|
Bardic Madness South VI Challenges |
|
|---|
|
|
Bardic Madness South VI Challenges |
|
|---|
Your response to the various challenges may be in many different forms. Song or story are the most obvious choices; however juggling, magic, instrumental, or dance can also express an idea or tell a tale. All of these could be used to answer a given challenge (though perhaps not all at the same time :-). Our desire here is to be inclusive rather than exclusive. If you have something to share that doesn't quite fit or that stretches the definitions a little, then fire away.
It is our wish to create a "bardic safe zone" - a friendly place where you may feel free to experiment and try new things. If you've never performed before, now's your chance. You'll be hard pressed to find a friendlier and more supportive audience. We would be delighted to see lots of first time performers.
Please remember, in order to make sure as many gentles get a chance to
perform as possible, we ask that you limit your performances so that
they run less than five minutes.
| Fyt the First: | |
|---|---|
| Pass the Tale | All those who wish to participate get up together, and tell a tale from beginning to end. The challenge's patron will 'conduct' by pointing to the person whose turn it is to continue the tale, and deciding when it is time to end. |
| In the Gardens of the Sultan | The traditions of Persian poetry date back to the 7th century. Examples of
the qasida form exist as early as the 900s and are still being written today.
Metrical requirements vary depending on time, place, and language - the form
has been adapted by a number of different cultures. Once established, each
piece contains only a single meter. The qasida also has no set number of lines,
examples exist ranging from ten to over one hundred lines. The one glimmer of
consistance is in the rhyme scheme. The first two lines rhyme with each other
and all the even numbered lines (aa ba ca da). Here is an example: The web's a funny and ecclectic place, With varied facts and fancies you can trace. Some things are common, scattered far and wide - While others hide, as if held in disgrace. Poetic forms of Europe can be found, For sample sonnets freely show their face. But Persian forms are hidden - hard to find, Through many useless pages you must chase. While referecnes exist, samples are few - To find them you must run a ragged race. So even though the web's a wond'rous tool, The library would be a better place. Further details can be found in the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. |
| Wholly Disorder | It's well known that St John was a member of the order of the Monks of Sans Nomen - the chroniclers of the wily weasalope. Though what these mad monks were like and why John joined their mis-order (let alone remained) is shrouded in mystery. Help us get in the habit by telling us something of these men of whole cloth. Bonus points if you can answer the question, just what the heck is a weasalope anyway? |
Fyt the Second: |
|
| Tangle Box | Given a list of 20 words and a list of tunes, compose a song to one of the tunes. |
| Bad Plaid | St John was almost always seen wearing some form of chequey or lozengy fabric. It is possible he was single-handedly responsible for the lozenge shortage of 1482. Spin a song or weave a story that somehow involves such eye-watering fabric. The evil among you could even sew, knit, or crochet such an atrocity to illustrate your tale. |
| Ringworm Tails | Perhaps the most famous legend surrounding St John is how he made the mighty Ringworm bit its own tale. Oddly enough, accounts of this miracle and why he did it, vary wildly. The legend of the Oroborus, a snake that devours it's own tail, dates back to ancient Egypt and is found in many times and places. Circle around and give us a song or story involving such a critter. |
Fyt the Third: |
|
| A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words | Members of the populace will draw pictures for this challenge based on the theme: things a fool might use (feel free to define this broadly). Participants will pull both a drawing and a song out of a hat just before the challenge starts. Write two verses and a chorus about the picture using the tune. |
| Indecision | St John was quartered in a (padded) cell at the abbey of St Mugwump the Vacillating. No one can decide exactly who St Mugwump was, what he did (the miracle of the fence sitting is thought to be apocryphal), or why there would be an abbey (located between two opposing scenic views) dedicated to him in the first place. Tell us of a situation where someone had difficulty making up their mind - or not. |
| Period Piece | Perform a documentably period piece of music, story, or song (poetry, prose, and so forth are good too). Dig out those reference books, blow off the dust (try not to sneeze), and see what wonderful and magical treasures you can find in them. There is a staggering amount of fantastic material out there. Find something, be it silly or sublime, and amaze us with it. |
Fyt the Fourth: |
|
| Bard Scribe Illuminator | Given a subject in the morning, compose, calligraph, and illuminate a text on that subject. This may be done individually or as a team. |
| Beware the Kumis Wok My Son | The Mongols seem to have invaded the feast. In honor of this occasion, and
their sharp spear points, attempt some Mongolian poetry. Traditional Mongolian
verse dates back to at least the 13th century. It tells heroic epics of up to
20,000 verses of varying length. Verses are alliterative - mainly on the first
syllable, but internal alliteration is also found. Lines most commonly consist
of 7 or 8 syllables with 3 or 4 stresses. While some lines do rhyme, it is the
exception. Here is an example: Fools now flock to fowl verse forms. Feathers fly as words do fall. Freely now flow lines and verses, For the madness claims us all. Further details can be found in the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Additional examples found here. |
| FOWL! | St John is the patron saint of fools, waterfowl, and lozengy fabric. His greatest contribution to the field (or possibly pond) of philosophy (and ornithology) was his ground-breaking proclamation, "I am but a duck." One would have thought that his lack of feathers and aquatic ability (he didn't so much swim, as plummet) would indicate otherwise. And so, why a duck? Why not a chicken? Take us on a flight of fancy that somehow involves ducks, geese, or even chickens. Let your imagination take wing and give us a tale, song, or poem that is truly for the birds. |
|
This page maintained by Cerian Cantwr,
cerian@minstrel.com. Last updated: 2016-05-07 |