The problems with family…

Faire loves to think of itself as one big extended family, which is a lovely concept and is generally true, but is also one of the Achilies Heel’s in the production of events.

At it’s core faire is also a business, or at the least it’s a form of theater in the round. In both cases you always want to try to cast and use those folks who bring what’s best to the show. But what happens when it becomes painfully evident that a group, person, or business just isn’t cutting it anymore? It could be from their quality having dropped over time, or that other elements of the show has come so far that they pale in comparison.

It’s then that the Family aspect becomes a problem as too often people are kept around or in cast positions because they’ve been doing it forever. But what does that serve in the end? The delicate ego of the person in question, the feeling that if you tell them no they’ll think you’ve turned your back on them and are no longer their friend?

Or a business that has done it’s best, but they have been passed in quality and ability to keep up by other vendors. Where is that line that’s crossed when a mom and pop store just isn’t up to par with the others that are in the competition for the same space?

People need to come to terms with the price that is demanded when you mix friendship and business. The two can be mixed, and occasionally successfully, but not always. It’s when a person falls back on their friendship with another to keep the business side going, then bad things are invariably going to happen.

There’s a case in point at the moment with a cast member of faire who’s well liked, and does a nice enough show, but at this point in many faires, their shtick just doesn’t work out - it doesn’t work in a large venue stage, and faires have few opportunities for small intimate acts for the most part. And so the realization that the audience just doesn’t get into their show as much as they once did is unfortunate, but it’s also a reality. Now comes the time where it’s becoming harder and harder to cost-justify having them, but it’s a personal anguish in telling them that, I’m sorry, but we just don’t need you (at many events). The same happened a few years ago with the Jousting Goats show, their irregularity in performence quality, and upward expectations of pricing of their show caused them to be dropped off the map.

If I had my druthers I’d wish that everyone could leave friendships at the door whenever it came to having business decisions, but we’re seeing more and more the strains of people not being able to do that and it’s causing cracks in the plaster.