A Distant Campfire: An SCA podcast: Recent Episodes
Lance Brown
A podcast where we discuss our experiences with the Society for Creative Anachronism. We talk about events we've attended both in our local barony as well as at the Kingdom level and even our annual pilgrimage to the Pennsic War. We occasionally dive into Thorny Theoretical Questions, irreverent discussions about conceptual inconsistencies in medieval re-creation.
This episode is a companion to the previous podcast, reveiwing the film King Arthur, 2004. In each episode we try to critically assess the triumphs and failures of the films we review, and here we examine the director's claim that the story of King Arthur
A review of the 2004 film King Arthur, starring Clive Owen and Kiera Knightly as Arthur and Guinevere. We examine critically the film's claim to offer a new perspective on the historical Arthur and give an overview of the plot. In part 1 we summarize the film, and in part 2 we offer our own comment and criticism of the director's choices.
Following the narrative recap, Part 2 takes a harder look at how Ladyhawke (1985) by Richard Donner had more in common with an authentic medieval tale and less with other fantasy films of the 1980s. We discuss recognizable medieval storytelling elements and then tackle the apparent imbalance of agency among the main characters.
In Part 1 we look at the film Ladyhawke and give a narrative overview of the plot. We discuss how it fit into the fantasy film genre of its day and why it really is unlike any of its contemporaries. In Part 2 we will go into deeper commentary.
A companion to the overview podcast, in Part II we dig into the triumphs and failures of Kurzel's interpretation of Shakespear's Macbeth, both as an interpretation of the original play, and as a movie for modern audiences.
A summary of the plot of Shakespeare's Macbeth as realized in the 2015 film starring Michael Fassbender in the title role. This is the first part of a two part series. Here, we give an overview of the plot of Justin Kurzel's interpretation of the play, and talk about how he changed it to fit his media. In the second part we offer critical commentary and a review of the film.
A podcast where we discuss a recent staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. We talk about the different perspectives between medieval audiences for whom Shakespeare was writing, and modern audiences who bring their own expectations. We also discuss the technical challenges of presenting the play and how this local company attempted to meet them.
War of the Wings is a 4-5 day long camping event in the Society for Creative Anachronism, and one of the bright spots on the calendar of events for the Kingdom of Atlantia. We talk about what makes this event so popular, and all the ways that try to get involved.
From Bardic circles, to sitting at Troll welcoming the attendants, to the Masked Ball Dance, we discuss the activities that we have planned and how to make the most out of this great event.
In this episode we return to the Fall University of the Kingdom of Atlantia, part of the Society for Creative Anachronism. This is one of our favorite events and we enjoyed it immensely, discussing everything from the site, to the classes, to the new skills we learned. Universities are the place where you learn the skills you need for crafts within the SCA, where you practice medieval arts like dance and music, and its where all arts and science begin.
But here, we also talk about what it takes to be a good student and a good teacher at a University class. We delve into thorny theoretical questions about how to respond when you know more than the teacher, and why being a good community member means being a good student.
We look back at the recent event we attended with the Society For Creative Anachronism (SCA), a historical re-creation society. This event, the Rip Rap War, holds a special place for us because it was hosted by our local Barony, so we are not unbiased.
Nevertheless, we turn our critical gaze on all the good and bad that we experienced over the weekend. We examine everything from the martial field, to the Arts and Sciences competition, to the closing Feast and come away with a very favorable impression.
In this episode we take a look at what kinds of things draw us to an event in the Society for Creative Anachronism, and how we find that information. We take the example of the Rip Rap War, an event given by the Baronies of Marinus and Tir-Y-Don, and talk about our anticipation of, and expectations for, this creative event.
We look back to Pennsic 2017 and how we need to start now the preparations for next years visit to Pennsic. We talk about how we put the House Book to use this year, both to document the event, and also to give ourselves suggestions for next year. Then, we begin a discussion of the Arts and Sciences within the SCA (The Society for Creative Anachronism. As always, we look for ways to encourage it, from making it more accessible and inclusive, to offering more help at events, and welcoming all comers.
In this episode we talk about our experience at the major SCA event, The Pennsic War. This two-week long medieval re-creation event draws participants from across North America as well as around the world and attracts in excess of 10,000 participants. We were involved in many activities from music to dance to theater and we reflect on high and low point in our adventure.
In this episode we talk about our preparations for the annual pilgrammage to Pennsic War, the pre-eminant event for players in the Society for Creative Anachronism. We discuss our packing rituals and also our anticipation of what we will do when we get there. Pennsic preparation is part practical, part emotional, and part ritual.
A discussion of our recent visit to the SCA event Return to Camelot: an Arthurian Deed. In this episode, we podcast while on-site during the event. We talk about the details of the event, and how this concept introduces a storyline to the SCA event.
We also talk about the myth of King Arthur, and why it is so important to the SCA, and to modern society's concept of honor and nobility. Finally, we discuss the value of rehearsal in creating what are essentially theatrical moments.
In this episode, we discuss our preparations for an upcoming Kingdom-level event with the Society for Creative Anachronism called The Ruby Joust. We talk about our experiences at this event last year, and what we'd like to change this time.
In many ways, a camping event like this one is one of the classic SCA experience. It's a place where all the individual components of persona, garb, encampment, arts and performance all come together.
In this episode of A Distant Campfire, we talk a little about the structure of the podcast, and frame the kinds of questions that we'd like to ask. We continue our discussion about SCA Garb, and introduce the Thorny Theoretical Question, and the Most Medieval Moment. Finally, we end up with the beloved "Phrase of the Day."
We discuss our reactions and experiences from attending the Ruby Joust, a weekend camping event of the Society for Creative Anachronism hosted by the Barony of Caer Mear in the Kingdom of Atlantia.
We talk about the basics of setting up an encampment, preparing and wearing our garb, our favorite activities and magical or Medieval moments to remember.
We discuss the tension between living in a kingdom within the Society for Creative Anachronism and holding true to some historical place and identity. This is one of the Thorny Theoretical Questions that make the SCA such an interesting topic of discussio
Christophilos Airetokos, Anne Whatley, Octavo
We discuss the SCA Winter University in the Kingdom of Atlantia, and the way it affects our participation in the Society for Creative Anachronism.
What is it about the University that appeals to us, and how can we harness its creative energy throughout the year.
We discuss the transition between winter SCA events and spring and summer events that are more focused on camping as we try to achieve a balance between historical accuracy, practicality, and an indefinable "coolness factor." We're interested in taking our involvement in the Society for Creative Anchronism to a deeper level, starting with those around us in our own household. Finally, we are a bit troubled by the current culture within the SCA that turns every creative and artistic endeavor into some form of competition that parallels the list field, and we offer more collaborative solutions.