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?

www.crackaf&%#$!book.com

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.