Private Parties: sometimes it goes...strangely

Being a performer is like being a contractor in any other profession. You sign a contract, you go to the site, you do your job. However, as any plumber, landscaper, computer programmer or other professions will tell you, jobs are like trail mix. How you ask? It’s generally bag of flakes, fruits, candy and mixed nuts-often heavy on the flakes and nuts.

With items like town fairs, corporate parties, and renaissance faires –they are concerned with liability, they want to cover their assets and they want it in writing. Explaining these things to your backyard party planner  in a way that doesn’t get strange quickly can be a task. We have had private parties that were lots of fun (just did one that was a repeat performance) weddings that were a blast, and kids birthday parties that made us smile a lot.

But I suspect you aren’t you aren’t reading along for the “Everything was butterflies and kittens and we received a great tip” stories.  (As an aside, never take a job that is run by a “committee” unless you have a hard contract)

Two parties where it all went kind of sideways.
The goth club Halloween party

It’s never a good sign when carnies have turned down a job and then it is offered to you. Another non-written rule that came from this this is that anyone who hires you with less than three weeks to Halloween is probably not someone for whom you’d like to work. But one half of us were on our way to the Mobile faire and the other half stayed behind to do a scenarios at midnight. The troupe was the second act on the docket, the first being an NC-17  uhm “scene” with a lot of props and not much clothing. Our folks are pretty easy going and tried to be polite in a small dressing area but it was definitely distracting. Also distracting? The club had low ceilings and no one knew how to shut off the strobe lights. But the show had to go on, so our folks-in makeup, prosthetics and dodging table, patrons and working in a strobe did their thing. They tried a storyline and the patrons didn’t seem to get it.
*A scripted disarm and when one patron tried to grab the sword while smirking
“Nice fighting D’Artanian” our member dragged the patron AND the sword across a table to continue the fight.
* No one seemed to sense how much danger they posed/could have received in a cramped space with swords and limited light
* at the end of it someone yelled “You Suck!”

But it did end, our folks went backstage and the DJ/guy in charge gushed about how great it was and asked if our folks wanted to stay and do more (with no additional pay) When told what a lone member of the crowd had critiqued he said.
“That’s great, you actually got a reaction out of them!”

The Bridal shower.

This party is why we have a “no surprise party” clause in party contracts. It started out innocently enough when the Mother of the bride wanted us to stage a sort of ‘hero saves princess’  scenario for the bride and groom-with the couple’s full permission. Fenix typed up a script, it had an equally opportunity scenario for the groom and all the sword fighting would be done within our group. In fact, we had some fairly funny adult humor built into the fights and our players did such a good job that those who couldn’t do the job were sorry about it. We were double-booked for the day  and our most easy-going, funny players were doing the coed bridal shower while the rest of us did a festival.  After all, expectations were set and it was a happy occasion!

We had a signed contract, the Mom holding the party had made sure our folks would be fed, could stay for the party and she loved the skits. It was all good.
(Cue unsettling music)
So our “bad guy” (who is a giant marshmallow and a sweetheart)  “stole” the bride to another part of the party and our “crazed substitute” bride  (for you movie fans think either ‘Whatever Happened to Baby Jane’ or ‘Black Swan’)  the guest have a rollicking good time until it’s time for the rescue. Sadly, at this point it’s clear that 1) the groom cannot tell reality from fantasy 2) the Mother of the bride has set this up to show her daughter that her beloved is a possessive jerk with ISSUES  3) we have danced into this public mess and are now part of the drama playing out publicly.

Our members had their hands full keeping the groom from grabbing a sword and doing what he wanted. And then, when the ‘bad guy’ was brought to justice by our players, the groom had to be manhandled off our member and reminded that we are just actors paid to be here and he needed to cool his cajones.  Only an application of a strong arm seemed to get through. Needless to say, no one seemed to find this part humorous.

And nobody wanted to stay for dessert (imagine)…..and we received a better tip, but NOT WORTH IT.

So can you learn from our mistakes? Absolutely, contracts, listening to your gut and having other options are great. However, if you were starting out like we were you really can’t afford to turn down too many jobs. We’ve had some great private parties (and those are a few blogs forward) that were very lucrative. But being in a unfamiliar situation where you are at the mercy of an employer’s circumstances can turn quickly so be sure that you have good team mates, that you have it in writing, and have an escape plan!

Performing as an introvert

I know that you really enjoy watching (insert “Being There” joke)  the acts at the faire but yes, you as a shy person or as an introvert (a person who needs alone time to recharge) or even a shy extrovert (A person who needs a social script but once that’s set there is no stopping you)  or and outgoing introvertmany of the people you see onstage are *just like you* the majority really are extroverts (that’s why they were drawn to this. )But like any slice of life, it’s not generally made up of just one type of person. With the success of books like “Quiet" it’s important to note that it’s not just the arm-flinging hams that have something to contribute to entertainment. And not just behind the scenes.

What an introvert does:
Because going into a situation is like a social obstacle course, most introverts are actually pretty good at reading people and they can especially do a low-key approach to personal interactions. Although a lot of folks are very good at being the center of attention, sometimes they can be overwhelming.  The introvert knows to bait the trap with an interesting hook, look or object that invites participation. This also lets the invited person set the pace of how much or little this scene will play out interactively. Although the extrovert gives permission to be  loud, the introvert knows how to target the more reticent audience member.

We listen to everything. And although the extrovert is funny, the introvert has been tweaking the joke for weeks and observing crowd reactions. The introvert saw the lady in row three wincing and the Bubba in row five cracking his knuckles. We are the ones who pull aside a main player and say.
“Dude, you need to stop doing ‘x’ it’s really getting to people.”
Sometimes that is the reaction you want, most times, even if it played well in Peoria, maybe not so much in Nantucket. (And that limerick is RIGHT OUT)

We make excellent “straight men” and “fall guys” because we don’t need the spotlight (usually)  We are happy to be the brunt of a joke or do non-speaking parts. We had an excellent introvert that told us
“Look I can never go on stage again, it was too much.” And we were all sad to hear it because he stole the show with gestures and mugging.  I think our hams were somewhat relieved. My super-secret power is being able to hit the dirt and sound like a sack of wet mice. And to “take a kick.” Sadly, we can’t do that any more because it’s too convincing. When you have to hold back a crowd after a stage fight, that fourth wall crashes in an unpleasant way. Now our fights have to be “less graphic.” Thanks pseudo-chivalry inspired by faires!

Often we are the more eloquent speakers-not because we are in any way better than an extrovert, but because we show our distain in a different way. Most extroverts are firecrackers-BOOM! Then it’s all over and they feel better. Sadly, a lot of damage can be done in very few seconds. Introverts (and well-trained extroverts) are accustomed to taking that extra few seconds to speak. Delaying the exact words “YOU ARE A DUMBASS”  and saying something a little less pointed can save jobs, lives and working. We  are the folks who are genuinely happy to have the show over. We don’t mind jobs like: watch my stuff, stay here and act as a point person, or be the unexpected quiet person that pops up unexpectedly at the sword rack when grabby hands think no one is around.  And generally we don’t have to tell everyone else what a rough day it was, because we assume everyone involved in it already knows.

So although we don’t get the loud accolades, knowing that it all went smoothly, that we had our moment onstage and people really enjoyed themselves, this is how we get our moments at the renfaire. And how we help the “hams” get theirs.