minstrel: structure and stuff

[Meaghen Mac Laren (Bridget Aboussafy)]

Greetings all :) I too would like to see some new ideas on structure. I'm 
leery of the bardic guild idea because the focus is on attaining a 
*status* and things can too easily get tangled into politics, and then 
the real reason you're studying (because you like doing it) gets put on the 
back burner. For the past 8 years I've been in the SCA (& the rest of my 
life for that matter), I've been doing my best to improve my 
performances and knowledge of bardic essentially on my own (while at the 
same time trying to get others interested as well - I even was going to 
autocrat a bardic workshop, but that got shot down and is a long 
convoluted story). I've thought about getting instruction from those 
more experienced, but I live in an area where it's me who is most 
experienced - can we say I've learned things the hard way! Only this 
year have things changed, and those changes have come really fast. 
 
As of a month ago I joined a newly formed group called the Axewater 
Troubadors, which is a group of mercenary bards almost all of whom are 
very new to the society. At the time of my joining, there were about 9 or 
10 members. 2 weeks later there were 14! I can see that we're going to 
need some help in organising ourselves if the growth rate continues in 
this manner. The group has been performing at every event members can go 
to and the audiences have been impressed so far, thus more people are 
joining. 
 
The types of performances we've done so far have been everything from 
wandering fire to fire and singing, storytelling, poetry, theatre, 
command performances, all sorts of stuff. The head of the troupe is at 
the slightly overwhelmed stage because things are moving so much faster 
than he expected. He is thinking about getting guild status, but what 
type of structure could be used that focuses on learning the bardic arts 
and encouraging new bards to greater heights without getting into the 
apprentice-journeyman-master thing? 
  
Before I joined the Troubadors, I had taken on a couple of students. The 
way in which I've been teaching them has been more or less one on one, 
taking things at their pace. Although things are going well with my 
students, I don't want their training to suffer because of all the other 
new people on the scene. I want to help everyone because I've got a lot 
of material now of all sorts but there are just so many people! I have a 
difficult enough time just trying to explain all the techniques & tips 
I've picked up over the years and internalised. I'm flying by the seat 
of my pants guys - there must be a simpler way to tackle this problem, 
anyone got any ideas?
 
Feeling definitely overwhelmed from this
 past weekend's big bardic thing at my house,
 
Meaghen Mac Laren

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