I have been performing at various and sundry Renaissance Festivals for longer than I care to admit (and loving every minute of it). The characters you will read about fall into two basic categories: Contract Queens and Original Characters.
Contract Queens: contains information about the historical Queens I have played (or wish to play). The Queens you will read about are:
Elizabeth I, Queen of England whom I have portrayed at the Illinois Renaissance Festival yearly since it’s inception in 2003, and at the May in the Meadows festival in Prescott Valley, AZ in 2005.
Katherine of Aragon, Queen of England. I portrayed poor old Kathy in 1994 and 1996 at the Florida Renaissance Festival opposite the late Bill Huttel as Henry VIII.
One Matilda, Two Matilda (A Proposal) is about a proposal I put together for a festival. Sadly, the show decided to extend its dates for an extra week which conflicted with another gig to which I was already committed and I stopped pursuing the contract. I decided to leave up what I wrote for the ED so that you can get a sense of what I do to prepare for a new characterization.
Original Characters: is a sampling of some of the characters I have developed and portrayed at festivals. There are many others, but for the sake of brevity I am only listing the ones that I have portrayed at multiple venues, since it would take forever to list (and I am not sure I can recall) all the others anyway.
Molly Mishap: original character portrayal of a poor and very pregnant peasant lass who is DESPERATELY in search of a husband who will marry her and be a father to her child(ren).’ The catch: Molly must get the patrons to propose to her in order to be married. Developed in 1995, Molly has performed more or less yearly since 1995 at various re-enactment type venues in Florida and New England.
Blot, Maker of Thongs: Original character portrayal of a woman who is about as low a link in the ‘Great Chain of Being’ as it is possible to be and still be human.’ She is an ugly, malformed blob with yellow teeth and a speech impediment who,’ try as she might,’ cannot seem to get her sheep shears (scissors) to work.’ She roams the lanes asking for patrons to help her cut her leather thongs (laces).’ Created in 1999 and last spied in ‘04 at the Vermont Renaissance Festival.
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