Catching Up

Apologies to you, Gentle Reader. I haven't been keeping up with this effort the way I promised, and will attempt to make amends.

At least I have a valid excuse. Not all of my hobbies are related to theatre. My dear Mrs. Porter, for the better part of the last couple of decades, has been the Vendor Coordinator and Hotel Liaison for PantheaCon; one of the largest gatherings of those espousing alternative, Earth-based religions in the country. I serve as her second, and I assist her in many of the preparations for the event. I've been heavily preoccupied with that. From the Thursday before Presidents' Day weekend, until the Tuesday after it, we are holed-up in the Doubletree Hotel in San Jose with 2000 pagans, wiccans, and heathens of every description. The rigors of herding that many free-spirited cats can be pretty exhausting.

The Con went off very well, and despite a few hitches, of which most attendees were not aware, and some politics involving gender issues in the community, a splendid time was had by all but the whiniest people, who are most likely incapable of being satisfied with anything.

Load-out at PantheaCon

But with that behind me, I now turn my attention to the coming faire season. Last weekend I attended a meeting with a few St. George principals and the entertainment heads of Renaissance Productions, for whom we perform at several events. We worked out ideas for some overall themes for the shows, and how better to communicate those to the entire cast. We also discussed ways to help educate our fellow performance troupes in the art of interactive theatre, and how to encourage them to participate more fully in creating the immersive historical environment.

All in all it was a positive and productive experience, and the rapport that was developed there bodes well for an exciting and fulfilling season ahead.