[Steppes] Part 1 <Longish> Autocratting/Stewarding Events--Thoughts on Change

[Patrick Cuccurello]

> This, I think, goes to the different concepts on just what an 'autocrat',
> 'event steward' etc. is supposed to be. The only way to get people to do
> this (mostly difficult and headache inducing) job is to give them some
> leeway over how things work. From what I can tell there is little enough
> leeway in the major events, I can hardly imagine someone putting in a
> "bid" for an event that is totally predetermined. They still might apply
> to run the event, but the "bid" process generally seems to be geared
> towards putting competing autocart ideas up against each other and taking
> the best.

It is my belief that this is something that we should look at as a Barony.
If this is working well for us, then we should stay with what is tried and
true.  If however, we are having difficulties finding, maintaining, and
educating the next generation of Steward we should possibly examine other
ways.  It is hard for me to believe that I have been here for five years
already.  In that time I have endeavored to remain as low a profile as
possible.  This was a new Kingdom for me with a different history, ideals,
and manner of running things.  It has taken me this long to get comfortable
with that--so for good, bad, or indifferent, here are some of my thoughts.
I'd like to break this down into two segments.  One about the current bid
process and the second about the "concept" of an Autocrat/Steward and
thereby touching on the SCA idea of "Service".

**The ideas posted below are solely the mindless rambling of the author.
Please disregard, accept or manipulate them in whatever fashion you wish.
Besides, I didn't even know the girl, she was on the other side of the
river, I had permission from her mother, I don't even own a yak, I had a
note from her priest, I had a note from the yak's priest, a m00se bit my
sister once, post no bills, this means you. All checks payable to:
www.petruccioshomeforunwedmothers.net **

Currently bids are placed by hopeful Stewards/Autocrats who have a vision of
what they would like an event to be.  In the event that this has been
something that has gone on for the past umpteen years--its complete makeup
will be governed by "tradition".  Now there will be certain "flavor" aspects
that an the Steward can control  Viking or Celt? Dusty or Grassy? Pastels or
Jewel tones?  Ribbands or Beads for site-tokens?.  Okay, maybe you can
control a little more than that but the point is any attempt at redefining
an old event is usually first reacted to with less than stellar comments.
This is despite the fact that for most of the year people are complaining
about how "boring" or same-ol'-same ol' the events are.  It's a mindset and
I believe that if we are to grow and prosper as a group, we need to embrace
some new, novel, different things for the sake of diversity.  Let us not
lose that tradition that make us unique, but lets not let that tradition
make us stagnate into a spiral of entropy.  Trust in the vision of your
Barons and Baronesses.  Be willing to take some of that minutiae out of
committee and let your Steward orchestrate (overlooked by your Seneschal and
B&B).  Be willing to take chances, or be willing to live in the same world
you have for the past 30 years.

Okay, so let's say we are not dealing with a "traditional" event.  You now
have 2-3 stewards who have lined up their vision of how this should work.
Only one will be chosen, only one will "win" the bid.  The other bidders
usually go off on their merry way--they don't need to be involved because
their vision was not the one that won.  This can be a mistake--those others
should be the first people the new autocrat seeks out to help (in the event
that there was not an exceedingly good reason why they were not chosen as
Stewards--it happens).  They have the desire (or they would not have
submitted the bid), they have ideas (even if they didn't win the bid process
doesn't mean they don't have good ideas to help the event), and they
probably have a whole bunch of people willing to help that you don't have
access to since they were going to help the other person.

So then, what do you do when you have two people bidding on an event and no
one likes either of their visions?  Usually you end up punting--grabbing
someone safe to get it together for you at the last minute.  In that event,
you have no "best" to choose from, but only a "make due".  Granted some of
those "make dues" can be pretty spectacular, but it seems like we are
getting more of them as time goes on than we use to. We must as a group find
a way to not only involve more people in becoming Stewards, but have them
understand the fun that can be involved and not just the work.  I think the
best way for that is by building excitement in our events.  Excitement can
best be generated by giving people new or unique experiences.  Things they
haven't done before, things they haven't seen before, events we haven't
thought of before because the path we are on is safe and well traveled.  We
have over a millennium of History to play with, I cannot believe we've run
out of ideas in thirty.