Sally Port Mess - Stack Arms

First Person 101
Jeremy Bevard

First person can seem scary to new reenactors and seasoned veterans alike. It is one area that all of us can always improve on. It is often difficult to stay in first person especially at local events. However, the more we can achieve this the better we can make any event we attend for ourselves. First person is the key to those sought after immersion, period or magic moments. These moments will bring you closer the real thing then any battle. So let’s look at some first person basics.
First, the easiest first person is just being in the moment. In other words do what they did. If you are concentrating on drill then you are in first person. While that is a great jumping off point we must have first person conversations and participate in them in order to improve the skill.
We should not be afraid to start or jump into a period conversation. A good way to get started is to start with small agreeable answers and then begin to work in the details as to why you have that opinion. Second, keep in mind that fake accents sound just that, fake. We also need to be mindful that we are not sounding over dramatic or to poetic. We want first person to sound natural and real. Not like overacting soap operas.
Next, we need to start eliminating modern words and slang in our conversations with period ones. Just like today, be careful not to over use period slang. Putting in an appropriate word at the right time can and add lots of period flavor to the interaction. Read as many letters home or journals as you can to pick up on the slang and its use. Some suggestions are (just remember not to get carried away): bully (great), comrade (friend), do tell, on the square (honest), likeness (picture), lucifer (match), skedaddle (run off), coffee coolers (useless soldiers), and many others that could fill another article.
Period profanity can also add to the experience but much like slang it should be used in moderation. Profanity was not something done by a gentleman of course we are portraying soldiers. Some period profanity could include damn, son of a bitch, shit ass, suck my ass, half-asses, bastard, go to hell and son of a whore. If and when profanity is used keep in mind your social status and where you are. Having a first person persona can help with that.
Developing a first person persona can also help you get into the moment and carry a conversation. Think about who your 19th century self is or would be. Ask yourself questions like: What is your occupation? What is your father’s occupation? If you have siblings what are their names? What is your religion? What are your political views? What is your wife/girlfriends name? There are many more questions and details you can develop but those are a great way to get started.
Of course, you can develop the best first person persona ever created but if there is nobody to converse with, it will not go far. So, how can a group further develop first person at events? They need to stay more dedicated to it. The members need to share their first person personas with each other so they can draw off of these for conversations.
A great way to start talking is to take your modern day life events and turn them into period conversations. For example, a sisters birthday, father starting a new job, or the family car broke down so it changes to you got word that the family horse is ill at home.
Comrades that work together and develop good first person should also encourage others to join in through their example. We may find that others are craving good first person interaction but didn’t know where to go. These individuals may very well gravitate towards those doing it. A big challenge is when others gravitate to the area but only disrupt the first person interactions. The group needs to do its best to get around the disruption and keep forging ahead. Eventually, the distracting person will get the hint and move on or join in, which might just be in quiet listening. There can be other uncontrollable moment breakers such as, an airplane over head or a truck starting up. It is always best to ignore these uncontrollable distractions and just keep going. Making a joke only breaks the moment completely.
Any good group needs to start, encourage and participate in period activities to truly experience and keep first person alive. There are many rewards to this behavior and no draw backs. First person activities will help keep everyone’s mind and body focused on staying in character. Many of these activities cost little in supplies and require low to moderate skills. Some examples are: playing cards, reading a letter, testament or book, read aloud to each other, write a letter, write in a journal, maintain equipment, cooking rations, shaving, carve something (while period correct stay away from bullets since their sighting could cause a major problem at most events). Best of all these activates will foster period conversations with your comrades. They will also create memories to talk about and discuss in future first person conversations.
Many of the best period or magic moments involve these simple things. Writing a letter home, reading a newspaper aloud and discussing it, listening to a comrade read a book and many others help create that right atmosphere at any event. By working to create more of these magic moments together we will enrich our reenactment experiences.

References:
The Columbia Rifles Research Compendium 2nd Edition

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