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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.

Visit the Resources page of the Northern Chapter of The Guild of St. George, Inc.

Astound your friends with your sudden eloquence on a variety of 16th century subject matter!

And so it begins

The 2012 faire season is upon us. The Guild of St. George, Inc., Northern Chapter, has just had its first rehearsal meeting and season kickoff party in Concord. I'm happy to say it was extraordinarily well-attended, and that I detect a great deal of enthusiasm among the ranks.

Last season was extremely busy. We were in such high demand, and had so many performances, in addition to all of our bi-monthly rehearsals, that we pretty much exhausted our people's spare time and energy. I was continually frustrated that our rehearsals were generally not as well-attended as I would like, and so were some of the performances.

Therefore, in order to inflict less of a burden on the cast, this year we decided not to book any performances until Valhalla Faire in South Lake Tahoe in early June, and have only a few "brush-up" rehearsals between then and Folsom at the end of the season. We have "front-loaded" the majority of our meetings, holding them in the months prior to our performances so that we will be a well-prepared ensemble. However, we are enforcing our rehearsal minimum, and have instituted a "gate list fee" for people who have not met their minimum requirements.

We've also become serious about collecting guild dues, not only because we need the ready cash on hand, but because we believe that people might take the whole thing more seriously if they had a little buy-in.

It is our hope that these measures will increase attendance at both rehearsals, and performances.

You may notice that I use somewhat "theatrical" language when I refer to the group's activities. This is intentional. Many people in the faire culture forget what a Renaissance Faire is: an elaborate theatrical performance, an interactive play, an immersive environment. For many, it is something else: a chance to be with their adopted families, to let their hair down, to participate in what they see as an exciting counter-culture, to trawl for potential romantic partners, to show-off their costuming prowess.

It is all of those things and more, but they are all the happy by-products of our primary mission, which is to transport our audience to another place and time. Therefore, I avoid "faire-lingo" in favor of the language of the stage. We wear "costumes" rather than "garb", we are "onstage" or "backstage", we have "characters" rather than "personas", we have an "audience" rather than "patrons" or "guests". I think of the Guild as a "troupe" or "company", rather than a "guild", and we "rehearse" rather than "meet". The difference may seem trivial, but I think it keeps in people's minds what our intent is, or ought to be.

Because we are, after all, a theatrical production, attendance by the entire cast at rehearsals is vital. Your ordinary, volunteer-based community theatre production, which plays maybe five performances usually rehearses for two or three months prior, often two or three times a week. Failure to attend is virtually unthinkable, as everyone needs to know their lines, blocking, cues, reactions, and be comfortable working with their fellow cast members.

Yet in the faire world, where some pretty hard-acquired theatrical skills are required to put on a decent show, the amount of training and rehearsal that actors get is pretty minimal, and sadly, it shows. That's why our troupe is one that makes a difference.

Please allow me to introduce myself - Part the first

I started performing at the original Renaissance Pleasure Faire as a young teenager in 1979. I had already been involved in theatre even at that young age, but tagging along with my older brother to portray a member of Elizabeth I's court in an immersive, interactive environment was a revelation to me.

The group, which later became known as The Guild of St. George, was dedicated to a faithful representation of the lifestyles of the rich and famous, and sought through its performance to educate the public about the fascinating world and people of the court.

Our cast members met twice a week in Berkeley for a few months prior to the event. Those meetings would consist of educational lectures about aspects of life in the period, and intensive theatrical training sessions wherein we discussed and explored the backgrounds of our characters and their relationships to one another, and how the complexities of politics, precedence, and patronage figured into them. We'd be trained and drilled thoroughly in the the techniques of improvisation and interactive theatre, and how to bring our knowledge and research into our interactions with one another and our guests.

I was utterly hooked. I was already equipped with many of the skills required, as I didn't see it as much different from playing "make-believe" with my siblings on a summer afternoon, when we'd adopt characters, define our environment, and improvise our adventures. This merely took it a step farther to having an audience. Not one passively seated "out there" beyond the light and proscenium, but up-close and personal. It was a real challenge, especially as you never knew how they'd react, and their reactions determined yours.

Then there was the pleasure of creating the magic that was the Queen's progress. Each day, Her Majesty was brought forth to greet her people in a parade, with great pomp and circumstance, and in a scripted stage performance wherein the local people greeted and entertained her. She'd meet Francis Drake, a perturbed Spanish Ambassador, witness morris dancing and a rustic masque, a courtly dance, and top it all off with a message of love for her people. It was the climax of the day for much of our audience, and being part of binding them with the spell was truly exhilarating (if bloody strenuous in the California sun). This would be followed by a few small appearances where she'd witness some country pastimes, and spend some time with her courtiers.

I then joined the cast of the Great Dickens Christmas Fair and Pickwick Comic Annual in San Francisco (again, tagging along). It was more of the same dynamic, immersive environment, with the added twist of creating a sort of exaggerated view of Dickens London at holiday time. It was the same challenge, but somehow more intense, as the atmosphere was much closer and busier. WIthin a couple of years I was portraying Nicholas Nickleby.

I began to perform at the Southern California Renaissance Pleasure Faire as well, and or a very long time, much of my life revolved around the performing in the South in the Spring and in the North in the Fall. After my apprenticeship playing servant characters, I was offered a role as Lord Burghley's son, Robert, which I portrayed for over a decade, until I went onto a hiatus in the late 90's due to a kind of burnout, and a feeling that I was being callously exploited by the new owners of the faire.

As a gentleman to the Earl of Derby
Left to right: Maggie Secara, Rydell Downward, Unnamed, Bruce Roberts, Gail Calicott, Dante Field