Have the "actors" stopped making fun/joking with people?

[DAK]

About 17 years ago I went to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Festival and the workers there made fun of me for wearing shorts, saying things like "Why are you walking around in your under garments?" and wondering about by wanting to pay with dollars, and wondering about the armor on my teeth(I had braces at the time).

Then about 12 years ago I went to the New York Renaissance Festival and they came by and taught me and my girlfriend how to properly eat soup.

This was all fun and great.

This past weekend, we went back to the New York Renaissance Festival and none of this type of stuff happened at all, nor did I see it happen to anybody there.  I really missed it.

Have they stopped this practice?

[groomporter]

There is a section here targeted at the Penn Renfair. It might be worth asking the Admins to move this thread there to directly ask the people with inside info about that fair in case they have changed their performance direction.

[insidiousraven]

In my experience with a larger faire, the actors profile types of visitors, and interact with them.  Such as, a woman in a wheelchair.  Perhaps you and your girlfriend and you alone fit a few profiles at the time. 

[LadyFae]

I know that it still happens in MN!  Not so much to anyone garbed but definately to those in 'danes!  =)

[Queen Maggie]

Many of the larger faires have directed actors to cut out the insults, or what could be perceived as making fun of someone, since there are a lot of people who are very upset by that. However, the interactions are still supposed to happen: it' just requires a better actor who can get to talking with the patron, and either tell about the gossip and story that's happening, or teach about an immediate moment (such as the one who taught you to eat properly)
You also have to realize that all faires are not the same, they aren't owned by the same people and all the performers crafters and staff do not have the same set of instructions nor are they all at the same level of experience. Much of your interacting will come down to luck of the draw: who you encounter on that particular day, at that particular faire.

[Auryn]

Sometimes too it just depends on luck.
At my home faire my favorite cast member is the guy who sells the pretzels, he insults people left and right all day long. One of his/ and my favorite lines to little kids is "ask your daddy to buy you a pretzel, if he wont look at how many beers he's had, that means he doesn't love you."

Sometimes a faire day falls on Valentines day and he goes around making VD jokes.

That being said, if your not in the right place at the right time you wont see it.

[LadyStitch]

It really depends on the actors.  The Pink Pirate and I were walking down the lane and a performer stopped us and wanted to know why the pink pirate was insulting me.  Turns out I was walking on the wrong side of him.  How I was walking made it appear that I was "a woman of the night".  I didn't realize it and thanked him for the clarification. 
Then again we went to the Southern California Ren Faire, and we didn't so much as here boo from a performer excepts acts hawking to get an audience.  There was little to no interaction unless you inciated it yourself.  To be honest it will all depend on the person, and faire you are at.

[analise]

I can't recall anyone at MDRF making fun of folks, but I've seen plenty draw people in with conversation.

The other weekend, I was showing some faire-newbie friends of mine around (they were in street clothes and I was garbed) and just as I was pointing out Catherine Parr to them, she turned around and engaged them in a moment of conversation, explaining how King Henry had proposed marriage to her and she had until the end of the day to decide whether to marry her King or..you know, the dashing Thomas Seymour whom she loved.

I was stopped in the lanes by one of the Oxford players who started asking me about my skirt and whether she had a name. He had a skirt you see, (being that in this time period, the ladies' parts were still played by men ) and he explained about her name (she'd been a bad girl recently, apparently, so didn't have a very pretty name. I am currently drawing a blank on what he said his skirt's name was). Anyway, then he coaxed a mundane couple into helping me name my skirt (they chose Celeste. ).

One time, a few years ago at VARF, I was there garbed (and the friend I was with, though he had garb, wasn't wearing it) and one of the cast members stopped to chat with us and ask why my friend wasn't in proper clothing.

[will paisley]

About 17 years ago I went to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Festival and the workers there made fun of me for wearing shorts, saying things like "Why are you walking around in your under garments?" and wondering about by wanting to pay with dollars, and wondering about the armor on my teeth(I had braces at the time).

Then about 12 years ago I went to the New York Renaissance Festival and they came by and taught me and my girlfriend how to properly eat soup.

This was all fun and great.

This past weekend, we went back to the New York Renaissance Festival and none of this type of stuff happened at all, nor did I see it happen to anybody there.  I really missed it.

Have they stopped this practice?

Besides the luck of the draw (at MDRF, they've been getting 15000 - 20000 people a day recently, and the number of performers total can't total much more than three digits), performers often target based on appearance, as insidiousraven mentioned.  Danes will often get more interaction than playtrons, and many performers will tend to leave people alone whom they recognize or whom otherwise seem to have been there many times before (just so they don't hit the same people over the head with the same joke time and time again). If you like the interaction, all you have to do is ask.  Many people are either confused by the interaction ("Will you leave me alone so I can see the faire?", not realizing that the street cast interacting with people IS part of the faire), or treat it like sitting in the front row in a comedy club ("Don't say anything to them, they'll pick on you and embarrass you!").  For this reason, when I work gate at VARF, my bits are quite short (just long and strange enough to let people know they're not in Kansas anymore) and are more about me and the faire than about the strange clothes they're wearing (unless they choose to extend the interaction).

[DonaCatalina]

We know enough cast and performers that we can't go twenty feet without being stopped for a brief moment of greeting and conversation.
But this is because initially we went out of our way to meet anyone else who was in garb also.
Because of that, we enjoy faire a lot more and now we have 'danes coming up to us for interaction even though we are not cast.

[Sir Michael Geare]

As everyone has pointed out, it all depends on the faire you are attending.  At Southern (RPFS) we are told to be careful with our insults to the customers.  Hence, no telling people with shorts that they are walking around in their bloomers and such.  NYRF is also owned by REP so the standards mostly like are applied there as well.  As for interaction, I will admit that there could be a bit more interaction with the audience but it all depends on the comfort level of the actors.  With restrictions from management some may be too gun shy to even attempt major interaction without offending people.

[Becky10]

As everyone has pointed out, it all depends on the faire you are attending.  At Southern (RPFS) we are told to be careful with our insults to the customers.  Hence, no telling people with shorts that they are walking around in their bloomers and such.  NYRF is also owned by REP so the standards mostly like are applied there as well.  As for interaction, I will admit that there could be a bit more interaction with the audience but it all depends on the comfort level of the actors.  With restrictions from management some may be too gun shy to even attempt major interaction without offending people.

Isnt that why everyone loves Broon?

I have a vivd memory of taking a picture of your crew and you all doing "hammer time"  in the middle of the street.  I wish we had more interaction at our faire.