MD part Due, long cause it's a 3-day
Sep. 10th, 2009 12:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ptpgradOh lord a mercy I am tired. There was so much packed into the 3 weekend days and there is no way I will remember it all...places, times, things are lost and I apologize for the lack of accuracy or detail...away we go...
UP AND AT ‘EM
Saturday morning arrives and I am ready to go. I make my smoothie, pack up my stuff, and head out pass the chaos. What Chaos? Oh, the Duelists had moved in earlier in the week and were also getting ready for their first day at Maryland. I leave at my normal time and head to site ahead of them. Once on site, I head to Gatehouse and begin to warm up and stretch. It’s a long weekend and the more prepared we are, the better. Once that’s done, I get made up and hair prepped and head to the costume house. In there, it’s a quick change and out to the Gatehouse again for the first sound check.
LOUDLY SHE GOES
Trinket has been sick all week, so now on antibiotics, she is starting to feel better. She is, however, watching her volume with care. This means her sound system is going to need to be up a little higher for people to hear us in balance. Once that check is done, we head to White Hart for the second check. I have gotten some new cables and am ready for the double stages now. This is a good thing. We are done a bit early and I have time to head to the morning meeting before we start.
WELCOME WELCOME
There are a number of new acts in for both Magic Weekend and for the next few weeks and we are introduced to many of them. We get an overview of the weekend and are warned to be careful because of the 3-day. Work, but don’t over spend too early in the weekend. I know how wise this advice is and am prepared for the long days ahead. BEEP and away we go to start our day.
BOOM CHAKA LAKA LAKA
At gate, I take my last morning bathroom break and one more stretch before I face up and we wait for the lovely boom in the morning. I have been told the crowd is healthy outside the gate and the onslaught of people entering has proven them correct. There is a long wash of people and I have taught our village tour to some of this year’s fountain regulars. A visiting Cardinal says hello and I mention the Interpreters show to him, as he is sure to understand the “adult” stuff. After the crowd dies down, I begin to chat, dust, and flirt with the crowd. I head into the village and start to great people.
WHAT A LOVELY DAY IN THE VILLAGE
And the reactions are great. Everyone is VERY willing to play. There is laughter everywhere. I head toward the way of the royal court and see my boys getting acclimated to our crowd. They haven’t met me in this incarnation, so I head over to introduce myself after visiting with a few patrons on the way. I am not sure how long it takes, but they do recognize me from my stylish clothes and pictures. I am happy and head toward O’Shucks to great some friendly strangers. Everywhere I go, people want to play. This makes me very happy.
DUEL FOR TWO, AND TWO FOR TEA
I head toward Market Stage to watch my housemates initial show. I sit toward the very back row so as not to disturb the performance and just in case I have to leave. They have a good crowd for a first time, first thing in the morning show and they audience laughs at most of the jokes and seems to have a very good time. Once the show ends, I head back out into the village to play more. This time, down Kenwood.
DANCING IN THE STREETS
I wander about chatting with people, cleaning tattoos off, and more. I quite enjoy the dancing Leather Rose guy as Stupina and he take a moment to jig about. I can’t even remember specific moments, but everyone was so positive and happy. The overall wash of great feelings is what makes this place so wonderful for me. Before I know it, it’s 1:00 pm and I have to go find Columbina.
SWITCHIES
Backstage, I begin the switch. My face has been heavily sweated upon and I have to fix it to be presentable as Columbina, especially as there are dents from the mask edge. I get dressed and as I am just about finished, I realize that I haven’t put one of my skin protectors on...and can’t unless I get totally undressed...which I am NOT about to do now. I just have to hope I don’t get too sweaty or it might be very painful later in the day. Trinket and I go over the set lists and make an adjustment to our second show given that on the Gatehouse, there is no pub for a drinking song. Once dressed and completed, it’s time for a well-deserved lunch.
FOOD AND FUEL
I head into the streets and meet up with a friend who presents me with a belated birthday rose. This reminds me and I run into one of my rose friends and ask him to make a specific delivery for me to my new guests. He practices the message and heads off to find them. I grab my steak on a stake and sit with the crowd after verifying something with the lady in charge. I find a table and squeeze into the space with some guests. I talk to them about the shows available and as they have kids, neglect to mention mine. Once done, I head back to the streets and toward the White Hart. I see it’s a bit early so I head out to the crowd and come face to face with a person I had met through the web rather than in person. We chat and I meet his friends. He is playing in the village and we have a nice chat about the day. The Lady Bouchier brings two other ladies with her and explains how she wanted the other to meet me as our families seemed to have disappeared under unusual circumstances. This becomes even greater amusement. Time however, gets away from me and I must go mic up for our show.
LOOK THEY LISTEN
Today’s 3:00 pm show is PACKED. We are performing our completely new show today. There are two completely new songs, one, new to this group, and one original never performed before. The audience isn’t laughing as much, but they are listening and singing along where we ask them to. I see the Cardinal, but he doesn’t stay. I am informed later that he was asked to move by others in the audience and he couldn’t hear as well as he wanted in the back. This is a pity. As we continue, they start to follow along with the new comedy and have huge laughs. By the end, the audience seems very happy. One lady mentions she loves when we sing the sadder/pretty songs. I keep this in my mind.
WANDER TOWARD THE GATE
I head toward the gate meeting and greeting along the way. I am stopping and chatting with patrons and by the time I get to Gatehouse, I have perhaps 5-10 minutes to do some more gate duty before I have to head backstage to prepare. In the back, I wire up and we go. I last minute change a song on our setlist with Trinket and start the show. It’s not as full, but it’s not as well an advertised show, so unless they saw one of my postings or got the flyer in the morning, they don’t know we are here. The audience begins to fill a bit and by the end there is a decent audience. We surprise the crowd with a new love song and make our one fan rather happy, I think. Once done, we clear the stage and pack stuff up to move to White Hart as the rest of our sets this weekend will be held there. I stop for a Scotch egg and sit with patrons who had just been at our last show. They ask many questions, some I can’t answer in my incarnation, and I finish and take my leave.
WARM WANDERINGS
I head slowly back into site toward the Pyrate encampment to find out the game plan for the night. We are informed that we will be doing Captain’s Daughter, which is fine with us. Again, our voices are filled with many more wonderful women and tonight is the only evening that Cercamon will be joining us in the village. This means dancing in the aisles and festive joy. Somewhere toward the middle of the pub sing, I see my housemate and he confirms that 1, he got the rose, and 2, he laughed. Mission accomplished. I head back up to the stage to finish pub sing and once the cannon...um, booms, well, after we sing after cannon booms, we head back to the costume house to change quickly and sit slightly zombified. I am glad I don’t have bad welts from my dress and am ready for dinner. CPK is the answer and away a group of us go. We don’t wait too long, but Trinket is fading fast. Dinner is fun, tasty, and relatively quick, but we were all tired. I headed home to the roomies. My voice was feeling the dust, so I tried neti pot...and nothing came through. My nose gets far to clogged to use them when I really need them. Ah well, I hit the licorice root and went to bed.
ACT II
I woke up pretty easily, feeling rather energized and excited by the day. Yesterday’s energy was so good this one was enjoying the vibes. I headed to site and got there a minute or two later than I like, but no worries. My energy was high and I was singing and dancing through most of my warm up. I couldn’t calm my energy down and after fixing hair and makeup, I danced down to the costume house and continued to dance while other cast members either looked at me funny or danced with me when I shared my secret inspiration of music. The only thing that was a little sad was that since it was Trinket’s birthday, she brought in special treats for everyone, chocolate ones, which I cannot eat during faire. Others were diving into the magnificent concoctions with relish (or wasabi peas) and I got to watch, le sigh.
OH YEAH THAT PART
So it was Trinket’s birthday. One of a rather particular age, so I got something special for her. She didn’t open it then as we had to head off to soundcheck. We only had to set White Hart, but had some extra things to set for that special occasion. I went out of my way to remind Trinket exactly how old she was, since I’m that kind of friend. We are done on time and I head to morning meeting. During the meeting, I do take a quick second to remind everyone of her impending gloom, then go to make some quick final plans, then off with a BEEP to front gate. I hit the privy, then head to get to face up for the BOOM.
BUT YOU CAN STILL FIND THEM
The gates open and people are flooding in. Heavily. This is going to be our first really crazy day as the crowd won’t really pick up till people are out of church and on their way here. Tours, hugs, and other welcomes are the way of the morning. It takes quite a while for the crowd to make it through, but once they do, I have a patron help me down off the fountain and get more dustings out of my way. I see some of my favorite young regulars today. They both have garb now and are happy to show it off. As I approach people, I keep hearing the same thing “what happened to the chart?” See the old version of the program had a chart in it that allowed you to see all the stages lined up so you could plot out your day. Many people got used to that form and really liked it. They are having a hard time reading the show times on this new format and after complaining about it, were happy when I informed them they could get one of the charts from Customer Service.
PROTECT AS YOU CAN
The dust is high today with so many people and the dry earth. Stupina’s mouth cannot completely close, so I suck all that garbage into my throat during the day. I love the mask, but I won’t say that part is fun. I find a moment to hit the licorice root again. Today, I start wandering into the village. Things are going swimmingly until I hit one table near Victor’s bread booth where the dad not only puts words in his kid’s mouth, but convinces the kid that I must be a scary thing and because he was being funny. He was so incredibly negative and it was an unpleasant vibe. I react hypersensitively when I play the mask for a while and the hurt was a bit palpable. I was luckily able to see friendly faces almost immediately who showed me quick love and allowed me to switch back to being happy. I was even able to try a bit I had thought of doing during rehearsals and hadn’t found a way to do. Better yet, it got a laugh.
SITTING ON A BENCH WITH STRANGERS
So I am starting to feel my feet (which is great because it is day two and they are only NOW starting to hurt) and I sit on the bench near Bullseye. On that path, I sit and begin to sing about strangers passing by. Some stop and help me compose a song or two. Others tell me that Dans are taking over the world. Some fairies assure me that they are able to be seen today, and there is much silliness. I even see a cupcake pass by. Finally, it is time to start heading back to find Columbina. On the way, I chat with many others and dust a few more. Finally backstage, I peel off my face to feel the breeze and close my mouth for the first time in 3 hours. That feels good.
PREPARATIONS FOR PINKNESS
I am wearing the cobalt blue today and pull out the new fixed jewelry (so it shouldn’t bleed blue on me). Today I remember the stuff to protect my skin and have another help me protect my back. I am hitting the licorice root again. Trinket reminds me that she has a tart hidden for later in the day...I question how she is hidden and in front of me, but that is neither here nor there. She thanks me for the gift, but leaves it here for safekeeping Once changed, we head out together. I stop at the steak booth and she heads for another locale. I grab lunch from a fast source and head to sit with patrons. In the middle of our quiet conversation, I see the mayor, his brother, and sister-in-law approach our area. As I am sitting down with strangers just enjoying a sup, they don’t see me. I complain about how annoying the mayor is to my new-found friends.
MATCH GAME
It appears that they are trying to prove who is from Tiddington by playing Match Game. If you know the answer, and match one of the Revel Grovians, you are not from Tiddington. The woman sitting with me is to be questioned next when the mayor realizes I am here. He ends up adding me in the game and I try for a more polite answer. I find out later, I should have gone with my original instinct. Ah well, so much for family friendliness. My poor “Friend” has been proven to be from Tiddington and sadly, she has to leave the village by 7:05 pm not to return until the next festival day. They carry on and I head down to the Pub.
WHAT HAPPENED TO TRINKET
Ok, so I warned a few people that something special would be happening today at the first show. I was vague...on purpose. After greeting people around the pub, I head over and mic up. When the show starts, I head up with Fitzjuice and we set the stage. I welcome the crowd and ask where Trinket is. From the crowd comes Bauble who tells me that since it was Trinket’s birthday, she knew Trinket would be tied up and she learned the script and shows signs of being more unstable and strange than Trinket ever was. Columbina has her help out for the opening song (which meant she sang harmony and I got to sing the melody for once) when what does she see but Trinket bound and gagged being brought in by Scapino. He asks to keep Trinket, which I have no patience for. He wants to do her hair and go shopping and make lots of ...smores. I send him away and grill Bauble on why Trinket is tied up. Bauble unties her and after Trinket threatens her, she explains, “But it’s your birthday”. Somehow Trinket sees this as the most beautiful gesture and they are family again. One song together and we send Bauble away. She joins us at the end of the show for Parting Glass, which she had performed with us at NCRF this spring. The show has a great response and everyone seemed to have a good time. And if you missed it, well, sorry, it will NEVER happen again. So there. We clear the stage and mistakingly pass the stage to the Rogues, when the Hooligans arrive...so we correct our mistake and head off.
FANS AND FUN
We sign a number of CD’s and pose for a few pictures. Then I head to the streets after hitting up the licorice root. Trinket has been getting barraged with roses. One on the hour every hour from one loyal fan. She is a bit concerned, but I inform her I know who it is and she is ok when I seem happy and calm about it. Wandering about, I run into a bunch of men from a bachelor party and joke about with them. The DDriver gets a hug, the best man gets questioned from me and an overall good time is had by all. Not much more time passes and it’s time for the second show.
HOW OLD ARE YOU?
So Columbina takes great pleasure in constantly reminding Trinket of her age. She takes some time during the show to remind her that she is like this weekend, in the second half of the 3-day, everything is downhill, the wrinkles start and it’s painful and depressing...with a great smile she announces how much better she feels now that Trinket is beside herself with depression. Trinket turns to Columbina and asks “Columbina, do you even remember what you were like at my age?” Columbina’s smile disappears and the audience howls in laughter. Life is good. The show goes well and we have a row of kids in the audience’s front row...again. The like our show for some reason. We are the pretty ladies in pink and blue. One day it will all make sense. And watch out parents!
TARTS AND REPAIRS
Suddenly, it starts to rain in the sun. It’s gorgeous and I even step out in it. I am glad as it will take down the dust that has been building in my throat. After the rain starts to kick in in earnest, I run to meet Trinket at the special place to have a piece of that hidden birthday tart...fruited tart..IN A CRUST. It is an amazing fruit tart from Wegeman’s (I highly recommend it). It is just what my body was craving as I was very hungry after the second show. My voice is also starting to feel the exhaustion of the 3 hours a day of Stupina in dust. I head over to the Pyrates to find out what we are doing. The rain is still coming on and off. I am nervous as I can’t sing without the mic now and be sure to have a voice tomorrow. I am hitting more licorice root. Yeepies. Trinket arrives and we pick Fathom the Bowl for the eve. Trinket is given a lot of advice on how to avoid being sick from someone who knows...I still don’t like fisherman’s friend. BLEAH.
WHAT SET LIST
So the set list was on stage when the skies opened up on the Hooligans and was destroyed. We are in need of help to make a new one, no one has paper large enough, when my sharpie comes out and John Rugby has a brilliant plan. There are enough women and the set list is written on the cast of lovely ladies. I have # 5 and 6 myself. Trinket only has #9. Well, they needed space. Yes, he wrote them there...and sharpies are water proof. We head to the stage and start the show. The wet audience is in a great mood as those left REALLY want to be there. We show off the set list to a happy crowd and begin the show. The drizzle starts up and they change the order of the songs, so we are held back for one. When we go up the drizzle is heavier and Master Rugby says he will try to keep the mics on as long as possible. As we sing, the rain gets heavier and heavier and mid song, there is no choice but to turn them off. We are now belting to the back of the pub over the rain. I can’t see with the water pouring into my eyes and I just give up and throw back my head and sing it out. The audience is with us and I am told later they could hear me in the back. I know I am going to pay for this.
COLUMBINA VANILLI
After that song, I stay on stage toward the back and realize that I can’t afford to actually sing anymore and still have a voice. I know the words to the songs and being to lip synch along with the rest of the group. I am part of the picture, but not the sound. I teach lyrics to one of the O’Danny’s who stands near me and with a chill in the air, the pub sing ends with the cannon sounding more properly...I think there were even 8 bells. I head back to the costume house quickly and change out of the wet clothes, which are immediately packed to go home and be cleaned. We have already made plans for the birthday girl and meet en masse at Double T. We take over the back and sing happy birthday to our lady who endulges in lots of Lemon Chicken soup. I have indulged in hot water with lemon, hot tea and water...as well as a gyro. The conversation is great as there are many people who don’t often share a meal with me or mine. We regale tales, talk movies and have a great time. Soon enough, it’s time to go home. I get home to see both my roomies crashing hard for the night. I follow suit after another failed attempt to clear my nose.
OH DEAR GOD, IS IT MORNING?
I am SO not ready to get up this time. I am sore and REALLY tired. I have no choice though and pull myself out of bed and hit a warm breakfast on the way to site. Once there, I take longer to warm my voice up than my body as I am very nervous about how I sound. I am hitting the licorice root regularly to bring back as much as I can. Once made up and fixed up, I head downstairs still being quiet in general. I change into Stupina, grab my stuff and head to the White Hart. We sound check with another surprise for the day and then I head to the morning meeting. Trinket is not feeling much better than I, so we plan on revamping which songs we can do today. It will be interesting.
WHERE’D IT GO?
I head to meeting and have brought out my Free Hugs sign by recommendation of a smart lady. I don’t have to talk as much to do that, even though it’s more physically taxing, but this morning, it’s all about sound. During meeting we are told that often the biggest problem with the lines for tickets are that lines merge and don’t line up properly, wasting space. I save this info. After meeting (BEEP) I check some info out, get the info I need to move forward, then head out to find Scapino. Once I touch base with him, I head over to start the day...and discover my watch is gone. This is not good as I really don’t have a way to know without asking, and during my show, I REALLY need one on the stage to make sure we are on schedule for the stage. I am lent a leather watch from a kind court lady of snarkiness later in the day, but for now, I am without.
DON’T STOP....DON’T STOP...
So I pee, face up and get ready for the boom after a stretch, more licorice and some breathing. BOOM and in the come...and come...and come...dear god there are a lot of them. We don’t tour as I am holding my sign and don’t have to speak much. This is good. I see many people stopping and staring at the sign. Some come up to hug me. Others come up when they see another hug me and others just charge in. There are lines on occasion and other times...bug eyed stares. I had plans to walk through the village, but most everyone else has left and there are still people coming in, so I stay out. People are still coming in, so I leave my sign with the door crew and grab lots of programs to hand out. I hit the lines with Andrew Board and notice that yes, indeed, people are merging. I get them to not merge and the lines get shorter. I get more programs and finish the lines, then I start to hold two large stacks, one in each hand and let people walk by and take them out of my hands. Captain Sledge and Thomas Cudgel are above the gate and I explain that they are taking more from the left hand than the right...then have to get more as I ran out.
THAT’S USING YOUR HEAD
I am on my fourth large stack of programs...like probably 150 in my arms at once. After a while, my feet are getting tired and I decide I want to sit...but still need to hand out programs. I put most of the programs in my lap then put a stack of about 50 on my head balanced and sit. People start coming by and taking them off my head. Often I don’t even see them, I just feel the pressure of the hand and hear a thank you. Some kids come up and when I adjust are frightened as they thought I was a statue. I am calling out “programs” but it’s in a good range of my voice that it doesn’t hurt much. One gate guy going on a break sees me and asks if I want more. He brings me two big stacks and I kee going I am getting parched and each time I go in, I grab more water from my bota so I don’t dehydrate. I have gone through at least one full box of programs in an hour and a half, with over half of them having rested on my head at some point. People think I am a statue or a goblin...I have my picture taken by a number of people who are amused. Some have conversations with me...Again, I don’t see their faces...and some of the views are awkward, but most of the time, it’s eyes of kids, who walk to my side or people at a distance. Otherwise, I tend to keep my eyes down. I find out it’s now 1 pm and time for me to change into Columbina.
HADN’T YOU HEARD?
Backstage I hear that not only is one actress more ill than earlier thought, but another got badly injured during the dance and is getting stitches, which cancels the morning court show and a few others if they aren’t back by a certain time. Thank goodness our king is back mostly to normal. I go to get changed and Trinket comes in. We are both a bit fuzzy and keep forgetting things. I am wearing my blue sparklies from last year. I really do love them a lot. Trinket and I pull out our scripts and start to figure out if there is a show we can sing. We check the one we had scheduled and realize with one or two note changes, we can sing it. I will not be at the normal volume, but it will be ok. We check the second show and it’s a bit rougher, but still doable. We write up the list of what we are to do and head out.
ANOTHER LUNCH WITH NEW FRIENDS
Today, I get my steak and it’s a bit more moo-er than normal, so it’s a bit messy. I find a table and start to have lunch. After a nice conversation about where in Italy I am from and how I haven’t been home for years, etc...I head on my way. I visit people around the environs of the pub and, when it’s time, head back to the White Hart to get miced up. We head to the stage to begin and as I am hanging a sign, I am stopped by a rose seller who asks if I am Columbina. I am, but not right now. You have to come back after the show. There have been drizzly threats of rain, but we seem to have been blessed and no rain has hit during our sets. Today, god loves us. We start up and start singing our new song to a packed house. Today, they are singing along more and laughing. They have heard it once and now they can enjoy what they are hearing. Our next song, also new, also gets a great response...mid way through the song, I realize we are singing the wrong show, this was supposed to be our 4:30 set as someone is in the crowd waiting. Crap...ok, as I am thinking of what to change, I see Trinket cross off exactly what I was going to remove. Great minds.
SCAPIIIIINNNNNOOOO!
Scapino comes in for a short visit to show me what I really neeed...his peanuts! The audience is quite amused. He leaves and we get back to finishing this wrong show. We figure out as we are singing what to change and I get us back on track. It’s a fascinating and wonderful simpatico relationship we have. We just know where we have to go and trust each other that we will get there. Just a point and we keep talking. Ad libs happen when things go wrong, but it makes them right again. I do love this. The show ends and I have kept my voice through both shows, though Parting Glass was sung at almost two notes lower than normal, as that was as high as I could sing. We clear the stage and meet our fans. Some are cheery and others are a bit more...nervous...about approaching us. It always surprises me, but I suppose I can understand it. I was much the same way when I met some of the acts here. I am given a rose from an admirer who speaks sweetly and we are both gifted by one set of our regulars. There is a neat but odd thing about being able to say “our regulars” the faces we see at almost every show. We love you guys, I hope you realize that. You make the shows fun...even when you give away the punch line too early.
TARTED AND CAUGHT
I am about to leave the pub when I am met by another rose seller who offers me my choice of roses from “across the universe.” I know which friends of mine have gifted me with this flamboyantly pink roses. Next, I head over to the hidden tart land for one more piece of the luscious treat, then after a quick bite, I headed up to the Royal to catch part of London Broil’s show. While there, I am visited by a friend, a co-worker, and fans...um, so much for quietly watching the show. I end up leaving before it’s over as I don’t want to disturb them. It’s about that time and I head over to the Pyrates to find out we have been asked to do two pieces today...um ok. Good thing I still have my voice. More licorice root....the stuff almost doesn’t taste bad...but it stings now.
PUB SING THE NORMAL
The Rugby’s ask for one boring pub sing, and they get it. Well, weather wise. The show is fun and enjoyable. As we come up, Master Rugby asks me how my voice is, I see the comic request and open my mouth with no sound coming out. 3 times. Then, when asked if we can sing, my voice is back full force. We sing one of our dirtier songs and the crowd seems happy. We come back for parting glass and we end the night on a cheery note with Lighthouse. I am done all my work and let my voice ring out. I still can sing and speak... This is good. I am grateful for the bit of rain that kept the dust down...that did make a difference.
TO MARKET TO MARKET
Pub sing is over and I grab my stuff realizing I didn’t bring the key I needed and ask CDCB to help me out. I head back to get changed and am so very tired. As I walk by the bubble booth, I skid on the slippery soapy mud and land on my knee. Luckily, since the ground was soft, it gave and my warm up in the morning made everything flexible enough that I didn’t get hurt...just muddy and soapy. At least that meant it would wash out. Back at the costume house, everyone is hungry, tired, and unfocused. No one is able to make up their mind and I finally make an executive decision to go to Italian Market. It’s close, it’s not too expensive, and everyone can order for themselves, pay up front, and just relax. Food comes quickly and I even get a small gelato that I don’t finish. The conversation is lively and I am requested to sing the Bowls Song while Skivee follows with an operatic renditioning of the piece. The day is over and I am POOPED. We head home and I start laundry and we pop in Shakespeare in Love. I am still functioning and both my cohorts have mostly called it a night. Ah well, Master Will will have to wait till another night to meet his muse.
That’s all I got...Till next weekend...There will be another post with showtimes for the second show this weekend once I know...Can’t wait to see you in the Grove!
UP AND AT ‘EM
Saturday morning arrives and I am ready to go. I make my smoothie, pack up my stuff, and head out pass the chaos. What Chaos? Oh, the Duelists had moved in earlier in the week and were also getting ready for their first day at Maryland. I leave at my normal time and head to site ahead of them. Once on site, I head to Gatehouse and begin to warm up and stretch. It’s a long weekend and the more prepared we are, the better. Once that’s done, I get made up and hair prepped and head to the costume house. In there, it’s a quick change and out to the Gatehouse again for the first sound check.
LOUDLY SHE GOES
Trinket has been sick all week, so now on antibiotics, she is starting to feel better. She is, however, watching her volume with care. This means her sound system is going to need to be up a little higher for people to hear us in balance. Once that check is done, we head to White Hart for the second check. I have gotten some new cables and am ready for the double stages now. This is a good thing. We are done a bit early and I have time to head to the morning meeting before we start.
WELCOME WELCOME
There are a number of new acts in for both Magic Weekend and for the next few weeks and we are introduced to many of them. We get an overview of the weekend and are warned to be careful because of the 3-day. Work, but don’t over spend too early in the weekend. I know how wise this advice is and am prepared for the long days ahead. BEEP and away we go to start our day.
BOOM CHAKA LAKA LAKA
At gate, I take my last morning bathroom break and one more stretch before I face up and we wait for the lovely boom in the morning. I have been told the crowd is healthy outside the gate and the onslaught of people entering has proven them correct. There is a long wash of people and I have taught our village tour to some of this year’s fountain regulars. A visiting Cardinal says hello and I mention the Interpreters show to him, as he is sure to understand the “adult” stuff. After the crowd dies down, I begin to chat, dust, and flirt with the crowd. I head into the village and start to great people.
WHAT A LOVELY DAY IN THE VILLAGE
And the reactions are great. Everyone is VERY willing to play. There is laughter everywhere. I head toward the way of the royal court and see my boys getting acclimated to our crowd. They haven’t met me in this incarnation, so I head over to introduce myself after visiting with a few patrons on the way. I am not sure how long it takes, but they do recognize me from my stylish clothes and pictures. I am happy and head toward O’Shucks to great some friendly strangers. Everywhere I go, people want to play. This makes me very happy.
DUEL FOR TWO, AND TWO FOR TEA
I head toward Market Stage to watch my housemates initial show. I sit toward the very back row so as not to disturb the performance and just in case I have to leave. They have a good crowd for a first time, first thing in the morning show and they audience laughs at most of the jokes and seems to have a very good time. Once the show ends, I head back out into the village to play more. This time, down Kenwood.
DANCING IN THE STREETS
I wander about chatting with people, cleaning tattoos off, and more. I quite enjoy the dancing Leather Rose guy as Stupina and he take a moment to jig about. I can’t even remember specific moments, but everyone was so positive and happy. The overall wash of great feelings is what makes this place so wonderful for me. Before I know it, it’s 1:00 pm and I have to go find Columbina.
SWITCHIES
Backstage, I begin the switch. My face has been heavily sweated upon and I have to fix it to be presentable as Columbina, especially as there are dents from the mask edge. I get dressed and as I am just about finished, I realize that I haven’t put one of my skin protectors on...and can’t unless I get totally undressed...which I am NOT about to do now. I just have to hope I don’t get too sweaty or it might be very painful later in the day. Trinket and I go over the set lists and make an adjustment to our second show given that on the Gatehouse, there is no pub for a drinking song. Once dressed and completed, it’s time for a well-deserved lunch.
FOOD AND FUEL
I head into the streets and meet up with a friend who presents me with a belated birthday rose. This reminds me and I run into one of my rose friends and ask him to make a specific delivery for me to my new guests. He practices the message and heads off to find them. I grab my steak on a stake and sit with the crowd after verifying something with the lady in charge. I find a table and squeeze into the space with some guests. I talk to them about the shows available and as they have kids, neglect to mention mine. Once done, I head back to the streets and toward the White Hart. I see it’s a bit early so I head out to the crowd and come face to face with a person I had met through the web rather than in person. We chat and I meet his friends. He is playing in the village and we have a nice chat about the day. The Lady Bouchier brings two other ladies with her and explains how she wanted the other to meet me as our families seemed to have disappeared under unusual circumstances. This becomes even greater amusement. Time however, gets away from me and I must go mic up for our show.
LOOK THEY LISTEN
Today’s 3:00 pm show is PACKED. We are performing our completely new show today. There are two completely new songs, one, new to this group, and one original never performed before. The audience isn’t laughing as much, but they are listening and singing along where we ask them to. I see the Cardinal, but he doesn’t stay. I am informed later that he was asked to move by others in the audience and he couldn’t hear as well as he wanted in the back. This is a pity. As we continue, they start to follow along with the new comedy and have huge laughs. By the end, the audience seems very happy. One lady mentions she loves when we sing the sadder/pretty songs. I keep this in my mind.
WANDER TOWARD THE GATE
I head toward the gate meeting and greeting along the way. I am stopping and chatting with patrons and by the time I get to Gatehouse, I have perhaps 5-10 minutes to do some more gate duty before I have to head backstage to prepare. In the back, I wire up and we go. I last minute change a song on our setlist with Trinket and start the show. It’s not as full, but it’s not as well an advertised show, so unless they saw one of my postings or got the flyer in the morning, they don’t know we are here. The audience begins to fill a bit and by the end there is a decent audience. We surprise the crowd with a new love song and make our one fan rather happy, I think. Once done, we clear the stage and pack stuff up to move to White Hart as the rest of our sets this weekend will be held there. I stop for a Scotch egg and sit with patrons who had just been at our last show. They ask many questions, some I can’t answer in my incarnation, and I finish and take my leave.
WARM WANDERINGS
I head slowly back into site toward the Pyrate encampment to find out the game plan for the night. We are informed that we will be doing Captain’s Daughter, which is fine with us. Again, our voices are filled with many more wonderful women and tonight is the only evening that Cercamon will be joining us in the village. This means dancing in the aisles and festive joy. Somewhere toward the middle of the pub sing, I see my housemate and he confirms that 1, he got the rose, and 2, he laughed. Mission accomplished. I head back up to the stage to finish pub sing and once the cannon...um, booms, well, after we sing after cannon booms, we head back to the costume house to change quickly and sit slightly zombified. I am glad I don’t have bad welts from my dress and am ready for dinner. CPK is the answer and away a group of us go. We don’t wait too long, but Trinket is fading fast. Dinner is fun, tasty, and relatively quick, but we were all tired. I headed home to the roomies. My voice was feeling the dust, so I tried neti pot...and nothing came through. My nose gets far to clogged to use them when I really need them. Ah well, I hit the licorice root and went to bed.
ACT II
I woke up pretty easily, feeling rather energized and excited by the day. Yesterday’s energy was so good this one was enjoying the vibes. I headed to site and got there a minute or two later than I like, but no worries. My energy was high and I was singing and dancing through most of my warm up. I couldn’t calm my energy down and after fixing hair and makeup, I danced down to the costume house and continued to dance while other cast members either looked at me funny or danced with me when I shared my secret inspiration of music. The only thing that was a little sad was that since it was Trinket’s birthday, she brought in special treats for everyone, chocolate ones, which I cannot eat during faire. Others were diving into the magnificent concoctions with relish (or wasabi peas) and I got to watch, le sigh.
OH YEAH THAT PART
So it was Trinket’s birthday. One of a rather particular age, so I got something special for her. She didn’t open it then as we had to head off to soundcheck. We only had to set White Hart, but had some extra things to set for that special occasion. I went out of my way to remind Trinket exactly how old she was, since I’m that kind of friend. We are done on time and I head to morning meeting. During the meeting, I do take a quick second to remind everyone of her impending gloom, then go to make some quick final plans, then off with a BEEP to front gate. I hit the privy, then head to get to face up for the BOOM.
BUT YOU CAN STILL FIND THEM
The gates open and people are flooding in. Heavily. This is going to be our first really crazy day as the crowd won’t really pick up till people are out of church and on their way here. Tours, hugs, and other welcomes are the way of the morning. It takes quite a while for the crowd to make it through, but once they do, I have a patron help me down off the fountain and get more dustings out of my way. I see some of my favorite young regulars today. They both have garb now and are happy to show it off. As I approach people, I keep hearing the same thing “what happened to the chart?” See the old version of the program had a chart in it that allowed you to see all the stages lined up so you could plot out your day. Many people got used to that form and really liked it. They are having a hard time reading the show times on this new format and after complaining about it, were happy when I informed them they could get one of the charts from Customer Service.
PROTECT AS YOU CAN
The dust is high today with so many people and the dry earth. Stupina’s mouth cannot completely close, so I suck all that garbage into my throat during the day. I love the mask, but I won’t say that part is fun. I find a moment to hit the licorice root again. Today, I start wandering into the village. Things are going swimmingly until I hit one table near Victor’s bread booth where the dad not only puts words in his kid’s mouth, but convinces the kid that I must be a scary thing and because he was being funny. He was so incredibly negative and it was an unpleasant vibe. I react hypersensitively when I play the mask for a while and the hurt was a bit palpable. I was luckily able to see friendly faces almost immediately who showed me quick love and allowed me to switch back to being happy. I was even able to try a bit I had thought of doing during rehearsals and hadn’t found a way to do. Better yet, it got a laugh.
SITTING ON A BENCH WITH STRANGERS
So I am starting to feel my feet (which is great because it is day two and they are only NOW starting to hurt) and I sit on the bench near Bullseye. On that path, I sit and begin to sing about strangers passing by. Some stop and help me compose a song or two. Others tell me that Dans are taking over the world. Some fairies assure me that they are able to be seen today, and there is much silliness. I even see a cupcake pass by. Finally, it is time to start heading back to find Columbina. On the way, I chat with many others and dust a few more. Finally backstage, I peel off my face to feel the breeze and close my mouth for the first time in 3 hours. That feels good.
PREPARATIONS FOR PINKNESS
I am wearing the cobalt blue today and pull out the new fixed jewelry (so it shouldn’t bleed blue on me). Today I remember the stuff to protect my skin and have another help me protect my back. I am hitting the licorice root again. Trinket reminds me that she has a tart hidden for later in the day...I question how she is hidden and in front of me, but that is neither here nor there. She thanks me for the gift, but leaves it here for safekeeping Once changed, we head out together. I stop at the steak booth and she heads for another locale. I grab lunch from a fast source and head to sit with patrons. In the middle of our quiet conversation, I see the mayor, his brother, and sister-in-law approach our area. As I am sitting down with strangers just enjoying a sup, they don’t see me. I complain about how annoying the mayor is to my new-found friends.
MATCH GAME
It appears that they are trying to prove who is from Tiddington by playing Match Game. If you know the answer, and match one of the Revel Grovians, you are not from Tiddington. The woman sitting with me is to be questioned next when the mayor realizes I am here. He ends up adding me in the game and I try for a more polite answer. I find out later, I should have gone with my original instinct. Ah well, so much for family friendliness. My poor “Friend” has been proven to be from Tiddington and sadly, she has to leave the village by 7:05 pm not to return until the next festival day. They carry on and I head down to the Pub.
WHAT HAPPENED TO TRINKET
Ok, so I warned a few people that something special would be happening today at the first show. I was vague...on purpose. After greeting people around the pub, I head over and mic up. When the show starts, I head up with Fitzjuice and we set the stage. I welcome the crowd and ask where Trinket is. From the crowd comes Bauble who tells me that since it was Trinket’s birthday, she knew Trinket would be tied up and she learned the script and shows signs of being more unstable and strange than Trinket ever was. Columbina has her help out for the opening song (which meant she sang harmony and I got to sing the melody for once) when what does she see but Trinket bound and gagged being brought in by Scapino. He asks to keep Trinket, which I have no patience for. He wants to do her hair and go shopping and make lots of ...smores. I send him away and grill Bauble on why Trinket is tied up. Bauble unties her and after Trinket threatens her, she explains, “But it’s your birthday”. Somehow Trinket sees this as the most beautiful gesture and they are family again. One song together and we send Bauble away. She joins us at the end of the show for Parting Glass, which she had performed with us at NCRF this spring. The show has a great response and everyone seemed to have a good time. And if you missed it, well, sorry, it will NEVER happen again. So there. We clear the stage and mistakingly pass the stage to the Rogues, when the Hooligans arrive...so we correct our mistake and head off.
FANS AND FUN
We sign a number of CD’s and pose for a few pictures. Then I head to the streets after hitting up the licorice root. Trinket has been getting barraged with roses. One on the hour every hour from one loyal fan. She is a bit concerned, but I inform her I know who it is and she is ok when I seem happy and calm about it. Wandering about, I run into a bunch of men from a bachelor party and joke about with them. The DDriver gets a hug, the best man gets questioned from me and an overall good time is had by all. Not much more time passes and it’s time for the second show.
HOW OLD ARE YOU?
So Columbina takes great pleasure in constantly reminding Trinket of her age. She takes some time during the show to remind her that she is like this weekend, in the second half of the 3-day, everything is downhill, the wrinkles start and it’s painful and depressing...with a great smile she announces how much better she feels now that Trinket is beside herself with depression. Trinket turns to Columbina and asks “Columbina, do you even remember what you were like at my age?” Columbina’s smile disappears and the audience howls in laughter. Life is good. The show goes well and we have a row of kids in the audience’s front row...again. The like our show for some reason. We are the pretty ladies in pink and blue. One day it will all make sense. And watch out parents!
TARTS AND REPAIRS
Suddenly, it starts to rain in the sun. It’s gorgeous and I even step out in it. I am glad as it will take down the dust that has been building in my throat. After the rain starts to kick in in earnest, I run to meet Trinket at the special place to have a piece of that hidden birthday tart...fruited tart..IN A CRUST. It is an amazing fruit tart from Wegeman’s (I highly recommend it). It is just what my body was craving as I was very hungry after the second show. My voice is also starting to feel the exhaustion of the 3 hours a day of Stupina in dust. I head over to the Pyrates to find out what we are doing. The rain is still coming on and off. I am nervous as I can’t sing without the mic now and be sure to have a voice tomorrow. I am hitting more licorice root. Yeepies. Trinket arrives and we pick Fathom the Bowl for the eve. Trinket is given a lot of advice on how to avoid being sick from someone who knows...I still don’t like fisherman’s friend. BLEAH.
WHAT SET LIST
So the set list was on stage when the skies opened up on the Hooligans and was destroyed. We are in need of help to make a new one, no one has paper large enough, when my sharpie comes out and John Rugby has a brilliant plan. There are enough women and the set list is written on the cast of lovely ladies. I have # 5 and 6 myself. Trinket only has #9. Well, they needed space. Yes, he wrote them there...and sharpies are water proof. We head to the stage and start the show. The wet audience is in a great mood as those left REALLY want to be there. We show off the set list to a happy crowd and begin the show. The drizzle starts up and they change the order of the songs, so we are held back for one. When we go up the drizzle is heavier and Master Rugby says he will try to keep the mics on as long as possible. As we sing, the rain gets heavier and heavier and mid song, there is no choice but to turn them off. We are now belting to the back of the pub over the rain. I can’t see with the water pouring into my eyes and I just give up and throw back my head and sing it out. The audience is with us and I am told later they could hear me in the back. I know I am going to pay for this.
COLUMBINA VANILLI
After that song, I stay on stage toward the back and realize that I can’t afford to actually sing anymore and still have a voice. I know the words to the songs and being to lip synch along with the rest of the group. I am part of the picture, but not the sound. I teach lyrics to one of the O’Danny’s who stands near me and with a chill in the air, the pub sing ends with the cannon sounding more properly...I think there were even 8 bells. I head back to the costume house quickly and change out of the wet clothes, which are immediately packed to go home and be cleaned. We have already made plans for the birthday girl and meet en masse at Double T. We take over the back and sing happy birthday to our lady who endulges in lots of Lemon Chicken soup. I have indulged in hot water with lemon, hot tea and water...as well as a gyro. The conversation is great as there are many people who don’t often share a meal with me or mine. We regale tales, talk movies and have a great time. Soon enough, it’s time to go home. I get home to see both my roomies crashing hard for the night. I follow suit after another failed attempt to clear my nose.
OH DEAR GOD, IS IT MORNING?
I am SO not ready to get up this time. I am sore and REALLY tired. I have no choice though and pull myself out of bed and hit a warm breakfast on the way to site. Once there, I take longer to warm my voice up than my body as I am very nervous about how I sound. I am hitting the licorice root regularly to bring back as much as I can. Once made up and fixed up, I head downstairs still being quiet in general. I change into Stupina, grab my stuff and head to the White Hart. We sound check with another surprise for the day and then I head to the morning meeting. Trinket is not feeling much better than I, so we plan on revamping which songs we can do today. It will be interesting.
WHERE’D IT GO?
I head to meeting and have brought out my Free Hugs sign by recommendation of a smart lady. I don’t have to talk as much to do that, even though it’s more physically taxing, but this morning, it’s all about sound. During meeting we are told that often the biggest problem with the lines for tickets are that lines merge and don’t line up properly, wasting space. I save this info. After meeting (BEEP) I check some info out, get the info I need to move forward, then head out to find Scapino. Once I touch base with him, I head over to start the day...and discover my watch is gone. This is not good as I really don’t have a way to know without asking, and during my show, I REALLY need one on the stage to make sure we are on schedule for the stage. I am lent a leather watch from a kind court lady of snarkiness later in the day, but for now, I am without.
DON’T STOP....DON’T STOP...
So I pee, face up and get ready for the boom after a stretch, more licorice and some breathing. BOOM and in the come...and come...and come...dear god there are a lot of them. We don’t tour as I am holding my sign and don’t have to speak much. This is good. I see many people stopping and staring at the sign. Some come up to hug me. Others come up when they see another hug me and others just charge in. There are lines on occasion and other times...bug eyed stares. I had plans to walk through the village, but most everyone else has left and there are still people coming in, so I stay out. People are still coming in, so I leave my sign with the door crew and grab lots of programs to hand out. I hit the lines with Andrew Board and notice that yes, indeed, people are merging. I get them to not merge and the lines get shorter. I get more programs and finish the lines, then I start to hold two large stacks, one in each hand and let people walk by and take them out of my hands. Captain Sledge and Thomas Cudgel are above the gate and I explain that they are taking more from the left hand than the right...then have to get more as I ran out.
THAT’S USING YOUR HEAD
I am on my fourth large stack of programs...like probably 150 in my arms at once. After a while, my feet are getting tired and I decide I want to sit...but still need to hand out programs. I put most of the programs in my lap then put a stack of about 50 on my head balanced and sit. People start coming by and taking them off my head. Often I don’t even see them, I just feel the pressure of the hand and hear a thank you. Some kids come up and when I adjust are frightened as they thought I was a statue. I am calling out “programs” but it’s in a good range of my voice that it doesn’t hurt much. One gate guy going on a break sees me and asks if I want more. He brings me two big stacks and I kee going I am getting parched and each time I go in, I grab more water from my bota so I don’t dehydrate. I have gone through at least one full box of programs in an hour and a half, with over half of them having rested on my head at some point. People think I am a statue or a goblin...I have my picture taken by a number of people who are amused. Some have conversations with me...Again, I don’t see their faces...and some of the views are awkward, but most of the time, it’s eyes of kids, who walk to my side or people at a distance. Otherwise, I tend to keep my eyes down. I find out it’s now 1 pm and time for me to change into Columbina.
HADN’T YOU HEARD?
Backstage I hear that not only is one actress more ill than earlier thought, but another got badly injured during the dance and is getting stitches, which cancels the morning court show and a few others if they aren’t back by a certain time. Thank goodness our king is back mostly to normal. I go to get changed and Trinket comes in. We are both a bit fuzzy and keep forgetting things. I am wearing my blue sparklies from last year. I really do love them a lot. Trinket and I pull out our scripts and start to figure out if there is a show we can sing. We check the one we had scheduled and realize with one or two note changes, we can sing it. I will not be at the normal volume, but it will be ok. We check the second show and it’s a bit rougher, but still doable. We write up the list of what we are to do and head out.
ANOTHER LUNCH WITH NEW FRIENDS
Today, I get my steak and it’s a bit more moo-er than normal, so it’s a bit messy. I find a table and start to have lunch. After a nice conversation about where in Italy I am from and how I haven’t been home for years, etc...I head on my way. I visit people around the environs of the pub and, when it’s time, head back to the White Hart to get miced up. We head to the stage to begin and as I am hanging a sign, I am stopped by a rose seller who asks if I am Columbina. I am, but not right now. You have to come back after the show. There have been drizzly threats of rain, but we seem to have been blessed and no rain has hit during our sets. Today, god loves us. We start up and start singing our new song to a packed house. Today, they are singing along more and laughing. They have heard it once and now they can enjoy what they are hearing. Our next song, also new, also gets a great response...mid way through the song, I realize we are singing the wrong show, this was supposed to be our 4:30 set as someone is in the crowd waiting. Crap...ok, as I am thinking of what to change, I see Trinket cross off exactly what I was going to remove. Great minds.
SCAPIIIIINNNNNOOOO!
Scapino comes in for a short visit to show me what I really neeed...his peanuts! The audience is quite amused. He leaves and we get back to finishing this wrong show. We figure out as we are singing what to change and I get us back on track. It’s a fascinating and wonderful simpatico relationship we have. We just know where we have to go and trust each other that we will get there. Just a point and we keep talking. Ad libs happen when things go wrong, but it makes them right again. I do love this. The show ends and I have kept my voice through both shows, though Parting Glass was sung at almost two notes lower than normal, as that was as high as I could sing. We clear the stage and meet our fans. Some are cheery and others are a bit more...nervous...about approaching us. It always surprises me, but I suppose I can understand it. I was much the same way when I met some of the acts here. I am given a rose from an admirer who speaks sweetly and we are both gifted by one set of our regulars. There is a neat but odd thing about being able to say “our regulars” the faces we see at almost every show. We love you guys, I hope you realize that. You make the shows fun...even when you give away the punch line too early.
TARTED AND CAUGHT
I am about to leave the pub when I am met by another rose seller who offers me my choice of roses from “across the universe.” I know which friends of mine have gifted me with this flamboyantly pink roses. Next, I head over to the hidden tart land for one more piece of the luscious treat, then after a quick bite, I headed up to the Royal to catch part of London Broil’s show. While there, I am visited by a friend, a co-worker, and fans...um, so much for quietly watching the show. I end up leaving before it’s over as I don’t want to disturb them. It’s about that time and I head over to the Pyrates to find out we have been asked to do two pieces today...um ok. Good thing I still have my voice. More licorice root....the stuff almost doesn’t taste bad...but it stings now.
PUB SING THE NORMAL
The Rugby’s ask for one boring pub sing, and they get it. Well, weather wise. The show is fun and enjoyable. As we come up, Master Rugby asks me how my voice is, I see the comic request and open my mouth with no sound coming out. 3 times. Then, when asked if we can sing, my voice is back full force. We sing one of our dirtier songs and the crowd seems happy. We come back for parting glass and we end the night on a cheery note with Lighthouse. I am done all my work and let my voice ring out. I still can sing and speak... This is good. I am grateful for the bit of rain that kept the dust down...that did make a difference.
TO MARKET TO MARKET
Pub sing is over and I grab my stuff realizing I didn’t bring the key I needed and ask CDCB to help me out. I head back to get changed and am so very tired. As I walk by the bubble booth, I skid on the slippery soapy mud and land on my knee. Luckily, since the ground was soft, it gave and my warm up in the morning made everything flexible enough that I didn’t get hurt...just muddy and soapy. At least that meant it would wash out. Back at the costume house, everyone is hungry, tired, and unfocused. No one is able to make up their mind and I finally make an executive decision to go to Italian Market. It’s close, it’s not too expensive, and everyone can order for themselves, pay up front, and just relax. Food comes quickly and I even get a small gelato that I don’t finish. The conversation is lively and I am requested to sing the Bowls Song while Skivee follows with an operatic renditioning of the piece. The day is over and I am POOPED. We head home and I start laundry and we pop in Shakespeare in Love. I am still functioning and both my cohorts have mostly called it a night. Ah well, Master Will will have to wait till another night to meet his muse.
That’s all I got...Till next weekend...There will be another post with showtimes for the second show this weekend once I know...Can’t wait to see you in the Grove!