... a deviant path is the only way ...

Working in a booth, I don't have much time to see entertainment. Most of what I see is what happens on the street. Luckily, the entertainer's green room is right behind the Globe Stage, which is right next to my shop, so I get to see a fair amount.

The TRF theme this year is The Quest. To my understanding, every year there is a different theme, with a different plotline that is worked out over the course of the day.

( TRF plotline spoilers ahead... )

As far as street entertainment goes, most of it is hit-and-run of course, though Scratch the Beggar does do his thing here. I really enjoy seeing the Well Washing Wenches do bits as they proceed down the lane, and there is a pirate who takes great delight in bursting into screams at the sight of various frightening patrons. The Fairy Godfather is bright and colorful and pink, and there is a lady with an odd wine-cork hat who leaves kisses on bald patrons' heads. I don't have much experiance with any of the Court(s) (of which several nationalities are represented), except for a few court ladies who come into our shop occasionally.

On the first weekend, the music shop across the way complained that E-Muzeki was drawing away their customers, so unfortunately, we don't get any street musicians in front of our shop any more. *pouts* And they were really good too.

The stage act I've seen the most is the final one, the Highland Ceilidh with Tartanic (a musical group). I'm not too keen on the script (or maybe just Tartanic themselves?). It's rather overblown and the sexual overtones are too blatant and spelled-out. I don't plan on making a trek across site to see Tartanic by themselves. The dancing is pretty neat (although seeing Heralds in Love done Scottish-style was odd), but there was a lot of ass-and/or-underwear flashing which I wasn't keen on, personally.

Since I so loved the commedia by I Arroganti in Minnesota, when I realized the Commedia at TRF is close, I took a break to go see it. I missed the first 5 minutes, and had to leave before the conclusion, but it left a similiar taste in my mouth as the Ceilidh. Most of the sex stuff was really overt. Worse, in my opinion, was that it was very self-referential. After a few repetitions of "It's as though I'm a character in some farsical Italian commedia" they actually pulled out the script to see what happened next and vowed to never let one of the characters write another one. I did get many laughs out of it though, and greatly enjoyed seeing phrases and situations that iarroganti brought up from Texas.

I managed to see the first half of Gypsy Dance Theater, and I thought it was awesome. There are 4 female dancers and 3 male percussionists. One of the drummers also sang/chanted a bit, and danced. The dancers all have different styles of dressing and dancing, which makes it very fun to watch.

I went about halfway across site to go see Istanpitta, who I also thought was great. *grins* I may be a bit biased though, because they played Quen Quer Que. *pouts* I couldn't dance though, because you really need at least a few people to dance it.... le sigh. Hopefully next time....

However, thinking of dancing, it looks like there might be a little bit I may be able to do at the Maypole dancing.... I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

Really, what happens during the week is dependant on a individuals desire and motivation. You can smoke pot all day if you want (and can afford it), or you can do piecework or other projects. However, here are some of the places people tend to go to socialize or learn or whatever...

During the weekends, and especially so at TRF, people have very little time to cook. So, instead, there are a few places that have sprung up where you can go and get a good meal for $6 or so. Rio's is right across the street from me - he has set up a kitchen/diner behind his house, and his menu is pretty constant - salmon, chicken, or crap-forgot-the-name-mexican-food. The Yellow House is almost to the end of Renfaire Drive, and is, as you might expect, a big yellow house. The Yellow House seems to have a variable menu, but I haven't eaten there yet, so I can't say for certain. The third place is the Copper Rose, at the very end of Renfaire Drive. The Copper Rose is the only place that is open all week long, and last year they got a beer liscene, so they sell beer as well.

The Coppper Rose is the most amenable of these places for socializing, as it is open all week, and they just got a pool table, and keep a couple board games out. However, whereever there are two people gathered, you can expect there is some socializing going on.

On Sunday nights, after everyone is back from work, there is a drum jam that starts about 11pm. It's pretty neat: There is a large circle of benches (yes, stone ones) around a fire, with the drummers all on the far end. Later at night there might be some dancing or fire-spinning. Non-dancers-or-drummers just sit around and chat or whatever as they see fit.

Monday morning/early afternoon is the Bizarre Bazaar. This is a flea-market/garage-sale that goes on in Rio's back yard (or maybe the yard next door?). Pretty much anyone is welcome to come and set up a table or a blanket (or massage table) and sell their stuff, whether is be bone carvings, jewelry, or old clothes.

Throughout the week, if you are so inclined, you can edify yourself through Rennie U. At the start of any given show, potential instructors will fill out a sheet listing what they are teaching, and how and/or when you can get ahold of them, and cost. These are all gathered into a binder and left at some prominent gathering spot (at the moment, at Rio's). Some of the classes being offered at TRF:
- Poi
- Hatha Yoga
- instrument lessons (Guitar and Violin, I think)
- an improv class
- Character Development for Fun and Profit (taught by one of the Washing Well Wenches)

Generally, there is at least a free-will donation of $1 per class taught or taken. This goes into a pot for something, whether it be a show-end party, or donated to RESCU, a non-profit that helps Rennies with medical emergencies.

On Wednesday nights there is a dance party. It starts around 7 or 8, but doesn't really get swinging until 10 or 11. It's really, really swank there - the host has the ultimate party deck, methinks. I don't get to sleep until late on Wednesdays, even if I wanted to - the 'Hump Dance' is just a few places up the road from where I am.

Those are the organized things that go on on Renfaire Drive. Of course, there are plenty of ways people entertain themselves. There's a lot of drinking that goes on - I feel conspicuous drinking my 6-pack of Shmirnof Ice over the course of the week, while there are people in my camp who drink 4 or 5 cans of Shiners (a Texan beer) a night. People ride their bikes, walk their dogs, work on projects, a couple people in my camp are starting a month-long herbal cleanse. It's all what you make of it.

Written October 6, 2004

It's been just a week since I wrote anything in here, and yet it feels like it could have been forever. I don't know what to write about.

Trying to come up with some ideas about what to write about...

- Being an entertainer vs. being a boothie
- "Hell Week"
- My day in Galveston, TX, or, the beach, liquer, and strippers, oh my!
- About my job
- About the TRF site
- Things I brought that I didn't need, and things I needed that I didn't buy
- What happens during the week (TRF edition)
- "School nights"
- Rennie University
- TRF entertainment in general
- Renfaire Drive places/events (Rio's, the Yellow House, Bizarre Bazzar, Wed night dance parties)
- Texan flora and fauna

Hrm... that's a good amount... Does anyone have a votes for particular topics? Anything they'd like to know about?