An Tir Kingdom Bardic Championship
Event Requirements and Recommendations
Updated: 26 May 2004
Introduction
The Kingdom Bardic Championship event is scheduled on the fourth weekend of September. It is a venue that offers the highest caliber performance arts competition available in An Tir, and selects the Kingdom Bardic Champion. For additional information on the purpose and history of the competition, visit the Kingdom Bardic Championship event website.
The Competition
The championship competition itself is completely organized by the Kingdom Bardic Deputy, currently Mistress Isolde de la Vielle-a-Roue. It is her responsibility to coordinate the contestants, judges and competition schedule.
The competition is structured similarly to the Kingdom Arts and Sciences Championship in that all the participants perform individually on Saturday before teams of specialist judges. There is an evening performance (termed "Audience Appeal") which factors into the selection of the finalists.
The finalists return on Sunday, performing before another panel of judges and the audience of event attendees.
Site requirements
- Must haves -
The judging format dictates the way the site will be organized, with Saturday having the greatest space requirements.
Several smaller rooms (between 4 and 7) are required to accommodate the specialist judging sessions on Saturday. These rooms must be separated for sound; rooms with temporary dividers will not be suitable. The number of rooms can be specified after July Coronation when all the letters of intent will have been received. These rooms are not needed on Sunday.
At least one large common area is desired for both days. On Saturday, this area will be used during the day for event attendees to socialize, in the afternoon/evening it can be used for the Audience Appeal performances. It will be used on Sunday for the finalist judging sessions.
On-site food is strongly desired both days due to the tightness of the scheduling. It is difficult to allow performers and judges to leave the site for meals as that may disrupt the flow of the event. Also, Audience Appeal requires an audience. People may forget to come back for the performances if they leave for dinner. The food can be as elaborate or as simple as the hosting branch wishes.
- Nice to haves -
A small room to act as a private consulting room for the judges, where they may hold private conversation and stash their belongings. Not needed for Sunday.
A small room to act as a ready room for the performers and to store expensive instruments. Not needed for Sunday.
A small room, or area in the common room, set aside for the bardic staff to tabulate judging forms and other administrative tasks.
Additional activities
The sponsoring branch may wish to hold educational classes. This is encouraged with the caveat that the space for these classes doesn't conflict with the space needed for the Saturday judging sessions.
The sponsoring branch may wish to hold an evening feast or dessert buffet on Saturday. This is also encouraged. The bardic deputy will work with the autocrat to organize the Audience Appeal performances during the feast.
Resources
The 2003 event was autocrated by Countess Elizabeth de Rossignol. Attendance was roughly 150 people. The branch provided lunch and dinner for a small fee and a dessert buffet rather than a feast. It is felt that this setup worked well and didn't require pre-registration that would be unwieldy and possibly discourage drop-ins.
The autocrat will work closely with the Kingdom Bardic deputy. She is available to answer any questions you may have related to the competition and event needs.
The An Tir events deputy can assist the branch with filling out the Kingdom event bid form and other required paperwork, as well as answer any questions about the kingdom event policy, reporting schedule, etc.