The Adequate Blog

Thanks to the kind folks at Countyfairgrounds.USA, I am the January 2009 Entertainment Pick!

http://www.countyfairgrounds.net/entertainersforhire.php

Holy moley!  Thanks much to Karen at Countyfairgrounds, USA for the tip of the hat.  With any luck this will also mean more folks looking to see what kind of entertainment value they can get for their hard earned dollars out of a certain hack magician.

Thanks again to Karen - go to her site, stroll around the grounds until you feel at home!

January is a “quiet month” for your average peripatetic magician - lots of time to research, send emails, make phone calls, consult calendars, beg and plead… and write blog entries, of course.

I’m starting this one not knowing how long it’s going to run - this could turn into Rant City if I’m not careful.

Having done Faire for Unintelligable years, there’s some practices I’ve fallen into which keep me - sane is probably not the right word for it. But it’s close enough.

1. CHANGE! - Be in “civvies” when you go on site, and when you go off site. Driving to site in full costume is all fun when you start Faire, and going out to eat in full costume can be fun as well, but there’s a point where it’s just a good idea to make some clear boundaries between “on site and performing” and “not on site and being normal (for a given value of normal). That also gives you a chance to tidy up a bit before the long drive home.
   Note: If you’re staying on site, yeah, you can stay in costume if you want to. But again, that whole “tidying up” thing might be a higher priority.
2. BYO Infrastructure - Bring your own: chair, sunscreen, allergy meds, eye drops, BABY WIPES (I can’t stress this one enough) and all the other stuff you think you might need to get you through the day. This includes any specialty food or drink items. Don’t assume you can pick ‘em up on the way - those quickmarts are more expensive than your local grocery store.
   It also means you can be The Savior when someone else needs something.
3. Get There Early - Being early is being on time, being on time is being late, and being late is inexcusable.
   Besides which, being early means you have a chance to get everything sorted and set up before you have to go out there and be brilliant. Getting there well before opening also means you can…
4. Walk the Site - There’s only one chance you’ll have to get the lay of the land before the thousands of customers come surging in - and that’s before opening. Even if you camped there overnight, walking the site will give you the opportunity to scout for changes - new holes, problem spots, which will let you…
5. PLAN! - Make some decisions about where you want to hawk, gig, eat, and collapses insensate. When is also a good thing to sort out. This means you’ll know what’s coming. It also means checking the schedule and (when you can) synchronizing with your cohorts to make sure no one is stepping on anyone else’s toes. The key to successful improvisation is knowing what’s likely to happen next and having a contingency plan.
6. Stay Organized and Stay Tidy - Don’t pile everything you need for faire into one big bag - put the stuff in little bags, sorted by what they are, then put those bags into that one big bag.
   Granted, you’ll still wind up doing some rummaging, but it means that even if you don’t have a clean flat surface to unpack onto, you’ll at least have some organization and protection from the ubiquitous faire dust for all the bits you gathered during step 2.
   Oh, and BABY WIPES. I can’t stress this enough. If it can clean a baby, it can clean you, pal. And I know from experience that baby wipes are a godsend to the female contingent after faire for certain post-bodice activities. If you don’t know what I mean, guys, get some and offer one to a female friend after closing parade. You will learn.
7. Take Timeouts - Even if you are not a stage show, even if you are a 24/7 Improvisational Theater Machine… you need to take breaks. Running until you drop sounds romantic until the third or fourth time you drop somewhere rocky and uneven. Take timeouts to eat, drink, and sometimes just to rest and stare absently into the middle distance. You’ll recharge your Gig Engine and find yourself reaching the end of the day retaining some semblance of humanity.
8. Call it a Night - sooner or later, everyone has to sleep. Even if you are taking timeouts during the day, if you expect and / or intend to get up and do it again tomorrow or -gasp- go back to the Real World and the Day Job… you’re going to have to decide when it’s time to wend your weary way home. This ties nicely into that there “Plan” thing back in (5).

Well, that’s my list. Did I miss anything? Am I giving bad advice? Let me know, friends and neighbors, let me know…