
events where I felt completely transported to another  place in time, and it is 
because of those that I still play.  Well, that  and the fact that I have no 
where else to wear these funny clothes.
 
M. Caterina 



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