The Adequate Blog

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.

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