The Renaissance Faire Guild

The Old World guilds were the trade unions of their time. Each guild presided over the training, membership and regulation of its trade. To make a living in any trade, it was necessary to be apprenticed to a master in that trade for a number of years, become a journeyman and eventually a master. Each guild was small community of peers who (fiercely) looked out for the interests of the trade and for the well-being of the members. 

The concept of the Renaissance Faire guild was formed at the original Renaissance Pleasure Faire in the late 1970s as a means of organizing and training 1000-plus costumed participants in categories based on their character classes and professions, led by directors who became known as "Guildmasters". The system was based loosely on the old world system and the guilds were usually named after a patron saint (real or comical) related to its theme or profession. The guilds were not meant to be an onstage conceit, but simply a way to conveniently organize performers.

In many cases, these guilds were alloted areas within the faire to arrange a themed environment as a matrix for their performances and a home base for their performers. They're often referred to as "environmental areas", "guild sites", "encampments" or "guild yards".

As time went on, some of these groups became independent entities which performed at the many other small faires which appeared in emulation of the original. Producers found that it was convenient to hire these independent guilds as a way to populate the streets of their events without going to the trouble of organizing and training a cast of their own. The producers could rely on these guilds to be well-educated and well-trained in their tasks, and they usually came with their own equipment and settings to furnish their own guild yards, which contributed to the overall look and feel of the faire.

The duty of the guilds is to guarantee that

• Members are well educated about the history and sociology of the time.

• Members portray characters appropriate to the time and place.

• Members' costumes adhere to the official guidelines.

• Members are trained in theatrical techniques applicable to an improvisational interactive environment.

Each guild should consider carefully the following questions:

What does the group represent? What aspect of life or segment of the population in Elizabethan England does it portray? How is that demonstrated to the audience?

If the group has an environmental area, what does it represent? Is it a place of business? Is it a camp site? If it's a camp site, why are the members of the group camped at a faire on the town common instead of sleeping at home or at a local inn? How is that demonstrated to an audience?

Does the group actually represent a trade guild ie: mercers, smiths, etc.? How is that expressed to the audience?

If the group represents non-English people, what brings them to this particular place, this faire in the heart of England?

How does the guild interact with the public? What will the guild attempt to teach the public through its interactions with them?

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So much to learn, so much to know. However will I stuff it all into my cranium?

Relax. Some people have already sifted through stacks of books for you, and have distilled from them bite-sized, easy to digest nuggets of knowledge for you to nibble on.

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2012 Renaissance Symposium

This coming weekend, May 5th and 6th, Renaissance Productions (Valhalla, San Jose, Ardenwood, Folsom Faires) is presenting the 2012 Renaissance Symposium at Folsom City Lions Park in Folsom.

Your truly and Mrs. Porter will be teaching two separate classes:

Improvisation for the Interactive Environment
Part lecture, part activity. This class covers the principles of improvisational theatre, adapted for the interactive, historically-based faire environment. Concentration on establishing a premise, supporting and building on it, listening, timing, staging, and involving the audience.

Characterization: Building a character for an interactive environment
The class will explore ways to make simple, clear choices about our characters that communicate easily and instantly to our audience. We’ll concentrate on how we look, what we do, and what we say, and how they all reveal our character’s basic drives.

Why in a park this year? In these rather challenging economic times, it has proven difficult to find event venues that are affordable for many faire participants, so this time is has been scaled down from a more convention-like event, to a couple of days in a shady and familiar park (where Folsom faire is held). It's extremely affordable (twenty bucks!) and offers everyone a chance to meet and hobnob with their fellow performers outside the bustle of a faire performance.

Hope so see all RenProd participants there!

Easy Street

I have just finished reading Ann Elizabeth Shapera's "Easy Street: A Guide for Players in Improvised Interactive Environmental Performance, Walkaround Entertainment, and First-Person Historical Interpretation" Some of you may know Ms. Shapera by another identity; Jane the Phoole of the Renaissance Faire in Bristol. You ought to know her - she's extraordinarily famous.

I had been watching and admiring her work from afar, and was excited to find that she'd come up with a "how-to" work of her own. It did not disappoint.

It's written in a breezy, humorous style, and what can sometimes be rather heavy concepts are approached with a light touch, calculated not to intimidate those who are new to the activity. The advice is practical, and the knowledge was gained not through intensive training in the theatre, but through experience on the ground, face to face with fairegoers.

My favorite work on the subject of interactive characterization and performance, Gary Izzo's "The Art of Play", has long been out of print, and usually goes for well over $100.00 used. Shapera's book covers some of the same material in her characterization chapters, but distills and simplifies it considerably. In this, it has an advantage over the former work.

While no one book will have all the anwsers, or answers that work for every actor, I highly recommend it to anybody and everybody involved in interactive theatre, each of whom will come away with something valuable that they may use in their performances.