… I know, it’s been a few weeks. My apologies folks – life got on top of me… but!

I have a number of things on the stove right now:

Masters of Illusion – Some Observations and Commentary
More Things You Will See At Faire
My “America’s Got Talent” Adventure (the last week of …

No one cares about who you used to be at Faire. They’re concerned with you are are now.
Remember that weeks and sometimes entire months go by between weekends at Faire, and that during this time, something called “life” happens.
Damp haybales don’t dry out if you’re sitting on them.
Going to restaurants …

The Video Camera Cyclops
Don’t Know the Name but I Remember the Costume!
The Missing Link (including Legend of Zelda sword, shield, hat, pointy ears…)
Swarm of Disturbingly Well-Developed Underage Girls
The Studly One – Everything’s studded! (Belt, wristbands, boots, tankard, eyebrow, nose…)
Scottish Minimalism: Kilt. Sword. Boots. Whiskey.
The Cluster of Mongers, All Shouting
The Wench …

No matter where you are, the Parade is always coming right at you.
Dust. Water. They’re everywhere. Get used to it.
If everyone around you is shouting, react silently. This will cause people to pay attention to  you.
It’s not raining on you, it’s raining on everybody.
You can attract more attention to yourself …

A professional is a guy who can do it twice!
- Dizzy Gillespie, in an interview with Paul Halmill
I ran into this quote in a slim tome entitled Why Sinatra Matters (which is also a good read if you’re one of those young guys who doesn’t understand where there was so …

…. moving away from Cheap Magic, let’s look at cheapness uh, frugality in Faire…

Bring  most of your food and beverages with you – Yes, it meas you’re hauling more stuff onto site, but even bread, cheese and summer sausage bought “off site” will cost maybe 30% of what you’re going …

… If you’re going to be performing at Faires which offer compensation, you’re going to have to confront the “how much should I ask to be paid” question.

The best guideline I can give is to determine your Cost Plus Profit rate.

In this case, Cost is what it costs you to …

I’ve been thinking about how much stuff I tote around when I work Faires – I’ve mentioned before that I’m a great believer in infrastructure – but when it comes down to it, there is an ABM – an Absolute Bare Minimum – that I’d want to pack in and …

Environmental performances – like Renaissance Faires – are fertile ground for planting “Mythology”. All groups have their own little myths and legends*… so why not create your own?

Faire Mythology is successful because of
Rule One: Inexplicable Behavior at Faire… Works.
If you do something that has no logical explanation… people will …

… coming up on my 2009 Faire season, I thought I’d ramble off a short list (short – HA!) of my favorite things at Faire

Watching the Site Go Up – yes, it’s a madhouse. Yes, I’m a stage act and as such, don’t always have to put together my own …