The Adequate Blog

1. Yet Another Guy With a Dumbeck
2. The Woad Warrior
3. Here Are Her Breasts, The Lady Will Be Along Shortly
4. 13 Year Old Girl Going on 40
5. 13 Year Old Guy Trying to Look A Hip, Suave 25
6. The Guy Who Looks Like Jack Sparrow
7. The Guy Who Thinks He Looks Like Jack Sparrow
8. Person With An Anatomically Inappropriate Vegetable
9. Girl With An Object Jammed Down Her Cleavage
10. The Man With One Joke (see 8, 9)
11. Pointing Hawker
    (note: NOT the Original Pointing Hawker from Black Point. You know who you are and you are a wonderful human being)
12. Hawker Pointing at Pointing Hawker
13. Poorly Supervised Participant Children Trying To Sell You A Rock / Hawk to Participants / Take Over Your Show
14. The Man With the Six Foot Drinking Horn
15. The Man With the Ludicrous Codpiece
16. The Leather Breechcloth and his lady, Chainmailbikinigirl
17. Naked Enough As To Make No Difference
18. Drunk at 9am (possibly just Not Sober From Last Night)
19. Another Person Playing The Bones, Poorly
20. The Dreaded Ocarina (partner of 19)
21. The Mad Hugger!
22. The Very Clever Non-Renaissance Costume
23. Another Beggar in Burlap
24. Their Own Private Pagan Festival
25. It’s Also Their Burning Man Outfit!
26. Loudly Declaring Anyone Doing Anything Unusual Is A Witch!
27. … actually IS a witch, thankyouverymuch!
28. Seven Foot Long Sword, No Idea How To Handle It
29. Bells. Everywhere. On Everything.
30. Surly Goth Teen Brought Here by Parents
31. Perky Goth Teen Having Time of her Life!
32. Bewildered, Overwhelmed Child Here For the First Time
    (Be nice to this one - this is where new Rennies come from!)
33. $20 costume, $400 boots
    (Guilty as charged in 1994, mate!)
34. Gandalf, accompanied by Dumbledore and / or Merlin
35. Tall man. Boots. Beard. Hat. Big Tankard.

A few more questions rolled in, so hey - I’ll answer ‘em in the coming weeks!

How important is it to have “historical” magic tricks when performing at a Faire?

The California RenFaires (where I got my start) liked to put the hypen in anal-retentive. If something was not “period” (that is, historically within the time frame we’re trying to present) it wasn’t appropriate.

These days, I’m more concerned with the apparatus I use being “period-neutral” - nothing that’s blatantly modern*, but it doesn’t have to be from an engraving from the 1500’s.

 ”Period-neutral” effects use things people had back then - rope, cloth, chain and the like. I feel like I can get away with some stuff (like the Crystals of Mystery) because at least initially they look like something they aren’t - crystals.**

 This isn’t to say that some of the mechanisms I might use in a trick aren’t modern in nature - I’m a magician, and magicians cheat - always remember that!

Got a question? Email me or leave a comment and I’ll put it in my “To answer” hopper!

* The exceptions to this have been my boxes and bags OF MYSTERY and the tables or stands I’ve used to hold ‘em up. I’ll be honest, there have been many times when weight and ease of packing took precedence over being period-neutral. This will be changing once I get the new costumery in place. Mwah hah  hah. 

 ** Then I bounce one off the floor and everyone laughs 

It only seems fair(e) that I bust out an advice column followup for “Advice to the Patron” aimed at the folks the patrons come to see - that’s right - us wackos in funny clothing. Huzzah!

Eat Drink and Be Healthy

• Someone once asked me what performing at Faire was like. Here’s what I told them:

  Imagine running at top speed and shouting at the top of your lungs for 10 hours a day.  Now imagine doing that in a big open yet confined area surrounded by a thousand other people running at top speed and shouting at the top of your lungs for 10 hours a day. This is what Faire can be like.

• If you’re intending to run the Burlap Marathon, do yourself a favor - eat three meals a day - real meals involving protein, carbohydrates, and some form of vegetable matter - and drink far more water than you think you need.  One of the oldest maxims at Faire runs…

  If you’re not going to the privvy* every hour, you aren’t drinking enough water.

  While it’s a little earthy in tone, it’s true. Water keeps you upright and helps you filter out all the unnecessary stuff your body generates while it’s turning food into energy. So drink water. You have a tankard on your belt - use it!

• … and yes, OM, being healthy involves bathing - if you’re staying on site and they have showers, use them. At the very least, a box of baby wipes and some concerted effort will result in you going to sleep cleaner than you were all day, and starting the day feeling a lot more human tomorrow.

Be Kind to the Patrons

• While participating at Faire is in many ways a big grown-up dress-up camp, we need to remember that there is one group of people who pay for all this fun and frivolity - that’s the Patrons. Without them, we’re just running around shouting at each other.
• Learn to read the crowd
  Some people are ready to “play” the moment they come in through the gates, others take more coaxing, and others are just here because their friends / relatives / crazy SO brought them. Learn to read body language and facial expressions and gear your interactions to fit - you can be broader and bigger with “ready to play” folks, but be able to be more down to earth and gentle to the timid, cranky, or overwhelmed. Most folks aren’t used to having so many people all trying to get their attention at once - at least not without a remote control in hand.

Be a good Faire Citizen

• It is better to give than to receive (pays off more, too!)
  In theatre, there are two terms for directing attention of an audience - “giving focus” and “taking focus”.

  All that running around, shouting and waving your arms, that’s “taking focus”.

  “Giving focus” is a more subtle art - it’s the act of paying attention to something or someone else, and directing the attention of the audience toward what you’re looking at. This can be as simple as stopping and looking at what you want them to look at, or for those students of Stanislavsky it can be an entire one act play based around your reaction to what’s being said and done.

  I think you’ll find that if you learn to “give focus”, the next time you’re having some big brilliant bit of street theatre, your fellow participants will be more inclined to “give focus” to you.

• Observe Boundaries
  This walks hand in hand with “giving focus”. While we’re all brilliant improvisators and we want to share are amazing skills with the world, we need to be careful not to “step on” someone else’s bit if we can at all help it.

  The easiest way to do that is to observe some “boundaries” around bits you encounter as you’re wandering about :

  - A yard or so to either side of a street performer (singer, musician, dancers etc)
  - Three yards out from a stage with an audience area

  Observing these boundaries means you won’t be out-louding someone who’s already in the throes of a show. Yes, this may mean that you have to hold off on your Incredibly Creative Bit of Improvisation. Don’t worry, the Faire day is long. You’ll get your chance.
  

It’s not about “you” and it’s not about “me”, it’s about “us”.

• Thou Shalt Not Kvetch So Much
  Everyone at Faire wants to shine - vendors want to vend, performers want to perform, and the management wants the show to run without any dramatic complications.

  The end result of this mix is that little compromises get made millions of times, from a personal one to one level all the way up to the sudden rescheduling of a major stage event.

  If something doesn’t go your way, take a step back before you open the floodgates of Lake Kvetchican. I’ll bet you’ll find there are other things happening here besides the Forces of Evil foiling your plans.

• Build When You Can, Support When You Can
  Since, ultimately, you are the one responsible for your Faire experience, look for ways to improve your situation in little ways. If someone asks about a show that isn’t the one you are in, even if it’s on at the same time, tell them where it is (and then tell them when your next show is, even if it’s next week!). Speak well of your fellows to customers - they don’t need to know the dark, dirty politics that may lurk behind the burlap curtain**

• Add to the Legend Every Year
  Try to do one thing every year to add to the wealth of “You had to be there, it was great” stories people have about Faire. I know you can. If you didn’t love the place, you wouldn’t be there, right?

Whew.  I hope this all came out the right way. If you have more suggestions, thoughts, comments, brickbats, etc - let me know! I *do* read the comments here and try to reply to most of em!
* privvies - RenFaire talk for the public bathrooms, portajohns and the like

** In fact, if you don’t talk about the politics often enough… the politics stop affecting you. Strange yet true. I speak from experience.

It’s really interesting seeing what ads get posted on my blog based on the content I yammer about in here…

Ok, on to today’s topic:  If you’re reading this, you’re either (a) a Rennie, (b) a Magic Fan, (c) a Tobias Fan*, or (d) someone who’s harangued by my endless Twitter updates. In any case, the odds are that if you read all of the other stuff I’ve written, you might be thinking about visiting one of the hundreds of Renaissance Faires spread out over the US**.

If you’ve never been to a Renaissance Faire, here’s some helpful recommendations from a Patron-turned-Performer. I’ve made all the mistakes for you!

The  one big overriding guideline is this:

Going to a Renaissance Faire is an excursion into another country. Plan and behave accordingly.

Plan to walk a lot.

 This is an expedition not unlike going to a big outdoor theme park, only with less paving and a lot less air conditioning.

• Wear comfortable shoes
• Wear (or at least bring) a hat to shade your head
• Wear loose, comfortable clothing if you’re coming in “Civilian” gear.
  If you’re coming in costume, don’t dress all in velvet  when it’s the hottest day of  the year. That’s OUR job!

Pack lightly, but wisely.

 As with any all day trip, you should bring the things you might need to help make the day tolerable and any mishaps… survivable

• Easy to carry snack foods
  Walking burns calories! Hauling purchases burns calories! Carousing burns… you get the idea. Don’t forget to eat!
• Tote bags if you plan on shopping
  You know all those neat eco-friendly bags you’ve been bringing your groceries home in? Yeah, fold up a couple of those and bring ‘em with. You’ll thank me at the end of the day after you’ve pillaged and plundered.
• Water or at LEAST a water bottle
  Some faires do have drinking fountains, and all faires will happily sell you bottles of water at a price that the market will bear. If your Faire has fountains, bring a bottle so you can tote water around with you. We bring our own drinking vessels, so you can too!
• Sunscreen, bug spray, allergy meds, wet wipes, spare toilet tissue…
  Whatever you think you might suddenly need A Whole Lot. I can tell you that wet wipes are a godsend on a hot, dusty day.

Get the lay of the land and plan.

•  Get a map and a schedule!
  If none are available, expect to spend the first hour or so sorting out what’s where and what you want to do with the rest of the day. This is as good a reason as any to get in early
• Try to make at least one lap of the venue before you start buying things!
  You may find a less expensive or more desirable version of that thing you saw right at the front gate a bit farther down the road - and you may not want to haul that big ol’ two handed sword for the next six hours… really.

Support your local showoffs.

 Renaissance Faires are unique in that they are a theatrical environment which contains… more theatrical environments! Most faires have one or more stages upon which actual shows are performed. Most of these performers travel a lot and do whatever they can to entertain. I speak from experience here.

Support with Donations if you can, Compliments and Word of Mouth if you can’t

• If a show is “passing the hat”, this is done as a way to augment the performer’s stipend from the Faire itself.  If you can afford to do so, dropping a bill or two in the performer’s hat is a great way to show you liked what he did.
  
• If you can’t afford to tip, there are other ways to show your support. Do come up and let the perfomer know you enjoyed the show. If the venue has an “exit survey”, mention the shows  you liked, talk them up to your friends, on message boards, blogs, Twitter… we can benefit from this social networking thing too! 
• Be Responsive! There will be lots of opportunities for patrons to whoop it up during the proceedings - we call these “applause cues” or “desperate pleas for approval”. Please do join in! It lets the performers know that you like what’s going on and lets the Management know the performer’s doing a good job!

Be a Good Visitor

•  Come to play with, not against.
  You’re stepping “back in time” when you enter a RenFaire (with varying degrees of historicalness) so feel free to play the visitor from a far off land.  But don’t try to catch the participants out by talking about modern stuff and trying to force them to drop character. Also: No one at a Renaissance Faire is a squeezy toy - and that goes for participants molesting customers, too! Look, flirt, laugh, tease, but be respectful
• Take pictures, take stories, take souvenirs
  Most faire programs make great souvenirs of the event and time - you can even talk performers and participants into signing them! Can you imagine having “Sir Walter Raleigh”’s autograph? Well, why not?
• Tell your friends!
  

And finally, have as much fun as you possibly can!  At the end of the Faire day, us weirdo performers want to see happy if tired people trooping out of the gates, talking about all the neat things they saw and heard and did in our humble village.

 Anyone have additional advice? Please do coment - that’s how I know I’m not working in a vaccum!

* … which would make you (a) and (b)

** Preferably one where you might see, oh, Tobias the Adequate

Wandering through Tribe.net recently, which is where the majority of “acquaintances” I have at faires are (as opposed to ‘friends’ - and you know who you are), I see a number of photo sets various people have taken at various faires and I noticed that, much to my ego’s dismay, I ain’t in many.

• Not a lot of standing around with burning stuff in their hands
• Rarely do we eat fire
• I move around stage far too much for the average photographer to capture an “action shot” (much kudos to the brave Trol who caught me in mid-flail back at Dickens those years ago)
• I am neither handsome enough nor grotesque / eccentric looking enough to serve as an interesting photo subject to the casual photographer. The second part of this surprises me
• The majority of ’set moments’ in my show involve people reacting to me. Granted, I twist and contort myself about in amusing ways, but most of the ‘magic’ moments either happen far too fast, or are far too non-showy to make for a good photo op.
• The majority of my “acquaintances” (ie: casual ‘hey I know you!’) at faire already have an enormous ‘to-do’ list of friends to take pictures of.

… and finally:

* Dang jugglers get all the photos, cash and wimmen

However… I did discover that thanks to some of my “Repeat Offender” fans I do have some pictures floating around on Flickr  (it’s amazing what doing a Flickr search can do for one’s ego), as well as nifty pictures from a few other sources…

And when I get the new costume pieces done, there will be pictures.. oh yes …

A few posts back I mentioned what goes into deciding what goes into my act, and threatened to talk about what my act actually is… well, this would be that post.

The Act as it stands is geared to run from 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the time I have on stage, crowd response, and the timing of the act before me .  The overall show retains the same framework from performance to performance.

Here’s the outline of the show as it stands:

1. The “Epic Audience Enthusiasm Generating Exercise “(or EAEGE).  The first five minutes of the act are geared toward getting the crowd’s attention and getting them to make noise.It sets the tone for the rest of the show - Telling the crowd that it’s all “a great big scam” lets them in on the scam, and puts me and the audience on the same side - especially when I stop in the middle of the Dramatic Sword Swallowing Bit to demand they clap louder.  I’ve had people pass beverage through their nose at that point. It’s a beautiful thing
2. The Linking Rings Gag - best seen as part of the Demo Reel (which I really need to update. Fear not, once I get my new wardrobe in place that’ll happen.) This was inspired by the “Two Rude Fools” act in which they ask if they’ve done (insert obscure juggling thing here) and when told they haven’t… decide they won’t anyway.  Charlie Brown , a juggling god I might add, refers to this as “Do it again” because it prompts the audience to actually see what they’re being denied. In my case, it’s an excuse to throw things around a bit - no one expects a magician to mistreat his props as much as I do. 
3. The Mongolian Pop Knot - This is 8 minutes of stuff with rope, inspired by (and lifted from) Whit Haydn’s routine by that name.  I started with his routine and then found myself making changes to suit the environment I perform in - rope goes flying off into the audience, mistakes get made (and then recovered from). This is the “meat” of my show right now and it also happens during the peak time for “audience drift in”.
   
4. The Big Stupid Dangerous Finale - Eight feet of chain, one padlock, one moron with no sense of self-preservation. Jeff McBride’s seminar reaffirmed that I need to start big and end big - and something as blatantly dangerous as wrapping a locked loop of chain around your neck and then yanking real hard is about as dangerous as I can go without involving fire or power tools. This is adapted from Teknai’s “Decapitation” trick as found in the Abbot’s Encyclopedia of Rope Tricks for Magicians (a great and inexpensive book I might add).
   As an aside - Initially I did this trick with rope and … didn’t do it real well. I sustained second degree rope burns on the back of my neck!  Doing it with chain makes it bigger, louder, and safer, suprisingly.
   

That’s the act as such. Now, there are plenty of bits that I can roll in or out, most of which are two or three minute spots.

• More rope schitck - There are a number of “dissolving” or “disappearing” knots which I can use to explain how many terms sailors have for rope. This, along with a rope that changes color from white to black makes about 3 minutes of actual Historical Content for the show.
• “Art or Pain” - More of an intro than an actual bit, I give the audience the choice of seeing a demonstration of sleight of hand using a giant silk handkerchief or option two: eight feet of chain, puts me in considerable discomfort, and if I do it wrong it could snap my neck like a freaking twig. In short, Art or Pain.
  There’s something very satisfying about having 100+ people shout PAIN!!! all at once.  So far, “Art” has never won this match.  And yes, I do in fact have about five minutes of “Art” as a finale.
• Audience Orientation - This is a bit I’ve been working on for a while, still sorting out the punchline at the end. The esteemed Jeff McBride gave me some suggestions which I’m playing with (you can see one suggestion at the end of the clip) and I’m working on rebuilding the prop to make it, well.. you’ll see, eventually.

In case you’re wondering, I do have a “script”… sort of. I look at it more like the “lazzi” used by Commedia Del’Arte troupes - there’s a framework, and some stock lines, and everything else rolls out depending on how people respond.

And of course, I’ll yammer more about this in future entries.

By the way, how do y’all like my more link-embedded entries? Good? Bad? Indifferent? You know this blog can’t exist in a vacuum. Let me know!

It’s traditional for bloggers to write some kind of Christmas post, so I’m told… so this one will be about where that picture that adorns the top of my humble, recently-renovated blog comes from…

For many years I took part in the Dickens Christmas Faire out in South San Francisco - this is a marvelous event in which several exhibit bays at the Cow Palace are turned into a chunk of Victorian London, complete with buildings, “snow” (actually sawdust) in the streets, and hundreds of “Victorians” in period clothing going about their business. In the midst of all this are also Faeries, several of Charles Dickens’s books being played out “live”, multiple stages, dancing, music, Father Christmas, alchohol, and lots and lots of shopping.

I had been doing my show at Dickens for two years - the costume I had at that point had come from the Gentleman’s Emporium - a somewhat worn coat with velvet trim on the collar, the astonishing green top hat - I added a shiny vest and my wife donated one of her scarves.  I have, and continue to have, a series of ‘crystals of mystery’ to fiddle with (I’ll talk about those more later) and part of my pre-show hawking here consisted of me wandering about doing finger exercises with the faceted beauty, rolling it about my fingers, making it vanish, bringing it back, polishing it with a handkerchief and the like.

Now, some RenFaire afficionados may be familiar with Bevan tha Trol. Not only is is the creator of an astonishingly compelling “gig”, but he is also a very, very, very good photographer. The last year I performed at Dickens Fair, he was acting as the “official photographer” for some of the staff. 

Magicians are not, I have found, the most popular subject for photographers at faires. There’s reasons for that and I’ll babble about that in an upcoming post as well. However, I managed to talk him into taking one picture of me out in the “Nice” part of London near Fezziwig’s warehouse (yes that Fezziwig).

For the record, he was standing on a bench above me. The perspective on this picture has led some people to speculate that I am very short. Heh.

For several years, Christmas meant Dickens Fair. And while I don’t get to go out there and perform much these days due to air fare and such, I still have a warm place in my heart for the venue.

As they say in Charles Dickens’s London, Happy Christmas!

You may notice there are a few things different about the old AdequateBlog today - not the least of which is a suspicious-looking guy eyeballing you from the title banner. Yep. That’s me.

I’m messing about with a new template - “Anubis” - which lets me move some things around and hopefully make finding what you want to find (and reading this thingamammer) a little less obnoxious.

I’d like to welcome my one (1) FeedBurner subscriber so far - HI THERE! -  and hope he tells his friends and acquaintances (and enemies - hey I’m not choosy) so that I can yammer to an evergrowing number of people. You can click the little “Subscribe in a reader” thingy to the right to do what RSS reader thingies do…

You’ll also notice an Eventful.com banner thingamammer over -> thataway as well. It’s a neat way for performers and fans to synch up. Be warned that it does ask you for some information if you want to make your demand to see me known. What the hey, it’s social marketing or something, right? 

Memo to self: install event calendar on blog page.

I’m in the process of sending out lots and lots of applications to various events, fairs, festivals and potential places-I-can-do-my-show this week. It’s a good time to do it seeing as how two feet of snow has restricted my movements somewhat.

I have a set number of gigs which are nigh-confirmed, and a bunch more which are “waiting to see if they’ll confirm”. A new venue has replied to one of my emails, and now we begin the delicate dance of negotiation by which we both attempt to find a balance between what I ask for as a professional and what they can afford.

But that’s a blog post for another day…

 A magician is  actor playing the part of a magician.

A conjuror is an actor playing the part of a sorceror.
- Two translations of the same sentence by Robert-Houdin

Clothes make the man
- Anonymous

My show is theatrical. By that I  mean I perform, for want of a better word, in costume. I’m not one of those “Street Magic” types that just walks around wearing what everyone else wears and doing my thing.  For one thing, it wouldn’t work in the events I perform at (street clothes at a Renaissance Faire? Um, no.) and for another thing, I don’t want to look “normal” while I’m performing.

I lovingly refer to the costumery I don when I go out to do my show the “idiot suit”, a reference to my favorite hawking line of all time, and the fact that when I’m dressed to perform, I look at least a little outlandish.

For the past five years or so, my usual outfit for Renaissance Faires looks like this:

That multicolored wonder is known as the Doublet of Doom. There are pants that go with it (so to speak) which I call the Trews of Terror. That may lead to another blog post later…

While my outfit for Modern / anything historical past the 17th Century looks a bit like this:

All this is changing, though.  The next few months are going to see yours truly embark on a project to custom make new “character” pieces - specially made shirts and pants and outer wear (coats) for performing in. And then, doing Clever Things to these garments in order to facilitate more magic happening when I’m wearing them.

Like a lot of magicians, I do a lot of things by Pulling Stuff Out of A Bag.  Moving forward, I’m planning to put in special things to allow me to carry my act on my person in pockets and pouches built into the coat. Aaand I’m adding some special things to allow me to make things go away as well, because that’s part of being a magician.

Aside: This is an addition to my “character concept”  - the Tobias the Adequate show will still consist of the Core Tricks (more on that soon), but with the addition of “incidental magic”. When I’m done with a prop, it makes sense to just… make it go away … now doesn’t it? Yes. things like that. The incidental magic will add another layer to the show - after all, Tobias is just a hapless hack magician who’s tricks rarely go as planne- hey where did those scissors go all of the sudden? Weird. 

Some quick notes: The pants diverge from standard Renaissance Faire trousers in that they have both pockets and a fly  (remember Five Things About Renaissance Faires Explained ?) - since these are for a Renaissance Faire, they also have a codpiece. A pretty… big one. With a pocket in it. That’s where I usually keep my wallet. They also have suspender buttons sewn on because I don’t subscribe to the “thousand things on my belt” plan and besides… then I have to hike up the pants and the belt.  The pattern for the pants? A Simplicity sweat pant pattern.

The shirt and frock coat (that’s for Modern / Victorian, the coat is) come from a Simplicity Wild West pattern (2895)- the shirt is a placket front model that works well for just about any time period as long as I don’t use a modern pattern. Since my coats are going to be made of heavier material and, as we know, RenFaire performers work in rediculous contidions they’re of lightweight material that breathes.

For my new Renaissance gear, I’m going with a Folkwear pattern for a Hungarian coat called a Szur. This is a big thing that, to be honest, looks like something Phil Foglio might draw. I think it looks nifty. Again, both the coats will be “gaffed to the hilt”.

We’ve gotten the hang of the pants and shirt patterns - I have five pair of RenFaire long pants and short pair - all in varying weights so I don’t freeze / sweat to death.

Once we get some more shirts done… we begin work on the Szur.  Of course, there will be more on that later.

For Victorian / Modern stuff, I use “normal” dress slacks … because making tailored pants is bloody complicated and I’m not that good yet. Check in with me in a few coats.

 My philosophy when I’m working faire is that I am the one ultimately responsible for the quality of life I have while I’m there. For me, that means creating a decent performance space for my audience and myself.  This can be a bit of a challenge when I’m working a short-run faire…

Working at one weekend “gypsy” faires has given me a real appreciation of what can be done when youre site is up and operating for a multiple-weekend run: Stages can have solid backdrops and a “backstage” area for performers to park their gear, their food, and occasionally sit and stare into the middle distance after a show*. 

For the smaller “gypsy” faires, your infrastructure - your signage, staging, backstage and other logistics behind getting the show out there to your audience - becomes your responsability.

Since I can’t count on having a permanent backdrop, I’ve also made my own backdrop - just a canvas drop cloth with my logo painted on it -

Here’s a tip for the part-time pro with a day job - if you have a laptop at work, and a conference room with a projector,  get a copy of your show logo onto your laptop and “borrow” a conference room after hours to project your logo onto a taped-up dropcloth, then trace.  That’s how we did it!

along with two big “tapestry” cotton wall hangings.  I’ve sewn cloth “loops” along all four sides of the wall hangings and three (top and sides) of the logo “sheet”. 

The benefit of having a big drop cloth with your logo on it is obvious - you can perform in front of a massive advertisement for yourself! The “tapestry” hangings have a different purpose. I can use them to create my own backstage space though the judicious application of rope, binder clips, zip ties, or anything else that’s handy. 

My current “infrastructure kit” includes:

• My logo backdrop
• The “tapestry” wall hangings
• A bag containing assorted safety pins, binder clips, zip ties, 40′ of “camoflage’ nylon rope for hanging the previous two items
• A nylon / plastic drop cloth to serve as a floor / cover things to protect them from rain
• Several cloth duffel bags to stuff things into. See below.
• My actual act (supplies, folding tables, and so forth)

This may seem like an awful lot of stuff for one person to haul around. Sometimes it feels like it is!

When I first started working these faires, my goal was to pare down and be as portable as possible. This is because a lot of events will post a show on multiple stages* and thus, one must haul one’s gear to and fro**.  With some careful planning and the acquisition of a few key pieces of luggage, my act is small enough that I can carry it and any tables, stands, signage, and so forth in one rolling suitcase or, if necessary, drape several small duffels about my person and stagger valiantly from the parking lot to the site and back.***  And that’s even with the additional stuff mentioned above.

Welcome to my world!  I’ll talk about costuming in a few… 

* After spending 10 years as part of the “on stage all the time” crowd of guildies and participants, I’ve come to cherish those moments when I can sit backstage and degauss. There’s a power in being quiet when everyone around you is being loud, and at Faire that gets multiplied tenfold.

** The best example of this was an event up in the mountains in California. It had snowed eight inches the night before and I found myself hauling my gear uphill, in the snow. It was then I realized that I was reliving my father’s childhood.

*** This is particularly important if I’m flying to and from an event. Sometimes the distance from the site to the airport is far enough that I can’t wait from the end of my last show to the end of the event proper to go fetch my car, drive on, and load everything. This calls for the Bravely Staggering Forth plan noted above.