At 3:58 PM -0700 9/8/05, Kahlara wrote:
SCA - from my limited esperience the SCA has evolved
...
An excerpt from an SCA article states, "...describe
the SCA as recreating the Middle Ages "as they ought
to have been." ....A better description is that we
selectively recreate medieval culture, choosing
elements of the culture that interest and attract us."
(from http://www.sca.org/sca-intro.html)
"Selective recreation" is a much better description. The SCA is a
place where each individual decides for themself what (if anything)
they will re-create -- and to what (if any) level of historical
accuracy.
And as Lilinah said, many events are open to the
public. An attempt to dress 'period' by visitors and
newcomers is appreciated and basic loaner garb is
provided. I took my niece to an event a couple of
weekends ago, and we found a wonderful "T" tunic type
dress for her to borrow that was quite accurate. (Was
also pleased that the little tom-boy commented the
dress was really comfortable!)
Incredibly low participation requirements is not the same as being
open to the public. If you get invited to come to a private party
(whether in advance or as you wander by), once you accept that
invitation you aren't a member of the general public anymore but a
participant in the private party -- one of the people entertaining
yourselves. SCA events are private parties where participants often
invite random strangers to join the private party.
This is very, very different from other historical re-creation groups
& events such as renaissance fairs and many revolutionary, civil war,
and other battle re-enactment societies. Usually at their events,
there is one group of people who are participants and another,
different group of people (the public) who are the audience, and one
of the basic, intentional purposes of the event is for the
participants to entertain the audience. Being solicited to come watch
other people entertain you (as in a theater) is very different from
being invited to join a private party and entertain yourself (with
other likeminded people).
(BTW, note that at a renaissance fair, although yes a significant
number of the participants whose role is to entertain the audience
are merchants trying to sell things, there is still a functional
divide between participants [merchants and actors] vs. [paying]
audience.)
Another way to think of it is like this: at an SCA event, everybody
at the event is expected to follow the same rules (e.g., with regard
to dress, behavior, etc.). At other kinds of historical re-creation
events, it is expected and there are different rules for participants
than for the public/audience (with regard to dress, behavior, etc.).
At such public events, members of the public are allowed to do things
that participants are not allowed to do (e.g., wear entirely modern
clothing, talk about modern things in modern language in front of the
audience, and/or the like) and participants are allowed to do things
that members of the public are not allowed to do (e.g., go back
stage, go on stage, participate in the battle re-enactment itself, be
on site before and after closing, and/or the like).
Sharon, who has participated in renaissance fairs, battle
re-enactment societies, and the SCA...
--
Sharon Krossa, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Resources for Scottish history, names, clothing, language & more:
Medieval Scotland - http://MedievalScotland.org/
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