How
to Successfully Organize Entertainment for a SCA Event
By Jheromyn
le Bordar ben Mikiel (Ian J. Korman)
Purpose of Article: This document has been written to help people coordinate and setup the best possible entertainment for their SCA event. I have tried to be somewhat comprehensive on the overall topic of SCA event entertainment as well as present some new ideas, which I hope even experienced SCA event organizers will find useful.
Entertainment is an important element in the main purpose of the SCA, having fun. I hope this article is found to be of benefit to fellow SCA members in organizing great entertainment for an event to the greatest enjoyment of both the populace and the entertainers. Remember, organizing and volunteering to work at an event should be fun too!
About the Author: I am a fairly new member of the SCA having joined in September 2001. I organized the entertainment for the Middle Kingdom Twelfth Night event held on January 5th, 2002 and I have helped in the organization of many other club events. I also have a B.S. in Business Management and have project management experience.
Comments: Anyone in the SCA may freely use this article, make copies of it, link to it, etc. Credit is always appreciated. If you have any comments or suggestions please email them to me at: jheromyn@kormanworld.net
All events in the SCA should start with a clear plan. This plan needs to be written down in some medium so that everyone involved in its execution can have access to the plan so that they have a clear idea of what it is. It is great if you are the entertainment coordinator or event autocrat and know clearly in your mind how the event is going to be organized. However, even though it may take some investment in time and effort to actually write down the plan and some of its details this is time very well spent towards the success of the event. It also generally makes others involved happier to have something substantial they can reference and the happier people are the more fun they are going to have.
Issuing the plan and notifying people of changes via email is good. I think that having a web page in addition to this is even better because of the fact that some people lose email or have problems going back through email threads to find the update they need. If you can use any up-to-date word processing program then you can make a HTML document for placement on the WWW since all of them will convert your plain text document to HTML for you.
For event entertainment there is a simple checklist you should make and maintain. I think the order I present the items below is the most logical order of their precedence:
ü When - Those involved in the planning of the event need to decide the extent of the entertainment that is desired for the event. There are a lot of possibilities for when you can have entertainment at your event which could make up their own checklist:
1. Throughout the event in Common Areas
2. At Scheduled Times In Specific Entertainer rooms/areas
3. During Feast
4. Before/During Court
5. In the Royalty Room
6. During Balls/Dances
7. Whenever You Expect Lines Waiting Populace: At the Gate/Fighter Sign-In
8. During Vigils: Inside or Outside
ü Where – The above list of when you want to have entertainment at your event covers a lot the places where you can have entertainment as well. However, designating that you are going to have entertainment during feast is not really defining where you are having the performers entertain. When you designate where you need to be concerned about the physical location of the entertainment. In order to answer this question you need to know your event site as best as you can. A map of the site is crucial but a site visit is also very important. You want to make sure that you have room for your entertainers and audience so that they do not interfere with what is going on in the same general area. You also want to be aware of acoustics, which I will cover later.
ü Who – Once you know the when and where then you can decide on what type of entertainers you would like to entertain at your event. This is almost always going to be the most difficult part of coordinating an event of a large size. This is largely due to the fact that the SCA is a volunteer organization and you generally have to solicit to see who is willing to not just come to your event but to actually put on a performance that will fit into your plans. Because of the reality of this my advice is to make your entertainment plans flexible enough to be able to allow those performers that volunteer to fit into them. I would add that you may also want to try to fit in as many entertainers that volunteer as you can for two big reasons:
1. The more entertainers you have at the event the more potential enjoyment the attendees will have.
2. Most importantly, because entertainers are volunteers you should expect cancellations or even no shows. The more entertainers you have at the event the more choices you have for replacements for things like feast or court entertainment.
When entertainment for events is mentioned usually musicians come immediately to mind. Musicians may be the largest group of entertainers in the SCA but there are many other types of performers that you need to make sure to consider. Here is a fairly comprehensive list:
· Musicians – Solo, Ensemble, and with dancers
· Singers – Solo or group acts without musical accompaniment
· Bards – Poetic Readings or Story Tellers
· Dancers – Often with canned music or drummers
· Jesters and Comedy Acts – Various acts that may include props such as puppets or dummies – Be sure to check if the performance is geared towards general, adult, or children audiences
· Jugglers – Sometimes with comedic commentary
· Magicians – Sleight of hand or with props
· Acrobats – May have props – Not sure about the injury risk/responsibility of this but SCA membership and on-site waivers may cover things
· Fortune Tellers/Palm Readers – Generally personal level entertainment
· Mixed Act – Members of the SCA often multi-talented and will have their own unique acts – Be sure to work with them so they can tailor their act with the plans of the event
It cannot be overstated that the point of entertainment at the event is to increase everyone's enjoyment. The placement of entertainment in the event also has other important uses. Here are just some of the possibilities:
· Provide Atmosphere – Entertainers performing period style acts in costume add a lot to the feel of an SCA event. I think the entertainment in addition to the decorations does a lot to help ignore the modern backdrop of the site.
· Get People Involved – The audience of performances often tend to get more involved with the event and each other when they have something they can all congregate to enjoy and mutually experience.
· Fill in Gaps – Main agenda items at events are classes, fighting, court, and feast. Between those times while things are being set up or for times that there are delays entertainment can play a great role in keeping up the attendees' enjoyment of the day/weekend and avoid the boredom of uneventful lulls.
· Accentuate Important Happenings – Having entertainment during court if there is a knighting, in the area where people are waiting to see a person on vigil, or during feast really helps to point out that these parts of the event (and the SCA) are special.
Acoustics are important for any type of entertainment that has an audio component. Mainly, you are concerned with amplification. Acoustics can be a very hard thing to judge but a general rule is that the more enclosed a space is the better amplification you will have.
There are a few tradeoffs you have with amplification.
1. You want to have a space where you can fit both the entertainers and the expected audience. I would say that if you are having a scheduled entertainment performance that is not related to court, feast, etc. that you are better off getting a small room and squeezing in audience against the wall, like a classroom. This is because you may be able to get larger audiences into a larger space but if some can't hear the entertainers well then there is no point in it. Also, larger audiences tend to have more 'talkers' in them and tend to be more distracting for everyone.
2. As an SCA event we want to have period looking entertainment but we also want to have people enjoy the entertainment. Some people are against electronic amplification because it is not period. I would say don't rule it out as your site just may need it (particularly during court and feast). There are ways you can camouflage the speakers and microphones if you are moderately creative.
You also need to be sure you understand acoustics when you are thinking about the impact of the entertainment on other nearby activities. If you are in a room with concrete walls and a door that shuts or a small door you may not affect nearby classes or meetings. However, if you have a large open space or room dividers you may need to reconsider the placement of the entertainment.
I think it is important to make some comments about specific parts of events where entertainment is most commonly used. There are some details that some people just may not consider.
· Feast
It really brings out the period atmosphere of a feast to have entertainment during it. When and where you have the entertainers perform during feast is important. You need to consider that it is a feast and food needs to get served, people need to eat, and that people will be socializing. Additionally, your performers will probably be seated at the feast also enjoying it.
Notes:
§ Have entertainers perform after each course/remove has been served. This way if you have entertainment like dancing it will not interfere with servers getting food to tables.
§ Have a variety of entertainment and if you have more than one set of entertainment that is of the same type then you try to separate it with a different type. Example: dancers first, musicians seconds, more dancers third.
§ Try to place the entertainment in front of the royalty but also in a central location to as many of the populace as possible. I understand that this can be difficult because it is hard to find a large hall to fit all the feast participants and have enough area left over for large entertainment groups. Entertainment during feast is not just for the royalty's enjoyment and you don't want to make such an impression to the populace.
§ Sound is even more important during feast than at other parts of the event because there is going to be a high volume of background noise from people talking. If the entertainment is centrally located then it will not be as hard for people to hear it otherwise I again think it is wise to consider electronic amplification.
§ Make sure all the entertainers and the herald announcing them know the entertainment schedule during feast and are prepared to do their parts.
§ Be prepared to make substitutions during feast at either the royalty's whims or due to entertainers that don't make it to the event.
§ If the feast is going to use candlelight then be sure to have some type of lighting for the entertainment so people can see it.
It is very nice to have an entertainment room at the event where performances can be scheduled throughout it. One benefit of this is that the room can be smaller which can provide a better venue for audiences: easier to hear, see, and more intimate. Another benefit of this is that you can allow the entertainers to give special performances of their choosing. You could have bardic circles in the room, give people chances to sing a single song or play a single piece, and allow entertainers to try collaborative impromptu performances or to practice.
It is also a great idea to have spaces in the common areas at an event where entertainers can play for the populace basically at their whim through some portions of the events. Some types of performers like jugglers and solo musicians particularly enjoy this opportunity.
· Court
Scheduling entertainers to perform before and during court can be a good idea. Before court entertainment entices the populace to take their seats when they should, helps keep down some of the background noise of conversations (as people pay attention to the entertainers), and helps put them in a joyful mood for court (which, admittedly, can sometimes be a rather long affair). It is also good in case court doesn't start on time. During court musicians can be used to provide background music for processions or other periods where there is no speaking.
Considerations for entertainers can be a politically touchy subject. In mundane life most entertainers are paid to perform at events. Since the SCA is a volunteer organization it is not expected to pay entertainers in a conventional manner. However, courtesy dictates that something should be done for these members of our society that do so much and are sometimes under appreciated in scheme of things.
There are many ways that entertainers can be rewarded (and initially enticed) for volunteering to perform at events. The simplest way is to waive their site or feast fees or to give them discounts. If this type of consideration is not preferred due to monetary reasons, here are some other ideas:
· Provide entertainers with a private room with refreshments just like you would the royalty. Consider providing guards for this room to help keep entertainers equipment safeguarded. If you place the room near the royalty room you can have both rooms guarded by the same guard(s)
· Give entertainers gifts or favors for their service at the event. These don't have to be a lot but they are signs to them that they are appreciated. If the entertainers are part of your local group that is hosting the event you can have the gifts or favors given out at the next court after the event.
Luckily, because we live in the Current Middle Ages there many ways to find SCA entertainers for your events. The Internet and WWW provide multiple ways to reach many people in your Barony, Region, or Kingdom.
Here is a short list of possible methods you can use to find entertainers for your events:
· Post solicitation messages on Barony, Regional, or Kingdom email lists, webpages, or message boards
· Post solicitation messages in Baronial, Regional, or Kingdom publications
· Ask people at local meetings if they have any contact information for entertainers
· Contact autocrats of other major events in your area