An SCA sampler

[lisefrac]

I went to my first SCA event yesterday, the Simply Allegorical ball, which I posted about earlier. I ended up wearing bess's hand-me-down Italian Renaissance garb, which fit me surprisingly well. I had to adjust the shoulder straps on the overgown/giornea, because I am notoriously short-torsoed, but the height and other measurements were just about

Comments

[offside7]

Man, sounds like I missed a lot more fun than just dancing. So glad I at least got to see a few pretty costumes before the whole thing closed. I knew Camelot had a lot of SCA people (it is very quiet during Pennsic) but I didn't realize quite how high the percentage was until the post-event revel. Much of their conversation went right over my head -- references to various awards and positions in the SCA -- but I do think I should try more events. It seems like something I'd enjoy.

Two guys I met while waiting at Camelot for people to show up introduced themselves to me by their persona names, and I didn't realize it until other people came in and referred to them by more common names. Now I wonder if they think my real name is a persona name?

[cristovau]

No worries, especially if you mentioned you were new-ish to the SCA. No one starts in the SCA with a persona/name, and some people even change that in their first few years (or in some cases much later, and some people suffer from multiple persona disorder) So newer folks tend to use their real name, and that is cool. Indeed, "What is your SCA persona?" is a conversation starter like "What is your major?" and like a major, it doesn't have to be an absolute.

In any case, names are just that. By the way, my SCA name is the handle I use on LJ & everywhere.

[offside7]

I don't think I ever actually said I was new to SCA, but I suspect it was pretty obvious by the end of the evening. But I'm pretty sure my real name doesn't qualify -- it's too modern.

How do you pronounce Cristovau?

[cristovau]

Well, SCA award/position jargon gets confusing to the insiders. We have successful recreated mysterious hard-to-understand court intrigue!

Anyhow, Chris-Toe-vow. What vow I made my toe, I don't know. It is a Portuguese spelling that quickly became Cristoval and then Cristobal around 1500.

[spiralngphoenix]

First event and it was a ball??! Decided to start on hard mode, did we? ;)

Glad to hear you enjoyed it. Like anything, it has it's ups and downs, but as a general rule, the Society is made up of a lot of decent folks and is a lot of fun. I hope to see you at events, where I will confuse you by adding the name Eydis to the List Of Names To Call Me.

[cristovau]

While balls are more costume-heavy and somewhat intimate, they are more costume-heavy and somewhat intimate. I think it was a good introduction for a costumer who likes English Country Dances.

Maybe Birka(con) is next? It is also a friendly, though not that intimate event.

[lisefrac]

Hard mode? I don't know about that. I do a lot of folk dance, so this seemed the most natural place to start.

Eydis for me is a character in Skyrim. This is not necessarily a bad thing!

[teenyweenyowen]

I'm glad you had fun! The Camelot dance practices are pretty good, though I've been missing them a lot lately. Hopefully you'll keep having fun with the SCA.

[witticaster]

I'm excited that you're poking your head into SCA stuff about when I am! I haven't been to a ball or dance, but I also have almost no experience with organized dances to begin with. I'll hopefully see you at an event some day!