Advice From A Newcomer.

.....TBT and I made our usual run to Starbucks this morning and ran into Brighid the Amused. She is a long time SCA player but is relatively new to Dragon's Laire. We sat down with her and had a great conversation on how she has integrated into the Barony and the difference between how people interact in An Tir versus how they interact in other Kingdoms (like Artemisia, one of her former homelands). We came away from the conversation with a lot of ideas that I'm capturing here, some for easy access later, and maybe for a little feedback from others on how to expand upon them. I don't think any of these are earth-shatteringly new, but I'm seeing them from a new perspective and want to integrate them more in how WE do things in our Courts.

.....1. Integrating newcomers into the SCA: In Dragon's Laire we have a tendency to see June Faire and its aftermath as the be-all-and-do-all of SCA recruiting. That is a generalization, but is true to a large extent. We give out a lot of information at the event itself. We arrange for a Newcomers' Day or two. Then we pretty much leave the new people to their own devices. We might think about this strategy being a round-the-year strategy instead as people are continually hearing about the SCA through diverse means and coming into the game at various times and place. We used to have a very active Newcomers e-list and regular activities, but we've gone away from that.

.....Don't get me wrong, it is the job of the Chatelaine to welcome new people into the SCA and get them involved and interested. THL Theodoric worked hard at gatherings in going up to new people and answering their questions and trying to be a POC to get them off on the right path. But it would be nice to give new people something more. Instead of having Newcomer gatherings just in the summer months after June Faire, maybe we should plan them more often, like maybe once a quarter? If you have them on a regular schedule then eventually they'll be easy to remember and give out to new people who may happen to meet along the way. These gathering could be at someone's house as long as you are expecting just a handful of people. Then you introduce them to what the SCA and give them the 'tour' of the local branch. Who's who, what activities are happening and at what frequency. Then take questions and gauge where their interests lie so you can point them in the right direction. You can also make them feel a sense of belonging right out of the starting gate and they'll actually feel like taking part in activities.

.....This is certainly not a new concept by any means, but we've sort of gone away from it a little and maybe it is time to push this a little more. TBT and I will have to chat with Theodoric and see how we can get this moving.

.....2. Non-Baronial Events and New People: When people first start playing in the SCA they may feel a little intimidated about traveling outside the branch to attend events. They will not know many, if any, people there. They don't know what events will have the type of activities that interest them. They may go to one or two where they have nothing to do and no one with whom to speak and they decide at that point to not go to any more. So TBT and I need to plan events during the year outside of the branch that we advertise widely as being events where we encourage new people to attend and camp and / or play with the family that is Dragon's Laire. Cedric and Brighid did this regularly, but I don't think I ever realized how important this was in making new people a part of the SCA experience. And it is very important.

.....3. Welcoming People To Their First Event In Court: This was a tradition that Cedric and Brighid did that is actually important that TBT and I need to continue. It helps the new people feel included. It shows the established people who the newcomers are. It is an important introduction in both directions. But some people are intimidated about facing the populace. Maybe we could change this slightly. Instead of making the new people face the populace and that intense, in-your-face, scrutiny, we keep them facing the Baron and Baroness as we give welcoming and their tokens. We also need to have THL Theodoric be introduced beforehand as a resource, as well as the Baron and Baroness, for any questions they may have. If Theodoric is O.K. with the idea, we may see about bringing him up first so that we make sure new people can place a face to a name and know whom to find in case of questions.

.....4. Court: Something we found very interesting in the way that An Tir holds Court versus in other Kingdoms is the amount of distance we place between the Thrones and the audience, and then the width of the aisle from the Thrones out. There are huge swaths of territory taken up by empty space. What happens often is that those in the back of Court end up having difficulty actually hearing what is happening in front. In other Kingdoms, Courts are much more intimate. The populace is much closer to the thrones and the center aisle is much narrower. It means less space for gathering, but more of a sense of 'community' is fostered. I never realized that before, but TBT validated that through her own experiences from outside the Kingdom. We may work on our set up for Court to see what we can do to make it more intimate and interesting.

.....Like I said, there is nothing new here. Just things that TBT and I see in a new light that we need to make sure are incorporated into our Courts and gatherings, and dealings with new people. I wanted to make sure I captured them for future thoughts. If anyone has ideas to expand on these items, we'd welcome the input.

.....Aaron / Arontius.