How would I look performing at a Renaissance Festival wearing my regular casual outfits? I was thinking about applying for one in Michigan.

I take it you've NEVER been to a Ren Fest before?

You right, I haven't. But I have seen those old time pictures online.

I think you would probably stick out like a sore thumb.

For some reason they weren't too keen on my star trek uniform, even though it was authentic, so you probably wouldn't be allowed...

just sayin'

Dynamike... if you're not joking, I strongly suggest you hop over to the Period & Styles of Magic section and start asking questions.

You may also want to look up some websites of big Renaissance Faires to get an idea of what they do there.

Where do they sell those type of clothes?

um... here?

http://www.google.com/search?q=ren+faire......irefox-a

Thanks, Gaddy, I see a lot of clothes on that website. Would it look ok if I wear those type of clothes?

I don't see why not. Most ren faire clothiers have a "starter kit" you might want to ask about.

Mike,

When auditioning you should try to look and talk from the period. Once you are on the program a lot of guys talk contemporary but dress SCA/Ren Faire.

You could get away with something like this:

a vest and some period boots. You don't need to spend a ton of money.

Best,

Dan-

Posted: Feb 20, 2009 9:32am
Bill Palmer also has some EXCELLENT notes on working ren faires.

http://www.renstore.com/

This is where I bought my "starter" garb. (You might as well get used to the lingo now, it's not exactly what you're used to)

After a season or two of visiting the vendors, you *will* want to upgrade. I've gone through at least three full costume changes so far.

Mike if you have not attended some ren fairs, go to some before you plunge in trying to get one for a gig. They have their particular style, and depending on who is putting them on, they can get very picky.

Except for a change of hat and boots, this is pretty much what I settled on after a few years. It's all cotton except for the suede leather doublet. I have several combinations of pouches I can wear that aren't shown here:

With your "coloring" (no PC way of saying it)you might want to tailor your look to match. I've seen Moorish (think Morgan Freeman in Prince of Thieves), basic peasant garb (field worker with props to match, nothing too flashy) or you can go all out in Nobles garb as a visitor from a far away land. Pretty much anything can work as long as you have some historic reason for wearing it.

Dave, why be ist that fair mai
den hanging bout with a rogue like yee?

http://www.thornyrose.com/
Any thing I don't make myself I get from Rose, tell her what you are looking for, or ask her for help and she will help you out. her husband dabbels in magic and juggling also.
Any one looking for sca/renfair stuff go to her. The PA. ren fair has.
Tell Rose I sent you. You will not go wrong with Rose!

Mike:

Do NOT, under ANY circumstances, simply set up your table at a Renaissance Faire and start performing. If you do, within a matter of minutes, the security guards will grab you and toss you out. It doesn't matter whether you are wearing your regular clothing or Renaissance costuming.

The reason is this: performers who work for a hat, or who are allowed what most faires term an "active hat," meaning that you can pass the hat, feel that the hat money is a "zero sum" game. That is, the people have x number of hat bucks they plan to turn loose of. Any outsiders who come in basically take from other performers.

Many faires have some kind of an unobtrusive badge or identifying symbol that all of their performers wear on their costumes. If you don't have one, and you get caught performing, out you go.

So, if you want to perform at a local faire, find the entertainment director, audition for him, and get the job. Don't go about this unprepared.

Bill, I don't think he was going to crash the party as he put in his post...

"I was thinking about applying for one in Michigan."

I have seen a tux. whering person do a ren fair, paid performer and every thing. he was good, but was compleatly out of place, the fair got a bucket of complants.
Dynamike, you may not want to work a fair that would let you work in mundains, go to a fair, see If you like it, then get some garb and see what happens. also get used to: hot weather,
cold weather
NO pockets
dust
drunks
rain
lugging your stuff every where you go for lack of a safe place to put it.
no pockets
over priced/bad food.
over priced every thing elese.
hey! what happend to my pockets?!

I love this stuff, performing mizers dream, because it is to windy to juggle. card tricks in the rain, dust dirt and mud, that IS mud right?? I won't get rich doing this, but overcomig the chalinge is worth it.

If you are looking to book the fair this season and want to get the Idea before fair starts, you may want to go to a sca event, It is not the same, but you will get an idea of some of the people you will see at fair and sca events happen all year long.

Posted: Feb 21, 2009 3:19am
Bill, thanks however, Incase some one thinks about crashing the party.
A ren fair is a private show, you would not want some one walking into your show and start up there own. then as Bill pointed out, take your pay.

Greetings and Salutations Mike,

I was going to jump up and down, scream, shout, castigate, belittle, and otherwise make a fool of myself, but I won't.

Mike, please get Bill's notes, if he still has copies. And if he doesn't, pay whatever it takes to get a set. He was the Entertainment Director for the largest ren faire in the country, at least I think the Texas Renaissance Faire is the largest in the country. He's probably forgotten more than I know on the subject.

Get three sets of good garb (it's not clothing or costumes, it's garb). Why three? I prefer a fresh shirt and pants every day, and some weekends run three days, and sometimes its hot, rainy, muddy, dusty, or other wise detrimental weather to wearing the same shirt and pants through an entire faire day.

Get the best, most comfortable, best-made, durable, can-stand-in-'em-all-day-long shoes (that are either period appropriate, neutral, or appropriate for the faire) you can afford, and don't skimp on your dogs or they'll bite you -- hard.

But before you do any of that -- go to a faire. No. Go to a bunch of them before you chunk out any money on garb, shoes, hats, belts and the other stuff you're going to need to fit it. Determine whether or not you would like performing at such an event where you perform rain or shine, hot or cold, windy (most of the time) or not, where crowds can be more fickle than the weather or your wife, where you are competing with a seeming hundred things going on at the same time, where a parade is as likely as not to march straight through your crowd and drag a significant number of them with you because they figure that that's the end of your show.

On the upside, you're used to working on the street, so stopping a crowd and putting on a show is second nature, but how's your internal clock, or stage time management, because if I'm following you, and you're not off on time, I'm walking on stage, breaking up your hat and stealing your crowd because 30 minutes means 30 minutes, dammit! (Or whatever your allotted stage time is.)

Give it a shot, but not before you've been to a few. Talk to a few performers, and do a search here at the Café, there are a few threads that can give you a look at performing at these venues.

Joe Zeman aka
The Mage Ulysses

The event planner already emailed me back mentioning she wants a promo kit from me.