Suggestions for Terre: Ideas and Suggestions for Future TRF Development

[Tudor-Diva]

If they played up Renaissance era Portugal with period costumes, music and food it could be a nice twist on TRF and a look towards a major power in that era who often stands in the shadows on England, France, etc.  As they do it now, it is a Las Vegas show (that one would likely have to be 18 to enter), with very expensive though merely OK food.  

No, I don't think a mead hall would be very period correct either, but at least it would fit in to the general ren / fantasy / barbarian character that TRF has taken on.

I think a mead hall would be wonderful, personally.  And I too, being one who is a lover of period costuming, would relish period correct costumes.  We had some guest performers in from Peru in 2000, Sayaka I believe their name was, and they were absolutely wonderful.  They played native music that was just zen to sit and listen to.  And they wore native costumes that were totally in place.  One of my girlfriends, a fellow performer, has an Aztec princess ready to go.  I can't wait to see her bring her out to TRF.

Trust me, as a long time performer, I've had personal opinions, some positive, some not so positive, on many aspects of TRF.  There have been things that have had me scratching my head and saying to myself, "WTF?"  I've just learned that it's better to look at the big picture and accept that things are they way they are.  Sound systems are of course not period, but have enhanced the enjoyment of many of the stage shows, including Tartanic which plays decidedly NON period music.  I see no one voicing objection about them.

In the end though, it's still George's sandbox, and his call.

[Tudor-Diva]

Oh, and I should say this as well, since many of you don't know me.  I am a contracted performer just like any other performer out at TRF, I just happen to be privileged to work directly for Jeff Baldwin as his assistant director for the performance company, and as such, I am tasked during the off season and rehearsal with assisting with casting ideas, attending auditions and leading the exercises there, to instructing improv, acting, character and scripting classes during rehearsals, and then performing in the lanes during the run of the show.  I also co-host the wine tastings and the mead tasting.

But I am always open to questions and am more than happy to answer those that I am able.

[tiberiusflynn]

For tiberiusflynn.  I am sorry that you were shorted on performance company interaction this season.  We are smaller in number than we have ever been and we are stretched VERY thin.  We are also one of the strongest performance companies that TRF has ever had.  Actors are assigned to one area for the day according to their nationality groups (this is directly from the owner) and with the extreme number of patrons we had in the park this year, performers are stretched pretty thin.  I am sure that anyone you saw sitting was probably just trying to catch their breath and give their poor feet a break for a few minutes.  We are dressed and ready to go by 8:00 a.m. and our day is not complete (re:  we are not off the clock) until after the fireworks at 8:00 p.m.  12 hour days of performing for and interacting with thousands and thousands of people, with very limited breaks, is utterly exhausting both physically and mentally.  Trying to navigate those crowds getting to and from required scheduled events should be an Olympic sport in and of itself.  We also have to take into consideration the vendors around us and not impede on their ability to conduct business.  A loud path show right in front of a shop or vendor's tent will most likely draw people out of their place of commerce and then we will have a very angry shop owner.  The same is true for specialty acts and stage acts.  Trust me when I say that we do our DAMNEDEST to make sure we entertain as many as possible, but with a limited number of people, we can only entertain so many.  We have the 8 themed weekend groups with about 6 to 7 people each, England, Spain, France, Robin Hood and the Puppeteers, again, with 6 to 7 members each.   That's less than 100 people in the performance company proper.

Thank you for responding to my post. Again, I was not attempting to offend and I hope it didn't seem so.
I am very much aware of the schedule of a Performer at Faire as I have worked it myself at TRF. And, who knows, maybe I'm just expecting too much.
I was unaware of you being short company this year though, add to that the increased attendance would make things overstretched.

Though again, it something I've noticed for more than just this year. And to be fair, I noticed it at Scarby as well. (and received a similiar response, lol) So, maybe I'm just expecting too much, or maybe I just always happen to notice performers right when they are sitting down talking (or napping). But after going 8 times in a year and not having any interaction? I dunno. Way back in Sherwood is the where I ever have the most interaction....

Maybe more performers are needed (though how to get more to audition would be an issue) or maybe less scheduled events to allow time for interaction.
Although maybe it's possible that the performers interact more with muggles and less with patrons that are fully dressed and in character as it's obvious we are already "interacting" at fair.
I am not sure. I was just stating my observations which may be entirely erroneous.

Regarding mead...  I posted several weeks ago about the daily Mead Tasting in the Taverna di Vino.  We showcased 8 meads from around the US and Poland, and the show proved to be quite successful. We even sold out of some of the meads we were using in the show and had to scramble to make substitutions the last three weekends.  The goal is to make this show on par with our wine tasting and we are looking to have an even wider variety of meads available next year.  I believe we had 10 meads available in the shop this year and shop owners must have clearance to sell the items they do.  The Dragonslayer is not the only shop selling mead at TRF.

I was unaware of the mead tasting as I frequent this forum irregularly. I am glad that there will be a larger selection of mead next year though as I traversed to many different shops to find good mead and was usually met with poor results. I look forward to next year in this regards.

Now, regarding your favorites that might not be performing at TRF... it is not always the decision of the entertainment director to not have an act return.  Many acts depart to move on to other venues to increase their audience base and national exposure.  Some acts want a lighter schedule.  Some acts don't want to perform at the time of year that TRF runs.  Some acts break up and move on to other endeavors.  Please keep this in mind when you notice that a favorite is no longer performing at TRF.

I'm sorry if the tone of this is direct, but I need to be as matter-of-fact as possible.  

I was just stating that certain "favorites" are also many many other's certain favorites as well as being highly acclaimed in many circles and by not being at what should be the pinnacle of Ren Faires it is found highly lamentable.

As to this, I understand that there are all kinds of politics behind the scenes that we are not aware of and in the end it will be about the bottom dollar.

Again, thank you for your response.

[Stalkwell]

 There have been things that have had me scratching my head and saying to myself, "WTF?"  

What The Faire, right???



Stalk well...

[cowgrrl]

Agree on the Medaeaval Baebes. I'd do my darnest to try & visit Faire if they were coming for a weekend.

I have to be honest & say that in the 4-5 years we've visited TRF (at least once a season) we've never had a cast interaction.  It was something we really noticed after the second or third visit.

[The Old Lady]

I'm a cast member, have been since 2001. There's probably half as many of us right now as there were then. I interact with patrons all day (the Old Lady is strangely personable), and most days I don't even make a dent.

Let's say that in my 12 hours on site each day, I do nothing but hold a five-minute conversation with every patron I can get to stand still long enough to talk for five minutes. In an hour, that's 12 patrons. In a 12-hour day, that's 144 patrons. Even if each patron is actually a couple, that's less than 300 people I can hit personally. The odds that I will hit a specific patron are minuscule.

So yeah, it's not surprising that a given patron sees no cast. 130 of us, 40,000 patrons.

("Hit" as in "interact with," not "take my skillet to." The frying pan is reserved for Smash.)

[tiberiusflynn]

I'm a cast member, have been since 2001. There's probably half as many of us right now as there were then. I interact with patrons all day (the Old Lady is strangely personable), and most days I don't even make a dent.

Let's say that in my 12 hours on site each day, I do nothing but hold a five-minute conversation with every patron I can get to stand still long enough to talk for five minutes. In an hour, that's 12 patrons. In a 12-hour day, that's 144 patrons. Even if each patron is actually a couple, that's less than 300 people I can hit personally. The odds that I will hit a specific patron are minuscule.

So yeah, it's not surprising that a given patron sees no cast. 130 of us, 40,000 patrons.

("Hit" as in "interact with," not "take my skillet to." The frying pan is reserved for Smash.)

And when put that way 140 vs. 40,000, then it can be easy for one to miss and interaction. I agree. One can only do so much. And really it almost seems pointless....140 vs. 40,000......
But then this almost begs the question...is a perfomance cast needed at all?

I mean, if one can go 8 times in a year....and recieve no interaction even once. Is it needed?

And by that I mean, if I wasn't expecting interaction......would I even wonder about it at all? Would patrons still come to ren faire anyways? As it's possible to never experience it, I would assume that it's possible to run faire without the performers at all and the bottom dollar would be the same if not more since you wouldn't be paying for performers.

For a small faire...yes, you need to have performers as they're needed.

But for TRF or other very large faires.....are the performers kept for nostaglia sake from when the faire wasn't as crowded and interaction was a given?


I hope this question is not seen in bad taste, I'm honestly just wondering.

[PollyPoPo]

I, too, have never interacted with lane performer at TRF, at least not that I know of. 

Usually I either have a child in tow and am on a trek to somewhere or I am myself the one being towed along with others. 

My first time at Scarby I was addressed by a countess, but until someone told me, I did not actually realize it was a performer and not just another patron. 

Being always in garb, there have been several times when I was involved in interaction with other patrons and often asked by mundanes for photos, more than once turning down tips by newcomers who apparently thought I was on cast. 

I agree with others that the lack of interaction is mostly because of the huge discorporate ratio between actors and customers.  Just a matter of numbers, and it may be easier for actors to interact with mundanes, particularly when there are children involved.

[LibraryPrincess]

I'm a cast member, have been since 2001. There's probably half as many of us right now as there were then. I interact with patrons all day (the Old Lady is strangely personable), and most days I don't even make a dent.

Let's say that in my 12 hours on site each day, I do nothing but hold a five-minute conversation with every patron I can get to stand still long enough to talk for five minutes. In an hour, that's 12 patrons. In a 12-hour day, that's 144 patrons. Even if each patron is actually a couple, that's less than 300 people I can hit personally. The odds that I will hit a specific patron are minuscule.

So yeah, it's not surprising that a given patron sees no cast. 130 of us, 40,000 patrons.

("Hit" as in "interact with," not "take my skillet to." The frying pan is reserved for Smash.)

Keep in mind that some of that time is spent on the proclamations. And then you have people who are afraid to pay attention to you, because they expect you're selling something, or, because there is so much to do in so little time, they're hurrying to the next show they want to see.

And I didn't know that the cast did more than walk around and look cool until I started dating a cast member. I realize the bits are supposed to seem spontaneous, but surely there's a way to bring more attention to the fruits of all their hard work. Maybe including in the program where one is most likely to see certain characters would help?

[nolekhan]

I would personally keep the performers. They do add touches that make it a more enjoyable experience. The Transylvanian Court hanging off the side of a building, the King playing golf, singers in the lanes, etc, all create real characters that patrons like to stop and watch. Just because I didn't have a chat with a historical character doesn't mean that I won't miss them. I did decline an invitation to dance with the Germans so I could run to the car though. 

And to drag this to this thread:

When I joined the barbarians in 2001, the front gate was still a functional wall. Kiva, Taarna, and I scaled the wall every day and misbehaved picturesquely. One day, I got a patron to give me his half-eaten turkey leg (he was about to trash it), and I tied it to my quarterstaff and we went patron-fishing.

The front gate is no longer sturdy enough to stand on. I am dying to get it reinforced so the Horde can get back up there.

Yes please.

[Merlin the Elder]

I can't remember a visit to Scarby when there was no interaction, however slight, with a member of cast.  I think it is important to note that the cast interactions are going to be more targeted toward the muggles, in order to "bring them into the fold."

That said, however, if the TRF cast isn't 2-3 times the size of Scarborough, I'd have to question why? Of the faires I've attended, cast depth is greatest at Scarborough, and possibly Sherwood, although I'm not certain yet how to ascertain who is and is not cast at Sherwood.

[SirRichardBear]

I, too, have never interacted with lane performer at TRF, at least not that I know of. 

I would love to see a bigger cast at TRF since it is should a large faire and its easly for cast to get swamped but I must say than most weekends I visit I have had interaction with the cast.   Some times its just a quick hello but many times it's much more.  I have to say this season I enjoyed a good conversation with members of the Transylvanian Court.   

[Breandan]

When I first started at TRF as one of the barbarians 22 years ago, it was as an unpaid extra of sorts. I got a pass in exchange for being a street character hanging with Toruk, Lumpy, Tiny, Kryll, etc. Back then, it was 20% acts and events, 80% wandering the streets engaging patrons. While I would love to see it go back to that, I also understand that the edict that changed that came down from George himself, and is nigh unchallengable.

[Laird Fraser of Lovatt]

When I first started at TRF as one of the barbarians 22 years ago, it was as an unpaid extra of sorts. I got a pass in exchange for being a street character hanging with Toruk, Lumpy, Tiny, Kryll, etc. Back then, it was 20% acts and events, 80% wandering the streets engaging patrons. While I would love to see it go back to that, I also understand that the edict that changed that came down from George himself, and is nigh unchallengable.

I'm sure that it would be relatively easy to dragoon a large handful of playtrons to interact with people in the lanes... I've done this myself when people ask for pictures and whatnot.  Most of us would do it for s**ts and giggles since we're there already. 

*Messing with Danes can be entertaining* 

[Tudor-Diva]

tiberiusflynn I hear you.  Being assigned to an area for the majority of the day means that we are entertaining in that area and our ability to roam is limited.  There are also places we will not go because they are not really appropriate areas for us.  The Sea Devil is not really a place for cast to entertain.  The Pirates are there already and most people are busy with their friends already.  Also, we have minors on cast and they must have an adult with them at all times, so if members of a group are out of their area for a show, or to take a bathroom break, then someone must stay with that performer. 

Performers are indeed more likely to interact with folks who are not in costume, because we are assured that they are patrons, which is why we are there.  We learn to read our audience and make the obvious entertaining choices and if that means choosing people we can be reasonably sure are paying customers and not someone already there working in a shop, then that's what we'll do.  It's not a slight on anyone, of course, just choices we are making to ensure we are doing what we are there to do.

When were you a performer and what were you doing?