Getting Old

I am sure that plenty of people who work at renfaires are going to laugh about this-“That won’t be me.” Or “Oh Yeah, I feel that” or the hardest to laugh “You haven’t seen anything yet!”

I started late, in my thirties, and I feel that a lot of women are in the same boat-that we’ve survived most of what life has thrown at us, we don’t have much to prove and are generally stable in who we are and know our capabilities. That’s not untrue of plenty of men but I find that there is a bigger age gap in whom you find at the renfaires.

When I first started, I had no endurance, couldn’t make a fire if it didn’t involve briquettes and a grill and didn’t realize how much you should carry in a car to be *really* efficient. Not saying I have it licked, but my friend Jess was right on the mark when she said that you have “ a groove” when you hit a decade.

Then: I would wear expensive outfits and buy a lot of accessories.
Now: I have a good base wardrobe of inexpensive stuff with and overlay of carefully collected pieces that match. I have come to realize that a good pair of boots and your basic poet shirt can get you through many periods of time. There is a reason most folks start with this. And the base accessories are all necessities. The first time you take a tuck and roll with a cup on your belt-done with the fripperies!

Then: I would do the two days of the festival and be ready to rock and roll, having terrible “faire hangover” (a form of nostalgia) and just chuck the dirty clothes in a bag and get to them whenever.
Now: We start the day with Advil and caffeine, we rest quite a bit and let the younger people do the heavy lifting when available. When we get home we write down the important stuff, throw the laundry in while we have some comfort food and enjoy 21st century amenities. (We actually have something we call “Emergency clams” kept in the freezer for coming back home and tossing into the oven) We are better about getting online and following up with customers (it’s easier than back in the Cretaceous) Sometimes we build in a “sanity day” post faire to rest up and not fall into a week of chaos.

Then: Do ALL the things! Stay all the nights!
Now: pfft, right. You young people go to fire off at after-hours parties. Ain’t no party like a clean shower and delivered food party, in my hotel room. It has been noted by our subcontractors that this amenity is greatly appreciated!

Then: Hopping out of the car!
Now: Groan and slide out of car. Sigh and start unpacking immediately.

Then: Throw it in the car!
Now: Specialized bags and boxes. For long distance trips may make 2-3 runs at the packing.

Then: What did that person mean by saying that to me?
Now: Oh yeah, that douchebag. Did they bother you, too? HAHAHAHAHA! Where do you want to eat supper?
Then: Maybe someone has a {blank} I can borrow?
Now: The leatherman is in the glovebox, the rest is in the med kit.

Nowadays I consider some of our best investments to be regular car service, AAA and having jumper cables in the car. I still remember my husband asking -
“Hey, was that (subcontractor) by the side of the road?” So we called and yes, indeed it had been them and so we banged a u-ey and pulled in behind. Within minutes we had snacks, had set up chairs, were playing cards and blowing bubbles by the side of the road. Renfaire people are a fun time and that never changes.

And although I don’t quite as excited going to the faires as in the past, in some ways it’s better. We have long-term friends, we can plan for (some) hazards, everyone knows the drill and we are the ones who chuckle and shake our heads at all goings-on. And the tent, that’s our own little sanctuary, we really appreciate it.

So yeah, there is arthritis, and fatigue and making lists but it’s still fun to be part of it all. And there is one thing that will be funny and just get moreso as I age. It’s someone in their early twenties coming up and telling me that 1) they have it all figured out and 2) they are too old for this stuff.

The Anchors

Wasn’t sure what to tittle this blog post because “the haters” was not really what I wanted to address. Haters are easy, you know they are wrong, it might hurt your feelings but one big raspberry and several successful shows, later that wound is all healed.

Anchors are a trickier hazard to spot-they often masquerade as something else and are sugar coated in things like concern trolling and passive-aggressive tactics. They will gaslight you and make you so filled with self-doubt that you don’t even believe your biggest supporters any more.

When one performs at the faire, presumably you are there with at least a shred of ego because  you are jumping out on a stage and yelling “Loook.At.Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee” But you do need a support system-the person who owns/run the fest, the staff that makes amenities like food and toilets happen, the people who staff the faire and the people who come to the faire. Without those thing-no need for performers. And let’s face it, performing looks easy-any two-year-old will tell you as much and climb on the table to do it. Sadly we are not all as cute as toddlers so we need to develop ourselves to be good performers.

But we all have self-doubts and I’m going to share some personal stories that you may recognize.

The mentor who really isn’t. When you first meet this person you will be so awed and amazed by them, you will kneel at their feet and soak up everything they have to give you. If they are a good mentor they will eventually become a peer and hope that you will outstrip them. If they are a bad mentor they will *seem* to build you up but pull out random pieces of your support system like some crappy game of jenga. I had someone who was there for me when it felt like the world walked 13 paces in a 14-pace fight and fired-we received threats,  bad press and evil emails. Initially this person taught me a few tricks, did some fight training with me and invited me to be part of their world.  All was pretty good until I started doing additional training, getting bad feedback and being told I was a terrible fighter because I kept changing the choreography.  I really thought this was the case so I started documenting everything, asking for feedback from others, and finally I gave up writing fights with this person because I just couldn’t seem to get it right. Other symptoms included random things costing me money or favors. I like to think I’m a “by the books” kind of person but I never seemed to reach that elusive goal of being somewhat equal. In the end, this person gave an ultimatum and it was so laughable that I just shook off the veil and saw clearly. Solution? Have more than one mentor and set yourself an internal scale of progress. If you never make the goals, that’s the sign of bad teaching. And if you are having problems, chances are someone else is as well so it’s good to compare notes. Once this person was caught on camera doing all the things they denied, that was the beginning of the end.

Your comrade-in-arms.(not) This person is beside you and supports you and is a good touchstone-until they aren’t. And it’s often insidious because by the time you realize this person is a frienemy, the damage and self-doubt are already there.  I would be told things like
“Well with your appearance maybe it’s better you do more backstage work.”
“You are a bit clumsy so why don’t you leave the acrobatics to us.”
“Maybe you wouldn’t get hurt if you worked a little harder at your skills.” (This was from someone *notorious* for hitting too hard and having fewer and fewer fight partners) As with anything, actions speak louder than words. I used to have self-doubts as my go-to and my reaction is often to work harder-and that will solve two problems 1) your skill level does go up 2) you start leaving detractors in the dirt.  When you see this problem from the outside, it’s important to approach the person who is being lied to and re-affirm that they are doing fine. In one case one troupe member was getting blamed for lateness and arguing. They day they blamed this person for causing lateness when they weren’t even scheduled to come to a show was an eye-opener. And on a later date, when the blamer thought I wasn’t around, picked a fight with the troupe member over a flap on a tent, and was shocked to find me standing there. I was a victim of this person as well and sadly some of these manipulators are so good because they are charismatic.

Your trainee (who knows better)-being in a position of power helps to curb this a bit. I have found the best antidote to this one is being self-effacing and humorous. If you are willing to laugh at yourself and admit fallibility, already this has taken away the weapon of superiority/inferiority.  And if this person can’t seem to learn from you, then it may be someone else trains them.  This person will also reference outside strengths continuously-and if someone comes in with a useful skillset, that’s great. But if they can’t learn what you do as a team, then it isn’t going to work out. I have NO PROBLEM with giving out the names of other groups and organizations and mentioning they might be a better fit. And yes, I hold back on some of the cooler tricks because I’ve been burned before.   If this person is just that amazing-well an ensemble is not the place for them,  bonne chance!

Your employer-nothing you do will satisfy this person. Perfectly innocent social interactions turn into head-shaking moments. You feel dirty every time you come away from working with them. These are all indicators. My partner and I become The World’s Nicest Incompetents. We make life easy for these folks by apologizing with extricating ourselves from their company. It’s like an uncomfortable date-it’s not you, it’s me. It’s been a real slice, gosh how could we ever do it again…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92I1eJgCHIM

And we’ve been told we’ll never work in Roswell, Ohio again. But from what I can tell, neither will any other renfaire acts. Sometimes it’s better to give up a job than to come away with a coating of slimy feelings.

What I’m trying to say here is that it is statistically impossible to be wrong 100 percent of the time. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. If you can’t seem to get anything right and no one offers a solution, often it’s a relationship and situation set up to fail. No amount of hard work on your part is going to make it work because you are still the only person invested in a solution or fix. For me it’s been interesting watching the follow-up in how it turns out with these personalities-at least two of them have sworn they were better leaders, performers and human beings and yet, burn through organizations and friends in cycles. I’m not saying anchors are useless, sometimes they are there to stabilize a boat (and we’re grateful when they make us look good by comparison!) but if they keep you from sailing, it’s time to cut them and make your own way. And the Dalai Lama calls these people personal gurus-those who try us, reveal things about ourselves and teach us compassion.

What do you owe your fans?

This gif is mean to be self-deprecating :)

Before reading this, I’d like folks to not internalize it but really think about walking around in the shoes of your favorite performers.

I still remember our very first fan letter and I am friends (online mostly) with our first and most loyal fan and last year invited he and his family to our anniversary party where the troupe performed in street clothes, we all had fun, drank great wines, beers and hung out together. When I see him it is hugs all around.  There is a family we know a good 1200 miles away from us and I really feel like part of their lives and it’s a big, stinking lovefest. There is another blog post about that –probably this winter. These folks and other hold special places in our hearts and are part of why,  even in the worst of circumstances, we slog out onstage and do our bits.

But generally our days-to-day fans don’t receive this level of access. And it’s not that we don’t appreciate that they came to the performance and gave us feedback and handshakes and laughter, but we know the social contract says that we all have fun at the fair and then everyone goes home.

What DO you owe your fans?

You owe them a good to great show, and if it’s not a great show you owe them showing up and giving it all you have-onstage. We have done performances in *terrible* weather conditions and in completely unsuitable venues. (And in one of those we watched the bride realize that the location had changed her plans as well and we sort of kept the swords out of sight! Never, ever, cross the bride, people!) Our favorite example is from our first show (not Phoenix Swords) where it was raining hail, in a lightning storm with freezing temperatures. The organizer told us 
“IF no one shows up, you don’t have to go onstage and can pack up.”
But one lone kid, in a thin nylon jacket with blue lips showed up and we said
“This show is for YOU, kid.” And on we went, and sadly for the act after us, we attracted all the remaining die-hard faire-goers  and they had to go on after us. (You’re welcome!)
That’s an extreme example but if even one person shows up, you need to go out and do your job and give it your best shot.

You owe them gratitude
They showed up for you. Of all the acts in the faire they chose to come to yours. One of our longtime subcontractors (who is amazing and unsurprisingly, going into politics) is good at names and faces and deliberately chats up crowds before a show. He points people out to us, he works with making it a personal experience. We try to do the same (some of us better than others) and we have been rewarded with people choosing to go to ALL of our shows in a day and then coming back the next day. They are also the people who know that it is okay to laugh or clap at the right places and they tell the rest of the audience the cues you love to hear. They are the ones who chat you up to others and I am not above pointing out the organizer if the patron wants to give positive feedback.  Many organizers personally work the gate and if they hear about your show, thank your audience for coming.

You owe them timeliness-do your best to make this happen. Even as another act I have been known to make sub-vocal growling noises at acts *sauntering* on to stage late. Lateness is a sign of disrespect of the time of others.

You owe them feedback and answers-perhaps not AS the show is going on but several of our shows are education-based and we owe it to the crowd to be knowledgeable about what we do!

You owe it to them to be safe.

You need to render aid when needed.

You owe them service and professionalism. Our shows don’t mean a clean uniform at the end of the day but we do need to have *started* neat, clean and with nothing unsightly hanging out. And try not to use bad language or exclusive language and terms-well, unless you plan to explain it.

What you don’t owe your fans:

Personal information
justification for what you do
Putting up with bad socially/legally behavior
Access to your equipment or gear
To always be “onstage” (This one is tricky, sometimes you need that character break for potty trips or if you have your mouth wrapped around some food.)
Mind reading
Instant recognition-sorry folks, just jog my memory. If you have changed your hair color facial hair, style and have grown a few inches-bear with us, we are human!

And I still see some of these interactions turn sour. I’ve received my share of cranky emails and snarky remarks. But we are basically kind, polite people and if someone wants to turn that into a personal crusade, nothing we would have said or done would change that.

Love us or hate us, we’ll still go out and do our best for you in a show. And if you do like us, be sure to tell us because we DO appreciate you and you are the ones who let us do what we love. So thank you fans and we owe you one.

Dealing with Rumors

It is terrifying how quickly bad news can spread-especially at a location where there are theoretically no mobile devices and everyone is working all day. Now if it’s a rumor that we are amazing and that we poop gold nuggets-we might let that one slide. Generally thought, it’s the BAD rumors you have to quash if possible.

The first part is reacting to hearing it. The first time you might be caught off-guard. That’s why I like to use a five-second filter or <a href="https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasjeff132201.html">channel Thomas Jefferson</a>  My partner takes a deep breath and smiles.  My filter is excellent but it has boundaries,  in twenty minutes it may not hold. But in the moment one must step back, disassociate and react calmly or with humor. You should acknowledge the rumor, thank the person for telling you (even if you suspect the source might be invested/poisonous) and let them know you’ll be aware and do your best to deal with it. And that’s all you owe the person who came to you.  In fact, it’s better not to act immediately (I’ll cite an example later in this entry when one shouldn’t wait) but ruminate on it a bit.

<em>“Your reputation is in the hands of others. That's what the reputation is. You can't control that. The only thing you can control is your character.” </em>
<em> ― <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2960.Wayne_W_Dyer">Wayne W. Dyer</a></em>

Now to do damage control-I usually do a “check in” with friends and associates and get a more balanced view. If you run a group, it’s important that everyone is on the same page. You put together an action plan-we will say this, we will not say this and give your folks a unified face.  You will need to address the rumor point by point and have logical ways to refute them. And you may need to bring it up yourself to key people (often the OTHER gossipmongers)  and make light of it or stare it down like your cat planning to steal your sandwich. Be firm, and calm, not angry. The worst thing to do is to become upset or start counter-rumors. DO NOT “fight fire with fire” because then, you could catch your own ass on fire.  If it’s something really damaging –you may need to go to organizers or influential people in the community. You can start with something like
“It’s come to my attention that; [x] and I would like to address any concerns with [y] and [z] and if you have any questions or concerns, please be sure to come directly to me and we can discuss them.”

By heading it off in this way, you are slowly leeching the power of the rumor and the rumor-starter and bringing everyone back into the reality of doing safe, good business. Don’t be afraid to enlist people to help you. I have had defense come from unexpected quarters because we have a reputation as levelheaded people and these allies were in places we didn’t know they needed to be.

Some people say that one should confront the rumor-starter. I have found that in 99.9 percent of these instances, the person will lie about having started such a thing and if anything, I’ve made them feel important by recognizing them. I’ll acknowledge the rumor and I may even subtly drop hints that such actions won’t be tolerated, but the person or persons don’t deserve even notoriety. I’m still a bit of a pill and am not above some petty social embarrassment, but it’s always about making the statement of living the better life rather than playing at equal vitriol.

And now some concrete examples. At one point  the story that we were fighting unsafely- rumors that cropped up like cockroaches. It got to the point where we had a checklist of “How?’ Where?” “Why?” that could be traced back to one really terrible human being. In fact, over the years a number of strangers have come up and apologized for believing and spreading that. And folks, that didn’t happen overnight, it took YEARS and a whole lot of taking the higher path and really didn’t take away all of the sting. Even now, some people will not accept all of the logic and facts that have piled up because that would require admitting that they were wrong.

A second example was a fire breathing incident –our firebreather had some stray hairs that resulted in a burnt cheek. Even though the performer re-did the trick immediately after, the rumors were that “someone had blown up on stage!” So we had to walk through the faire, chat with people, be seen by vendors and then do THE WHOLE SHOW-including the fire breathing again that night.  And still hear stories about “The guy who blew up on stage!” (It was one disappointed Fire Marshall)

Accept that the truth will not be accepted by everyone because it would spoil a good story. There are faires that *every single time* I have to point out that the rumor mill that names, places, dates and actual events are completely wrong and I’m told I “spoil the fun.” That “fun” impacts my bottom line so soak me in salt water and christen me a wet noodle.

And although it is hurtful to accept, some people just spread malice.  There isn’t a rhyme or reason other than they need to strike out-often at innocent  or undeserving targets.  The why isn’t important but making sure that you take care of you and yours is the primary goal.  I’m not saying you aren’t entitled to feel hurt, angry and betrayed-that’s healthy. But  rumors are vapor, in time they dissipate and you will outlast them.

It’s me, your competitor.

Recently we had a nice talk with another group and the person was respectful, full of good info and there was a mutual “attaboy!” shared. But something I never, ever forget, that there are twenty  five  (that I know of) fight groups in the MA/CT area alone. And there are at least ten fire performance groups locally, some of which have happily done jobs we’ve  turned down.

First, we are still here after twelve years and we have at least 50% of our original members and our maintenance is often measured in years.  We do our best to never badmouth anyone else, because everyone has a learning curve and needs to start somewhere.  When you are bad to your members,  we often end up with your disillusioned ex-members. And no one lives in a vacuum, the renfaire circuit LOVES gossip and sadly, many race to spread bad news.  We've had our detractors and we’ve outlasted them. I am not saying longevity is the measure of GOOD, mind you, but it does say something if you’re still in business.

Teach me your tricks.
Say WHAT? Although folks don’t phrase it that way, well okay, some have and the chutzpah made my eyebrows disappear behind my shirt collar.   In most cases, folks are enthusiastic and don’t realize what they have asked. And if they are more than 250 miles away from our home base, I have no issue with it. This is a rule many faire organizers have as well-which stinks for certain types of professions-Actors for instance. We've had a well-known group teach us some fire tricks and that was kind of them. Remember no one is obligated to share anything and it’s essentially training your competitors.  In many cases I will treat folks to the fire hose of information and let them sort it out. It’s knowing WHAT to do with the information that is the important part.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery:
To be honest our group was founded with a “we can do this better” attitude. In an example of parallel evolution, many fighting and fire groups have a similar model. It usually comes down to leadership differences and what comes out on stage. Performers should tinker for a niche,  because if you just copy someone outright-they have been doing it longer and better and you will do poorly head-to-head.

Using someone’s good name to enhance your own. This is a great strategy-if you actually worked with those folks. When we first started we had people gunning for us-so we beefed up our CV with a number of organizations and came back swinging. We have the opportunity to use the name of several respectable institutions in what we have built and can name names and make references.  We’ve been quizzed by rightly cynical people and had to stand and deliver.  We don’t mind , we really have done what we say we have.  The flip side is people who are either slippery or have outright lied. Earlier this year we had a faire organizer try to verify that someone worked with us and my answer was “Who?” What many people forget is that although we appear quite corporate,  it’s still very one-on-one and I have no issue with embarrassing someone who is riding our hard-earned public reputation undeservedly.

The renfaire is not the cone of silence , once the word has left your lips, it gains a power on its own.   I’m not saying you aren’t entitled to opinions, I’m just saying there are repercussions to blurting things aloud.  So if you run around adding your two cents about other acts or the organizer of other folks in general,  chances are, they’ll hear it. Early on,  one vendor employee was going on about how our group had no shows, and members were defecting and how could anyone be part of us, when our member answered
“Why don’t you ask the leader himself? He’s standing right there.”

The absolute worst sort of competitor is the one who steals your material and then performs it in front of you. It’s a special sort of backhand that tests the resolve. In some ways it is illuminating, it lets you see the material caricatured so you can analyze it and it tells you it is time to develop new material. After all, who needs to get a double dose of well-worn routines? Won’t lie, when I see this happen, it makes my right temple twitch and my eyesight go red for a bit-but we channel that into something productive and no one goes to jail.

And if a show doesn’t suit us? Well we will pass it on to someone we know. And it works back the other way as well-it’s how we’ve snagged some shows. So competitors don’t have to be enemies, they are our peers, our mentors, those we teach  and sometimes a very unflattering mirror. For the long haul, it’s best to focus on your personal best, rather than what the other guy is doing. But it doesn’t mean we’re not sneaking peeks at one another and assessing for the future…

When it goes wrong with equipment and props

There have been plenty of OMGWTFBBQPOLARBEAR moments and maybe I'll write about them-like the time that within 30 seconds of setting up the tent it was smashed to pieces against a building-but today I’ll share some funny ones.

Why won’t you burn?!!! Or Whoah…!
As people who do a fire show, it’s a challenge to come up with new and interesting ways to make a show last longer or be different from others. First, it has to burn for a bit. We make a bunny out of various materials (it was for a fire safety speech at a particular show –they didn’t get “Fire is bad, M’kay?”) but when it went up, it wouldn’t catch and then *whoosh* away with Mr. Bun. And the crowd reaction was “Burn more bunnies!” so you can only do so much.

There were the fire horns…there is only a tiny picture of this because it lasted a very short time. We did a beautiful set of spiral horns, set on the Kevlar and “whoosh” just two big fireballs to either side of Fenix’s head. We never did use those in performance.

Fire sword-we had one that didn’t do well with the changing temperatures and at one show it bent into a ‘u’ and was wielded by our “villain.” He was able to hit it back semi-straight but at that point-integrity unknown! So I had to run out with a duvatyne and grab it out of his hands. Still in character, he pulled back, finally I used his real name, kicked his shin was able to get it offstage and his partner was ‘victorious.’ To the audience it looked like someone he’d defeated earlier came on and stole his sword, never realizing that I was making sure shards of flaming metal didn’t get sheared off into the crowd!
Another thing that burns when you don’t want it to is marshmallows. Except as part of a fire show. We soaked them in fuel, we bought various kinds of marshmallows, but they remained intact. We even did a set soaked on peach brandy. That failed. But it was a beautiful, tasty failure and we still make them occasionally for ourselves.

Daggers
These little lovelies are their own set of problems. I’ve had so many issues with daggers being where I need them that I make it a point to tell anyone using them in a show that they need to have alternate plans in place. For me it has been-fallen out of someone’s side sheath and we had to use an improvisational dagger. I’ve had mine taken when someone forgot their own for stage and had to wrestle it back for my own fight. Or the ever popular-stuck in the frog or belt at a key moment.

Fenix-couldn’t get to his dagger fast enough so had to use a crab puppet to hold off his opponent until he could free it.
Monica had hers drop out of a boot so had to use hair extensions to strangle her opponent

I had to sit still while someone used use a long knife and had to park it in my cleavage for laughs (the bloody one never came out on stage, it had fallen out of its spot)

Guns, many of our members over the years have loved these but they never make the correct cues. The only time it worked in our favor is when one fellow was teased mercilessly by kids in the crowd about it not going off and that it was a “fake” gun. So he packed extra for the finale and so, *click, click, KABOOM* And no one said anything because we all couldn’t hear. We try not to use them. And I have a bias against cannons.

General Props-oh the tales. The lost ball for the “Princess and the Frog,” skit. Substituted fire bucket-turns out someone ‘played’ with the ball earlier and didn’t put it back. The person who had ONE JOB and yet failed to bring the one item onstage and we had to invent a reason to “fight.” I love props but realize they are just another opportunity for things to go sideways at a show.
We have a saying, you only forget your boots *once* because we are sticklers about sneakers and motorcycle boots.
For me, if my work does not include a kit I’ve examined myself, I’m not interested in doing the show because it’s a pet peeve.

What is the take-away? the more you work with your audience and general talents, the better it will work out for you in the long-term. And although it may make for funny stories (later), ideally you want to look smooth, be safe and not have to improvise or flail with a found object! But training and practice makes sure that you can.

Bringing Kids to the Festival (as a person who doesn’t do it on a regular basis)

As you may have read in recent updates, babies are decimating our numbers. Our members joke about “just making future members” but the fact is that childcare is paramount and given the choice between practice and show, members (wisely) choose being with  their kids.

We are not without sympathy to this and we occasionally have our Godkids with us, and for the first time we had them on a working day under our supervision.  Renfaires are a much more forgiving place for “bring your child to work” but even this can be both lovely and problematic.

One friend forbid another friend from dating what he referred to as “renrats” or what is often a moniker for kids raised at renaissance faires.  (Long story, another post) These kids often are pretty tolerant of a wide variety of people, have some odd speech tics and because they are raised in what is considered an alternate lifestyle by many, just don’t give a fig for more conventional social mores. I’ve met some great “renrats” and have met some awful ones and we’ll talk about both examples.

It takes a village to raise a child but only one child to raze a village.

Although kids can generally roam free at faires pretty safely, the other denizens shouldn’t be raising your kids.  At the last faire, we had packs of roaming kids that would ask questions, hang out with us and we would hang out with them as well. They were polite and adorable and because it was a small faire generally a look up and couple of steps would let any parental figure do instant reconnaissance.  Most ren kids know that if they need food or water, most folks at a faire would give it to them and because it IS a small community, if anyone did harm, the community would be on them like scarab beetles on a corpse.  I’m not saying that the community is immune to all the plagues of the real world, but if I had to pick a place to have kids explore and have some autonomy, that would be the place I would do it. But they should have some rules. These are my observations

Politeness-same as any setting-please and thank you are important as is understanding that it is polite to ask before grabbing anything.  Most ren kids have better sword handling etiquette than visiting adults. I say MOST because some, raised around it, just assume everyone knows that they know enough to be safe. Not the case.  Because the community is so tolerant, sometimes the kids forget that they are not, in fact, little adults.

Looking out. 
I am not the most maternal of persons but generally if I see a child doing something potentially hazardous I’ll intervene. If I see a kid swinging like an orangutan on a maypole or rocking a set of stocks,  I will be sure to say something to the child, 2) say something to the parents 3) call security knowing I did due diligence. I generally won’t touch children unless it’s a “walking on to the highway” situation. And yeah, I will scoop up your toddler if they head into a fight ring during a show because I’m a jerk like that and you aren’t on my insurance as anything but “hazard.”

Not my problem: 
I see plenty of kids and situations that will mix in a not great but certainly non-fatal way. I can’t speak for anyone else but if I see a running child who is not looking vs vendor with strangely placed racks, I might shout-out but frankly, unless I’m a superhero, it’s going to happen.  I might  help clean the resulting debris and make sympathetic noises but at the end of the day, I’m going to go home and chuckle about a lesson learned and what a kid covered with pots of glitter looked like and will look like for years later. (Glitter, it’s a plague)

Finding the owner: This is a bad example.   We did a faire where I kept finding a fairly rude little girl in our tent. Our folks are nice and kept an eye on her but we had shows to do and had to boot her several times.  We figured out that she belonged to a couple running gaming booths behind us and we’d push her in that direction.  Eventually she went up to the right person. He was an older gentleman and said
“Young lady, you come with me.” And she did-right to the on-duty cop. When escorted her back to her parents, they started to berate her and the police had to correct them, it was not the *child’s* fault that she had the opportunity to wander off with a stranger.  There are bigger endemic issues when strangers feel obligated to act on behalf of your kids and are better caretakers. (I qualify that because lots of people have opinions, it doesn’t make them right.)

Warn people:  We warned both our Godkids and troupe members that there would be eyeballs in both directions. We did not expect them to take care of our charges but if they thought they needed water or were being rude, they were qualified to say something and act if necessary. And the troupe members were asked to muffle the f-bombs, and inappropriate jokes, which was a good idea anyway.

Their stuff-I have seen firsthand how a well-meaning parent will bring what I call “The Collection” that is, everything modern society has told us we need to care for children. It’s one thing to bring activities but when we start to talk about multiple strollers, play areas  and enough food to feed the mercenary troupe, well, it can be problematic. Ordinarily it’s not an issue because faires are open spaces but if you have paid for a vendor spot or are trying for authenticity, it can put a damper on things. And there are ways around it, one group I know is creating historical “child minders” or another dedicates a “kid tent” behind the others where all of the accoutrements can be stashed but available.

Our stuff: Swords and fire,  it’s right on our sign and business card. Has this stopped parents from berating us? No, but it gets a good laugh after the festival.  Our swords are in a rack in the tent, or we allow children (with a parent) to ask politely.  I have nudged a dog with my foot, the alternative was setting it on fire, I think the owner understood. I have yet to apply it to children but then, in those cases I was the spotter and treated them to a spritzer bottle-works with cats too.

The summary: You can let your kids run at a renfaire, but if you aren’t responsible, don’t count on us to be, we’re at work.

Boxed in, tough interpersonal spots

Sometimes when I write these things people ask
“Are you making this up?”
No, sadly I am not. So let’s “go there,” shall we?

Organizers-When you do performance you owe the organizer what you contracted (and that falls back on the organizer as well) You should show up on time, do the shows in a slot, do your best job and then collect your pay. What you do not owe the organizer is 1) your personal life 2) access to your circle of friends 3) use of your equipment 4) security 5) more than what you are contracted for in black and white.  6) favors.  From past entries we all know what a hot button the term “faire family” is for me. Often we are happy to do more than expected but only on a volunteer basis. We’ve been known to hold snakes, watch kids, pull a shuttlebus out of the mud, set up tents and chairs, load trucks and move wheelchairs over terrain-all because we were either asked nicely or offered to do so. The good thing about my blog is now I will dispense some practicalities.

When organizers start “fudging” terms, you need to be polite, use computer voice and point to your contract. If this does not shut down this behavior feel free to bandy about words like “contract dispute,” small claims court, local violation, police intervention and lawyer.  We designate my partner to do these things because he is large, eloquent and can hide his temper better than I can. (Let me be clear, we are equally pissed off but he is less likely to act impulsively) You may well not get paid and that’s when you bring in others that are an authority on the matter.

True Story: Organizer tried to make us be friends by threatening our paycheck

Fellow performers-whether it is the water cooler at the office or the middle of a field, you owe your coworkers at least basic civility. This means keep your stage times, be non-obtrusive while waiting to come on, announce them if they follow you, warn them of any hazards (ex: there is a problem with the stage, a certain patron may be an issue,  and look out you are about to get drafted for the Royal Parade)  If you are nice you’ll share water, shade, stories, etc. DO NOT join in drama (feel free to see my post “Drama”)  Some performers are scoping for after-hours fun, if you are game, fine. If not, a polite “no thanks” should be sufficient. All things equal, working at the fest means we swim in a location full of sexual innuendo, scatological jokes and more. And if you aren’t ready for that, well, not sure what to say. For me, the line is crossed when I’ve said “don’t like it.” Have removed myself and then it’s as though the words never left my mouth, or invited worse personal boundary violation.  And some people play the “Rennier-than Thou” game. I always let them win. Because at the end of the day, I have a full, solid, life that I enjoy and the only person I have to one-up is me and my personal standards. If you are experiencing personal bullying then it’s a step too far.

I admit our troupe gives one another verbal shots to the arm, but if someone has a grievance we do our best to address it. And if you have issue with others but it’s not enough to try to rectify, well that’s when we have what is referred to as “Car Conversations.”  It’s often a long ride back to sleeping arrangements and you can blow off steam with your fellows there. Otherwise, keep your trap shut.

True Story(s):  Fellow performer managed to insult every member of the troupe within less than two hours. Had to isolate person to prevent murder.

Patrons and volunteers.
Volunteers (long sigh) sometimes they are great. I love it when they are helpful and fresh and happy. Not so much when they become tin gods and decide to be a mouthpiece for the organizer. If a volunteer has not been specifically appointed my contact, we will be that annoying act that verifies everything. It’s the sign of bad organizer if they have not pointed out who can and cannot speak for them. I can put three-year-olds to shame if someone points and states
“Because I told you to.”
Then, stubborn becomes a mission.
I will do as security requests –if possible. We had one festival that every year we would be told we could not bring out equipment through the back gate or the front gate and when we inquired how, we were told to follow orders. So we handed everything over the fence and when stopped, pointed out our parameters (while continuing our fire line) and asked for an alternative plan. EVERY YEAR we encountered this until  finally they decided that letting us into a gate was easier than dealing with our loopholes. (And to be clear, we weren't driving onto the site, just carrying our gear)

Patrons, you owe them a good show, a friendly face, knowledgeable input and a smile. After that, it’s a bourrée  offstage or to your next act. Like retail, it’s okay to do what we lovingly call “scrape off” someone onto your manager. Sadly, two of us are the managers.  I’m pretty good at the polite nondescript face, my partner is the master of Irish diplomacy. And we’ve both been known to sucker in other members if we just aren’t in the mood to hear about the sharpened katana in the attic for the mailman. (Little joke there,  it’s a line from our “Fox and Cat” skit) But we don’t engage if it is about sex, gender roles, body parts or “Duel me!”  Here are some gems I recommend
On bewbs and other bits: “Yes, I did grow them myself” and “No they are my balls, I wear them on my chest so they don’t chafe.”  “Nope ya can’t touch!” and “and they chime when I walk, too” and "Your Mom's lipstick."
On Badassery: “Sorry you aren’t on my insurance.” “Sorry I don’t have my sparring gear. What school did you say you were with?”
Ideally, you don’t engage at all. But if someone says something inappropriate, often I’ll just walk away. Let them explain to the organizer why you didn’t answer a question that included a reference to naughty bits.

True Story: I don’t mind friendly people but you’d be surprised at how fast a smile and kind word can morph into your fellow troupe members physically pulling you into a van in motion, to get away.

Finally, sometimes it is the whole festival (or seems like it) I’ve worn those uncomfortable, nail-filled, three-inch heeled shoes. If the “personality” of a faireground  endorses bad behavior there isn’t much you can do about it. Especially if it happens with the blessing (and participation) of the organizer. It’s awful and uncomfortable and often people will turn on those who point out the bad behaviors. I am not sure what to tell people about this. I have a friend who loves her home faire and bends over backwards to support it. But some of the stories I’ve heard would make me bail and hope for better elsewhere-and sometimes there isn’t an elsewhere for being in a festival.  In these cases, your community theater, the local help organizations and others would love to have you. Or you can be bull-headed like we were and start your own thing. (Hard road, be warned!)

So many true stories that need to be blog entries. To give you an idea of the scope, I turned to Fenix and asked
“So would you want to write up a ‘when it goes bad’ entry for me?”
“How could I narrow it down?
And I didn’t have an answer.

But the good does outweigh the bad, otherwise, why do it at all?  I have noted that many people who have been successful, for reasons not clear to me, DO NOT warn others of the pitfalls.  And sometimes if the person does speak up they are accused of crying wolf.  There isn’t a one-solution-fits-all and no one can warn you of *everything.*  I am a big proponent of going in with both eyes open and somewhat prepared. And even being in this business for twelve years, we still have situations over which there is little to no control and we have to fake it until we make it. So these blog entries, some cheery, some not are primarily to pass on what I wish someone had passed on to me. As always, if you want to chat, just go to our website (phoenixswords.com) and drop a line.

How Phoenix Swords ended up doing fire performance

How did a sword troupe come to work with fire? Someday I will talk about how I ended up in/running a sword troupe but today I want to talk about a much bigger turn that led to a stranger place.

I have a friend who is an idea factory. He seriously churns out things as a side note that I wish I could catch and tuck away for later. We’ve diverged in path significantly but initially we were both interested in working at renaissance faires and had worked together in a troupe. He didn’t want to do sword work any more-he wanted to play with fire. My strength is that I make things pretty and am very good at promoting OTHER people.  We made an agreement that we’d put him under our troupe umbrella and handle boring things like promotion, act details and contracts and book shows for him.   We did that but unfortunately he became bored with fire and performance. He sold us his props and I found another colleague from the same group that did fire but with different tricks-and he too, was done with swords. I breathed a sigh of relief, same deal, shows covered.

And then, he had to give it up as well. Sadly, we still had shows scheduled.  I begged him and he agreed to train me and any interested parties in Phoenix Swords how to use and be safe with fire. Little did I know how many people think fire is sexy and how much it would change  the face of the troupe!

I bought some props for me to try-fire fans. They looked a little less intimidating than say, juggling or devilsticks.  We had two dancers that took to this immediately and wrote up a set of choreography to do.

Undeterred, I found a bigger set of fans-which then were bought by a member and he took them over as his thing.

In the meantime, two members invested in a set of fire swords and took over that part of the business-my second fire guy was nice and continued to train anyone interested. This led to us starting a division called “Phoenix Fire” because we had to do something about the fire training cutting into the sword training.

The shows we’d booked to that point involved the whole troupe and although we did a little fire work as a gate finisher at some faires or as individual bookings, it became clear that we had a full act on our hands and we needed to get a much more formal stage guide in place.

Stepping back a moment, as soon as I heard fire guy #2 was going to leave, I had to jump into the wonderful world of fire safety and performance with both feet.  At that time, the only place anyone heard of doing what we do was with Burning Man or the occasional poi spinner or secret  fire gatherings that were world-of-mouth. Like any subculture-first you have to FIND it and then you have to go in full-on invested.  The places where I found the best information were at Home of Poi (in Australia) on Tribe.net  and I read, read and read. And coming into it as an outsider I asked firefighters, burners, fire lovers, people who liked to grill-anybody and funneled all that into something we could use. Long story short, apparently I went about it the hardest way any human being could. But when I was finished, we had working procedures for safety, stage and tools. MSDS sheets for fuels (we don’t mix)  an annual training, training booklet, step-by-step bits for each tool and a checklist with a quiz.  And we made mistakes-and apparently had a reputation for being “safety Nazis.” The nicer people were just happy we showed up with tools and I was roped into doing a fair amount of spotting for other fire acts. One subcontractor expressed concerns about our first aid kit so I brought it over. His response was.
“Well, I asked about first aid and it appears we can survive a plane crash with this.”
(Our full first aid kit is bigger than carry-on luggage)

Friends and I have often discussed “the Curse of competence” that is, we inadvertently go so good at something that other folks start taking it for granted. Although I’d been the one to start the big push for fire, I did not get a significant piece of the stage action for nearly three years. I knew how to do most of the tricks and bits and could pinch-hit, some of the performers actively discouraged me from being onstage. We eventually figured out  1) they would have to share stage time (and honestly I don’t begrudge it) and 2) good spotters are hard to find. 3) Because, reasons.

So I developed (with some help from the internet) my own fire tool and we put it together. It had the bonus of being dangerous for men to use. That would be the fire meteors-which we’ve since discovered is the second most dangerous fire tool out there. And for me, I had to use the bigger monkey fists because I wanted the extra weight. (My gorilla arms, so hot)

But honestly, it began to be too much to be a stage manager, a spotter, props person AND help run the sword troupe. I tried delegating with mixed success.  One summer we had some really awful interpersonal incidents. And when some barriers were removed (and some people) there was sudden peace and re-arrangement. We  stopped doing a certain faire and it eventually disappeared. And now there are three to four troupes in the area that specialize in fire, it’s been an easy transition back to doing historical and stage sword work, with a bit of fire.

Some things we stopped doing were letting people go from practice to performance before a year with us (and fire) We used to have an issue with people staying just long enough  to learn the tricks and then become competitors-or that we were not “burners” so they were disappointed.   We have learned to ask A LOT of questions of anyone who wants to hire us. One would think inviting someone to come and play with fire in your backyard/venue  would lead to concerns but in a number of cases it’s good we were proactive!

Anyway the summary of how I ended up working with fire is that I had to learn to make my bookings. Plenty of others have different reasons (and THAT is another whole blog entry)  but it is pretty cool to work with once you realize it’s not an “if” but a “when” you will get burned.  My partner teases me about being a little nuts to do it, and it did take two years before I could bring myself to fire-eat.  But it does illustrate that you can start by being a certain thing but your business ends up going in a different direction. Some of the troupes I’ve seen ended up doing more marketing and less performance. Others saw how lucrative it was to sell the tools they use and ended up as vendors. Some started with weapons and that became the focus of their show.  But by its very nature, fire can consume and not just with physical properties so be sure to be aware of ALL its aspects, even the commercial ones.

How Technology has impacted what we do

What we do for performance highlights history and the past but modernity has we impacted how we do business and how we handle communication, travel and commerce. That’s true of everyone but in some ways it’s amusing that a sword troupe thrives because of technology.

For this I’ll use two examples generally 2002 timeline and today

Getting out the word-
Then: At that time not everyone in the troupe had email, so we had to rely on the phone, meeting at practice or passing along via troupe members what our plans were. I tried to do six-month planning sheets that I would hand out at practice.  We had a phone tree for cancelled practices and I generally had to decide the night before because some folks wouldn’t be caught fast enough by phone.  We had a fax number so we could send/receive contracts and a website. On the website we had printable materials, the fax number, email and posted our own video. We joined as many webrings as possible and posted on every forum I could find. We had brochures and sent out “promotion kits” with a CD, printed material and a hardcopy photo.

Now: We have a website, facebook, blogger, wordpress and Youtube.  Still haunt forums and sites and try to get us linked to as many places as possible. Practice info is sent by text, by email  and occasionally I’ll use a facebook site. People don’t change, and I’ve flat out said that when I have hold someone’s hand, look deeply into their eyes and tell them troupe plans, then there will be jail time and I’ll call it quits. And yes, I’ve been told that calling, announcing at practice, and email was not sufficient. (Not for some time, admittedly) We do most of our contracts via email. I love email, it leaves a trail.

Travel-
Then, we had to find our way to a faire site that was not on Mapquest and had to request a map (and consult an atlas) to find our way there. Only one person per car had a cell phone and we left at different times. We tried not to call one another because outside the area was expensive. And we chose our cell phone plan based on the fact that there was a cell tower near the practice site. Even on reaching the performance site there were no signs, had no GPS and even people from the LOCAL AREA had no idea where it was. (Wilmer, AL Mobile Zoo-) Note that even today,  there are no connecting roads.  We would print up “map books” from AAA in a bound folder with turn-by-turn directions and gas stops. Sometimes we had to front people money because ATMS were not a thing yet. We would throw in a mix tape to travel.

Now, we print up the turn-by-turn on a single sheet of paper and we have everyone’s cell number. We still rent cars and leave at different times but it’s simple to just call on the road and see how it is going.  We (owners) can locate one another via “find my phone” and I am seriously considering a “nanny app” for larger sites so we can track one another (with permission) Our special gift is finding spots where Google’s map is out of date/wrong (this happened as recently as this April) We can warn of road hazards and traffic jams. We have told our people “Do not rely  upon your GPS.” So when we receive a call at 2:00 am from a place that is nowhere near any of our written directions, I’ve been known to throw phones across the parking lot. (It was a nokia, so no problem.) Some things haven’t changed-bringing our own food, setting up shifts and packing light.  By polite request the person in the “shotgun” seat doesn’t play with their phone or handheld games so we all don’t die in a ditch because the driver fell asleep.

Photography-
Then:huge difference. It was expensive and time consuming because it required camera film and then a trip to the local pharmacy. When we did move to digital it was with a pixel-quality camera that is available for most children’s toys now. I do miss some of the vibrancy.  In order to get “action shots” I’d record with a (tape required) camera and then whittle down to certain frames. Editing video was a weekend-long job.

Now: Take a picture of everything! Even though I generally only have a little pocket canon, I get some great shots. The problem is getting people to take photos! I am probably the least-featured member because I am behind the lens. Now, my big issue is winnowing down what makes a good shot.  I’ve been told I have a good eye and no amount of photoshop can help a picture be amazing if you don’t start with something good. Video is as simple as a quick edit  in iMovie and “bam!” it’s out on youtube. The bigger problem now is discernment of what is interesting

Information in general-we can do waivers and contracts on an ipad-and check online information. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve received a call while on the road with a request for information. We can be professional  while in a van of overtired performers but sometimes it can be a challenge. And we have a credit card reader so commerce can be done on the spot!

Things that won’t change: Physical demands-you have to haul gear, swing a sword and have some physical ability. We still have tents and swords!  Networking-there is nothing like person-to-person contact to make an impression. Video can be misleading-it’s easy to be good for three minutes-tough to do for a ½ hour show, repeated throughout the day.  And our experience is that tent with extra “oomph” will take longer than an easy-up, but will stay in place longer. I had a boss who told me that a webcam would make sure that no one came in to see a live creature for themselves.  That might be true of some but what a terrible way to rob yourself of a terrific experience!

I’m sure there is technology out there that we haven’t event tapped but it’s  a balance between making your bottom line and playing with the newest, latest greatest.  I remember how some folks told me if we weren’t on twitter then we should just throw in the towel. Sorry, just can’t be that entertaining all the time, and if celebrities are any indication, it’s written Russian Roulette until something stupid from your brain sets the internet on fire.

Although having modern access helps, it’s not what our experience is about and what makes it special! So although we’ll continue to add to the modern arsenal, it’s going to be history, proximity and fun that keeps us viable.

Introduction to Phoenix Swords, a performance troupe

This is the blogspot of Phoenix Swords.

A brief description:

Phoenix Swords is a group dedicated to performance of historic and stage sword work, fire performance and children's skits based on world folklore. Founded September 1rst 2002, the group travels as far North as Ontario, Canada and as far South as Pensacola, FL. Some of our bigger customers have included History Channel, and The Big E. Our performance requestors include Boy Scouts of America, colleges and universities, charity organizations, weddings, churches and private parties (all ages.)

Our main website:

phoenixswords.com