Has anyone played a female member of the Merrymen before? I want to play one next year, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to pull it off / if my faire will allow me to.
What were your characters like?
I was thinking of portraying Bold Jane Downey from Clayton Emery's Robin Hood and the Beasts of Sherwood and playing her shy, in love with Little John [very timid school girl about it], clumsy, but always up for a fight [pretty much the only time she shows any courage.] I don't know stage combat, so if I don't learn it by April I was thinking I could always want to fight but not be skilled at it. Since my faire probably wont let me join the Merrymen for real, I was thinking part of my character [as I work currently solely as a street performer] could be WANTING to join the Merrymen but since she cant fight, they wont let her in.
Excellent choice. Jane dresses like her hero, Marian, who dresses like her husband, Robin Hood. Except she wears her sword down her back because she's so tiny it would drag on the ground if attached to her belt.
In BELLS OF LONDON I mentioned that Jane wears an archer's hat, which is the two-colored cap with the tail so long she wraps it around her neck.
FWIW, Bold Jane was modeled after my Dungeon Master (THE greatest DM of all time) Beth Rust. (If Beth sees this, Hey, Beth, sorry I freaked you out.)
Clayton Emery
http://www.claytonemery.com