My overall thoughts on the arc (ignoring more logistical concerns that I’ve touched on elsewhere)
I liked each individual thing at Solstice. The overall connection between those things didn’t work for me.
Things I particularly liked:
the concept of the Tarot card pairings was good, went even more interestingly than I expected (I figured we’d just mill about randomly, and we actually tried to solve it systematically in ways that felt appropriate to the event). Not everyone found their solstice-mate but a surprising number of people did, and I think it was an interesting enough activity to repeat in future years (at least until we get collectively good enough at it to solve it thoroughly), perhaps adding additional wrinkles to keep it fresh.
Brent’s outfit was amazing, and the hall generally had a look/feel that was very appropriate (Solstice often fails to have the right visual aesthetics)
The opening song (“Orion”?) was beautiful and perfect, and I would be excited for it to become a Solstice mainstay.
The Gift We Give to Tomorrow could have used more polish and rehearsal, but there were some features about it that made it work for me better than past years. Previously I’d seen it done in the center of the Solstice, where it needs to be very solemn. But one of the things about the original is that it’s a bit… whimsical. And this is the first time that whimsicality got to come out. (Also, I think my single favorite moment of the solstice was when Naive Rationalist Guy A says “I just wanna know how humans ended up so nice”, and Brent turns and is like ”.… ….. seriously?” (I imagined him with his eyebrow raised, although he was turned away from me. I think Brent is quite possibly the ideal person to play the Austere Rationalist). I’d like to see the rough concept here polished more.
I thought the Goddess of Everything else was very well orated—the original story didn’t actually resonate with me and Blake’s rendition of it touched me in ways I wasn’t expecting.
People in the hall singing Brighter Than Today despite lack of lyrics.
I liked both the introduction and final speeches. (“we are so, soooo sorry”)
I hadn’t connected Goddess of Everything Else and Gift We Give to Tomorrow before as two pieces approaching the same themes from different angles. I’m not sure whether I think they complement each other or are just somewhat repetitive, but I was interested in having the comparison made more obvious at least once.
There were bunches of other things I liked (I don’t think there was a single thing I disliked, although some things I wish were arranged in the program differently), but those were the highlights.
I didn’t experience much of an arc (the energy/vibe felt approximately like a straight line, mostly serious with small bits of comedic commentary). Beyond the Reach of God is a speech that normally makes me feel-serious-things, but all the things before it felt… approximately as serious, so it didn’t stand out.
The key issues for me were:
I really wanted to be able to sing along with stuff. For me 80% of the point of Solstice is being able to sing together. Different people have different takes on what good songs sound like and I’m not that particular about which ones we pick as long as someone choose them with some kind of aesthetic eye for tribal sacredness. I think the darkness section feels a lot more impactful if we’ve come from a section where people are jubilantly singing together.
In particular, I think a magical thing happens when you have several communal songs in a row (maybe with 30-second stories in between) that doesn’t remotely happen when you’re alternating “long speech” + song. It lets people open up and feel more comfortable singing. It creates a feeling of “these are my people.”
I think there is something valuable to having the lights go from “fully on” to “half on” to “only the stage is lit” to “everything is in darkness.” (and back). This can be logistically tricky depending on what kind of building you have, but is pretty important.
Having intermission is fine, but having it in the middle of the dark, sacred section is fairly mood-killing. I liked the Tarot-mini-game, but I’d prefer it at a time when we’ve hit a natural stopping point. Goddess of Everything Else should be the culmination of a section, not the first speech that draws people back in.
I think, ideally, there is some kind of moment in the middle, when the lights go out, that actually draws us together and feels like true ritual. I have also reliably failed to really create that moment in the past few NYC Solstices. I think it’s one of the most important things to get right somehow, but it’s a hard problem and I personally do not yet know what to do with it.
With minor nitpicks being:
I think the “I want to become stronger” concept fits well into the center speech slot, but the Tsuyoku Naritai speech in particular doesn’t have the kind of sacred tone I want there—it’s more whimsical and funny. If you want this particular speech, I think it should be earlier in the evening, and I suspect the better call is to write a speech more custom-tailored for the event.
Hymn Acxiom was beautiful but didn’t especially fit the rest of the event.
I’m not sure the event mentioned Winter even once. This isn’t obviously wrong, but seemed a bit noteworthy.
I think there is something valuable to having the lights go from “fully on” to “half on” to “only the stage is lit” to “everything is in darkness.” (and back). This can be logistically tricky depending on what kind of building you have, but is pretty important.
Regrettably, the lighting in Anna Head Alumnae Hall is kind of shit. (The lights on stage are “some flickering half-burnt-out CFLs with faders”, and “two giant floodlights, one burned out, which can only be full-on or full-off and take several seconds to warm up.” To add insult to injury, the main entrance hallway with the bathrooms had no working lights, which was why we had the entrance elsewhere.) I believe that due to the various deficiencies of this venue, it’s nearly certain not to be used next year, though.
It’s called “Bold Orion.” (I found it in your Giant Epic Rationalist Solstice Filk spreadsheet.)
I think Bold Orion was supposed to be the “winter-themed” song for the evening. But it’s subtle and doesn’t explicitly use the word “winter.” edit: no wait, “Old Man Winter” is in the lyrics once. But just once.
My overall thoughts on the arc (ignoring more logistical concerns that I’ve touched on elsewhere)
I liked each individual thing at Solstice. The overall connection between those things didn’t work for me.
Things I particularly liked:
the concept of the Tarot card pairings was good, went even more interestingly than I expected (I figured we’d just mill about randomly, and we actually tried to solve it systematically in ways that felt appropriate to the event). Not everyone found their solstice-mate but a surprising number of people did, and I think it was an interesting enough activity to repeat in future years (at least until we get collectively good enough at it to solve it thoroughly), perhaps adding additional wrinkles to keep it fresh.
Brent’s outfit was amazing, and the hall generally had a look/feel that was very appropriate (Solstice often fails to have the right visual aesthetics)
The opening song (“Orion”?) was beautiful and perfect, and I would be excited for it to become a Solstice mainstay.
The Gift We Give to Tomorrow could have used more polish and rehearsal, but there were some features about it that made it work for me better than past years. Previously I’d seen it done in the center of the Solstice, where it needs to be very solemn. But one of the things about the original is that it’s a bit… whimsical. And this is the first time that whimsicality got to come out. (Also, I think my single favorite moment of the solstice was when Naive Rationalist Guy A says “I just wanna know how humans ended up so nice”, and Brent turns and is like ”.… ….. seriously?” (I imagined him with his eyebrow raised, although he was turned away from me. I think Brent is quite possibly the ideal person to play the Austere Rationalist). I’d like to see the rough concept here polished more.
I thought the Goddess of Everything else was very well orated—the original story didn’t actually resonate with me and Blake’s rendition of it touched me in ways I wasn’t expecting.
People in the hall singing Brighter Than Today despite lack of lyrics.
I liked both the introduction and final speeches. (“we are so, soooo sorry”)
I hadn’t connected Goddess of Everything Else and Gift We Give to Tomorrow before as two pieces approaching the same themes from different angles. I’m not sure whether I think they complement each other or are just somewhat repetitive, but I was interested in having the comparison made more obvious at least once.
There were bunches of other things I liked (I don’t think there was a single thing I disliked, although some things I wish were arranged in the program differently), but those were the highlights.
I didn’t experience much of an arc (the energy/vibe felt approximately like a straight line, mostly serious with small bits of comedic commentary). Beyond the Reach of God is a speech that normally makes me feel-serious-things, but all the things before it felt… approximately as serious, so it didn’t stand out.
The key issues for me were:
I really wanted to be able to sing along with stuff. For me 80% of the point of Solstice is being able to sing together. Different people have different takes on what good songs sound like and I’m not that particular about which ones we pick as long as someone choose them with some kind of aesthetic eye for tribal sacredness. I think the darkness section feels a lot more impactful if we’ve come from a section where people are jubilantly singing together.
In particular, I think a magical thing happens when you have several communal songs in a row (maybe with 30-second stories in between) that doesn’t remotely happen when you’re alternating “long speech” + song. It lets people open up and feel more comfortable singing. It creates a feeling of “these are my people.”
I think there is something valuable to having the lights go from “fully on” to “half on” to “only the stage is lit” to “everything is in darkness.” (and back). This can be logistically tricky depending on what kind of building you have, but is pretty important.
Having intermission is fine, but having it in the middle of the dark, sacred section is fairly mood-killing. I liked the Tarot-mini-game, but I’d prefer it at a time when we’ve hit a natural stopping point. Goddess of Everything Else should be the culmination of a section, not the first speech that draws people back in.
I think, ideally, there is some kind of moment in the middle, when the lights go out, that actually draws us together and feels like true ritual. I have also reliably failed to really create that moment in the past few NYC Solstices. I think it’s one of the most important things to get right somehow, but it’s a hard problem and I personally do not yet know what to do with it.
With minor nitpicks being:
I think the “I want to become stronger” concept fits well into the center speech slot, but the Tsuyoku Naritai speech in particular doesn’t have the kind of sacred tone I want there—it’s more whimsical and funny. If you want this particular speech, I think it should be earlier in the evening, and I suspect the better call is to write a speech more custom-tailored for the event.
Hymn Acxiom was beautiful but didn’t especially fit the rest of the event.
I’m not sure the event mentioned Winter even once. This isn’t obviously wrong, but seemed a bit noteworthy.
Regrettably, the lighting in Anna Head Alumnae Hall is kind of shit. (The lights on stage are “some flickering half-burnt-out CFLs with faders”, and “two giant floodlights, one burned out, which can only be full-on or full-off and take several seconds to warm up.” To add insult to injury, the main entrance hallway with the bathrooms had no working lights, which was why we had the entrance elsewhere.) I believe that due to the various deficiencies of this venue, it’s nearly certain not to be used next year, though.
It’s called “Bold Orion.” (I found it in your Giant Epic Rationalist Solstice Filk spreadsheet.)
I think Bold Orion was supposed to be the “winter-themed” song for the evening. But it’s subtle and doesn’t explicitly use the word “winter.” edit: no wait, “Old Man Winter” is in the lyrics once. But just once.