Currently I’m working at the Great Dickens Faire in San Francisco CA. I am with the beverage department and will understudy Fred, Scrooge’s nephew in a Christmas Carol.
Before I talk about what I have learned let’s look at a little history.
My introduction to Faire came in the seventh grade when we had a group of performers come and work with us from the Patterson’s Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Black Point Forest. My class had a field trip out to the Faire, we got to come up with our own costumes and go through the Living History part of the Faire. I blame them for my love of period work.
The Patterson’s started something that took off in the US from early beginnings to the high points at Black Point. It was at the right time and place culturally and in CA has become the long-standing bar that is set for Renn Faires today. From this sprung the Dickens Faire. It had been a bit nomadic for a while but has settled into a home at the Cow Palace.
As someone who has produced theatrical work and been part of production teams I understand and have participated in the build and tear down of this event. It’s a monumental task watching a city come out of containers, put up, decorated, and worked in for five weeks, then put away again. Liz Martin is in charge of costume and quality control of all outfits worn by staff, and they must pass her requirements as to give the look of the citizens a cohesive feel. Decoration, plumbing, electrical, and carpentry all play their part. There at least 6 stages with constant performances that must be scheduled, live music, an amazing food court that must be plumed, vented and supplied with sufficient electrical power.
Why does it succeed? The Patterson’s have created a culture that they sustain in their approach to the work. Before we open, the vast crew of volunteers who come to work the Faire go through a series of workshops so that everyone is clear as to what we are trying to bring to life. They include history of the time, accents, manners, and improvisation techniques. What we build is a Dickens Christmas, not just a Victorian one. His characters and view of what London was is critical to how the work is presented. There are roughly about one thousand of us operating all aspects, many of these are volunteers. This is a great deal to manage and keep on an even keel. It works because they all want to be there, they are made to feel that what they contribute is vital to the Faire, and has created a community of its own. Something the production team is always aware of and works to sustain.
I’ve had the task of acting several times in this Faire and in a few Renne Faires, sadly not Black Point as this no longer operates. Many non-Faire performers look down their noses at what is referred to as “Faire Acting”. In many cases it is over-the-top, but not always. In the case of the Dickens Faire we not only have characters from his books, but the Adventurers Club featuring prominent historical figures of the time, art classes taught by performers playing the big hitters of the Pre-Raphaelite movement and so on. We even have a Queen Victoria and her brood of children that parade through the Faire.
How does it work? As a good friend of mine who plays Elizabeth the first at a local Renne Faire says “its all about how others respond to you, if you don’t give me status I’m just a lady in a big dress.”
It becomes a working exercise in giving and getting status from others, thinking on your feet, and knowing enough to respond according to the period and character you are playing. The minute the public enters you are onstage, it is basically an 8- 9-hour improvisation. This takes both physical and mental stamina.
What we build is a form of emersion theatre; you as the audience get to step into a set that has been carefully put together to sustain the illusion. We employ some of the simplest and basic theatre artifices and they are incredibly successful.
A few of my former company members have now been a part of this kind of work. When I produced Cymbeline for Butterfield 8 the theatre became a movie set so the performers had to play an actor playing a character in the play. They never left the public view, for some it was terrifying but a great exercise. So if you ever want to really challenge yourself as a performer, join the Dickens Faire for a season. It’s an amazing learning experience and will inform your approach to future work.
If you do come, make sure you attend the Morning Tableau as Mr. Dickens introduces characters you will meet on the streets. This takes place in Fezzywig’s warehouse and at the end Mr. Dickens tells the crowd “welcome to London” The curtain is pulled back to reveal the main thoroughfare of our London streets. Actors and street vendors are in place. It’s simple but still one of the most palpable moments of the Faire.
As a director and producer I have learned many lessons in this environment and employed them to different degrees within my own work. Faire has broadened my view of what theatre is and can be. If you come, say hello, I’m behind the bar at Mad Sal’s.