SPR the Bagpiper started this topic some months ago, but only got one reply (who wasn't even a piper). I'm a new member to this forum and to festival participation. I am an uilleann (Irish) piper. Also play various sizes of whistle. I'm thinking of participating in some festivals as a performer this year, so:
Is there a dearth of pipers at these festivals? Are we welcome (the uilleann bagpipes didn't evolve until the late 17th century, slightly after the renaissance)? Do I audition (if yes, live or CD)?
Diggy
Corning, NY
Quote from: Diggy on February 05, 2009, 12:21:24 PM
SPR the Bagpiper started this topic some months ago, but only got one reply (who wasn't even a piper). I'm a new member to this forum and to festival participation. I am an uilleann (Irish) piper. Also play various sizes of whistle. I'm thinking of participating in some festivals as a performer this year, so:
Is there a dearth of pipers at these festivals? Are we welcome (the uilleann bagpipes didn't evolve until the late 17th century, slightly after the renaissance)? Do I audition (if yes, live or CD)?
Diggy
Corning, NY
It depends on what you want to do and where you go. Each faire is different and run in a different manor then the next.
Is your plan to be a payed stage or lane act? Then sending in a CD to the person who handles the payed acts would be a good start. If you just want to pick up your pipe and play music at faires, you can look into how the faire hires their own performers. Are they a volunteer cast? I'm sure they would Love to have you sign up. Are you looking at a faire that has a payed cast? Then go to the website for the faires you are interested in and see what they say about becoming cast.
Personally, I'd like to see more people at faires playing music as they wander the lanes. It adds so much the the atmosphere
I guess my photo has not been approved yet (maybe because I'm not in renaissance garb), but thanks for the reply. Gives me some things to think about. I would like to make enough money to pay for a hotel room and feed myself, so I guess I'd not be a volunteer.
Wandering through the lanes playing my whistles would be fun, but the uileann pipes are played sitting, so pipering through the lanes wouldn't be possible, but thanks for the suggestions.
What I really wanted to know most is if there is a scarcity of pipers not of the Scot Highland type (not that there's anything wrong with them).
Cheers,
Diggy
Small pipes are definitely a rarity at most fairs in my experience, and a welcome change from the norm, although you may end up spending a good amount of time explaining about the different types of pips there are, since so many Amurricans only know of one kind.
Remember, there are other acts going on at the same time. Pipes tend to be extremely loud, and cause disruption in other music or in theatrical performances.
For instance, at one faire I worked, all performers MUST be hired by the faire. No 'volunteers' allowed. Why not? well, there are only so many locations, and they have all been distributed among the hired performers ("you're in area A , and so is XXX. The actors will be running a scenario there, too, so don't step on their toes. Move to Area C at noon. your lunch break is this half hour, then go back to A...) Plus, there is NO hat pass allowed there, so you'd be escorted out if you tried.
We once had someone bring in his bagpipe (a teenage student IIRC) and start to play just inside the gate. Right next to the gatehouse stage, where one of our scenes was being played out to start the storyline of the day. The AD walked over and told him he'd have to take them back to his car. The kid's mother jumped in and complained that it was a free country, and who was she to tell him to leave? Even after being told that she was the director, they hung around waiting for her to leave, so they could continue to sneak them in. She eventually had to call security to prove that she was serious, and that they wouldn't turn a blind eye to it.
Similarly, after one school singing group was told that it was too late, they hadn't auditioned, and we couldn't have them in to sing madrigals, they noticed a short break on one stage (like 10 minutes between the end of a short act, and the beginning of the next one, on the half hour) they all just climbed on the stage and started singing! ("But it was empty! we weren't hurting anything!" -from the teacher, no less!)
So, to answer your question, you really have to get a feel for each individual faire or festival before you assume that even though you might be a fabulous player, there's a place for you at that faire. Sometimes whole bands of pipes are brought in for a weekend that celebrates the Celtic world, sometimes there are bands that have great followings (the Rogues, Albannach, etc, etc) and like any other type of entertainment, you can't have too much of the same thing.
Personally, I've never noticed a dearth of pipe playing ...I'm on the East coast, and have been to a lot of faires all over. It will also depend on how historically accurate the faire tries to be. I haven't noticed that many of them are excessively so when it comes to musical instruments.
Another thing to consider is how your pipes will react to the ever changing weather conditions of a full day of faire. It can be chilly and humid in the morning, and then sunny and dry in the afternoon. I take tin whistle classes with a teacher who also plays the pipes and he is constantly adjusting his humidifier (and dehumidifier) to properly care for his instrament.
Quote from: Queen Maggie on February 06, 2009, 09:15:30 AM
Remember, there are other acts going on at the same time. Pipes tend to be extremely loud, and cause disruption in other music or in theatrical performances.
Quote from: groomporter on February 06, 2009, 07:46:02 AM
Small pipes are definitely a rarity at most fairs in my experience, and a welcome change from the norm..., since so many Amurricans only know of one kind.
Thank you both for your replies. I think that groomporter hit the nail squarely into Queen Maggie's head ;). I believe that Queen Maggie is thinking of the Great Highland (Scottish) pipes, which ARE extremely loud, and are a direct descendant of the Warpipes, meant to make such a racket as to scare an enemy army half to soiling their trousers (if they wore any).
The uilleann pipes are quite quiet, and were designed to be played indoors in a small Irish cottage kitchen so that the English couldn't easily hear them (or the piper would be hanged, his pipes strung up with him). Their sound dissipates rapidly and exponentially outdoors. Also uilleann pipes are very rarely played in bands. Maybe two together, but rarely more.
But thank you for the posts. This is not a criticism. The point by Queen Maggie of no volunteers is well taken. I guess the best answer is to contact each faire individually.
Quote from: robin35051 on February 06, 2009, 11:39:51 AM
Another thing to consider is how your pipes will react to the ever changing weather conditions....
Another good point. Robin is quite correct-- this is a HUGE problem with the extremely thin wooden (cane) reeds in the Irish (uilleann) pipes. Both temperature and humidity affect their temperament drastically.
Of course it also depends on how you define "volunteer". MNRF has plenty of volunteer, but contracted performers. i.e. no pay (maybe hat pass if they are a musician), but they are an auditioned member of the cast, and maybe not expected to be there 16 days of the run. So there are variation in the type of contracts available as well.
As far as customers go, MNRF is also fairly lax about playtrons playing music as long as they are not stepping on official acts and not passing the hat, or on a stage, but if they're an individual sitting inside, or next to a booth in a quiet spot they are unlikely to say anything in my experience.
Each faire is going to work differently.
Some faires will not allow you to bring in your instrument unless you are a contract performer, paid either by he faire or through gratuity.
Larger Faires often have 'lane spaces' that are assigned on a rotating basis to various individual acts.
My best advice is to contact the Faire that you're interested in for either a complete run of the faire or a set of weekends for a limited engagement.
As so many people have mentioned, the best way to get involved is to contact faire management. As far as Uilleann pipes go, Charlie Rafferty often plays them in the lanes at a number of festivals (http://raffertythepiper.com (http://raffertythepiper.com) with good response. As far as instrumentation goes, faires are usually more concerned with atmosphere than strict authenticity (notice the presence of guitars, for example). Good luck, and I hope to see you in the lanes down the road!
Vince
http://vinceconaway.com (http://vinceconaway.com)
Quote from: vinceconaway on February 08, 2009, 07:53:12 PM
As far as instrumentation goes, faires are usually more concerned with atmosphere than strict authenticity (notice the presence of guitars, for example).
Thanks, Vince. I did note the presence of guitarists, but I didn't want to bring up the discrepancy with the renaissance period because the uilleann pipes also evolved a bit later.
I want to thank everyone for their responses.