More on faire...
... because that little list just didn't cover it.
Faire is, of course, over, but we had one more party to wrap it up and say goodbye for another nine months. And I got a chance to remember why I don't do parties. Faire parties, meaning in-garb parties like the Masked Ball and Ceilidh, always rock. I love the music, I love the atmosphere, and I love to dance. Cast parties like the ones in years past were always good, too, but in different ways. They were social gatherings more than anything, but that was cool. There was still this sense of cohesion and family. The Cast party this year, though, was an entirely different animal. Maybe it was me, though. I loved hanging out with everyone in the warm evening air outside, and there was always something interesting to hear. That 'something interesting', unfortunately, was never the DJ, who was always too loud and playing songs I just had no interest in. It's FAIRE, dammit. I did not come to a faire-related party to listen to the damn Village People and ten-year-old Garth Brooks songs. But maybe I just don't get drunk enough, I dunno.
Okay, so maybe I was somewhat annoyed. But there were good moments, too. Like watching the always spectacular fireworks show from the top of my treehouse with Don Lucas and Alexiel (real names have been fictionalized to protect the innocent from internet hoons) and their friend, whose name escapes me. The play of light and shadows from the trees was amazing, making up for the fact that I thought we'd get a better view than we did. We'd have been better served at the top of the pirate ship, methinks.
All in all, I was glad I went, until Monday morning when I found out that Mini-con had been a total blast. Plus the dance/rave thingo they had afterward, which would've been more my crowd. The otaku (anime-happy geeks) at the con act like faire cast does in character, which I find kind of interesting. I get the impression I'd have had the same good time at the minicon dance that I had every faire day at pub sing and at the ceilidh. It felt, at those times, like I was, ya know, out among my people. The cast party... not so much. After faire is over and everyone's thoroughly back to their normal selves, I dunno, I get a different vibe from it all.
So, in short, it was great to see (almost) everyone one last time, but if things look like they're going to turn out the same way, I'm blowing off cast party next year.
And to top it all, maybe it's from working with these people for so long, but I seem to be able to tell when someone's biting their tongue, not telling me what they're really thinking. And that's something that happens a hell of a lot, so it makes me glad that cast only comes together for about eight weekends a year.
On another interesting note, it looks like I'm one of this faire season's popular kids du jour. Dunno why everyone loves my performance this year so much more than last year. I'm basically doing the same stuff, I just had the flexibility to perform in areas outside the Children's Realm (Totally want those signs changed to say "Woodlands", btw) this time around. Ah, well. I'm not gonna complain. The spotlight's fun while it lasts, at least.
The amusing thing was that everyone ( Everyone on cast, that is. I'm not about to forget the patrons who keep praising me ) I talked to told me that everyone *they* talked to had good things to say about me, but *they* (whoever they are) never actually said anything themselves. I bitch, but that's honestly the way I like it. I'd much rather be underrated than overrated; the former is much more enjoyable to disprove.
I may not care much about my own accolades, but it's high time the management said something publicly about the Woodlanders as a whole. If O'gee is actually being on the level about the exit survey data, We were the best performing area EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND. That's right. when we started, half of our performers were just children that other cast members brought up for the "free babysitting", and our group is outperforming the adults. Without resorting to sex jokes and jiggling boobs to boost our ratings and crutch our performances, thank you very much. That's not to say we won't let off with the occasional joke, it's just we don't have to.
At least we're slowly starting to be taken seriously by the rest of cast. Heh. You can't argue with results.
Okay, one more thing, then I'll shut up. And I know someone out there's going to see this and get your panties in a twist. If you do, and they are, it's probably because I'm right. There's a certain... faction... at faire I've had no small measure of annoyance at ever since I first encountered them. They're not as vile as I first thought, or they've become less xenophobic, or something... most likely 'something', but when I first joined cast, and I didn't really know anybody, there was one sure way I could tell if a person was a member of aforementioned faction; not only would they not return any greeting I gave them in passing, they literally did not acknowledge my existence. And that pissed me off. And the next year, when I came back in a new role, I remembered this treatment. Aside from the friends I'd made the prior year who'd since joined said faction, they continued to treat me the same way.
During academy that second year, the big word they shoved at us was "temenos" which, for our purposes, meant the trust we had in each other to be professional and to play with each other, dammit. Temenos was great that year. I trusted everyone on cast to interact with me in a positive way, but I knew to expect nothing from that group from last year, because they wouldn't so much as glance my way, even in character.
Sensing a pattern, here? Good, so did I. Now, without going into detail, there were plenty of reasons I would come into this season's Academy looking for a lousy year, and it certainly did not disappoint. My area, which had been sort of the underground hit of faire the year previous, had suddenly become the dumping ground for actors' children and the people no one wanted anywhere else. This was obvious for a number of reasons, and at first things seemed to go accordingly. But then our mass of rookies seemed to get things together, as rookies always do, at the last minute. It's really quite a nerve-wracking yet beautiful sight, like the wobbly-legged newborn horse that looks like it's about to collapse under it's own weight who, not an hour later, is running and playing in the grass like only a baby horse can. But I digress. The point is that we pulled our junk heap together and turned it into a respectable, sustained area. And about midway through faire, this faction of people, up till now barely conscious of my existence, began to acknowledge me, individuals even going slightly out of their way to do so.
Anyone else ever get the feeling someone's trying to manipulate you? Am I just being super paranoid, or does this sudden shift on the last weekend of faire seem a bit contrived? My first reaction was to be extremely happy I was getting some kind of acknowledgment, but something just doesn't sit well, ya know? Ah. There it is. Condescension. I don't tolerate getting talked down to out of hand, and that's what this feels like. I've been deigned acknowledgment.
This, as opposed to people like Henry, Kerridwyn, Master Sommers, or even Heather Alexander, (to name but a few), who, despite each knowing their skill far outstrips mine, have never treated me with anything less than the utmost respect. Would that all actors could be like that.
Okay, so this is probably the third year running I've aired my dirty laundry from faire on this journal, and I know there are more people paying attention at this point, but this, by definition, is a subjective space. I haven't lied, and if I'm actually proved wrong on a point of fact, I'll apologize.
Faire is, of course, over, but we had one more party to wrap it up and say goodbye for another nine months. And I got a chance to remember why I don't do parties. Faire parties, meaning in-garb parties like the Masked Ball and Ceilidh, always rock. I love the music, I love the atmosphere, and I love to dance. Cast parties like the ones in years past were always good, too, but in different ways. They were social gatherings more than anything, but that was cool. There was still this sense of cohesion and family. The Cast party this year, though, was an entirely different animal. Maybe it was me, though. I loved hanging out with everyone in the warm evening air outside, and there was always something interesting to hear. That 'something interesting', unfortunately, was never the DJ, who was always too loud and playing songs I just had no interest in. It's FAIRE, dammit. I did not come to a faire-related party to listen to the damn Village People and ten-year-old Garth Brooks songs. But maybe I just don't get drunk enough, I dunno.
Okay, so maybe I was somewhat annoyed. But there were good moments, too. Like watching the always spectacular fireworks show from the top of my treehouse with Don Lucas and Alexiel (real names have been fictionalized to protect the innocent from internet hoons) and their friend, whose name escapes me. The play of light and shadows from the trees was amazing, making up for the fact that I thought we'd get a better view than we did. We'd have been better served at the top of the pirate ship, methinks.
All in all, I was glad I went, until Monday morning when I found out that Mini-con had been a total blast. Plus the dance/rave thingo they had afterward, which would've been more my crowd. The otaku (anime-happy geeks) at the con act like faire cast does in character, which I find kind of interesting. I get the impression I'd have had the same good time at the minicon dance that I had every faire day at pub sing and at the ceilidh. It felt, at those times, like I was, ya know, out among my people. The cast party... not so much. After faire is over and everyone's thoroughly back to their normal selves, I dunno, I get a different vibe from it all.
So, in short, it was great to see (almost) everyone one last time, but if things look like they're going to turn out the same way, I'm blowing off cast party next year.
And to top it all, maybe it's from working with these people for so long, but I seem to be able to tell when someone's biting their tongue, not telling me what they're really thinking. And that's something that happens a hell of a lot, so it makes me glad that cast only comes together for about eight weekends a year.
On another interesting note, it looks like I'm one of this faire season's popular kids du jour. Dunno why everyone loves my performance this year so much more than last year. I'm basically doing the same stuff, I just had the flexibility to perform in areas outside the Children's Realm (Totally want those signs changed to say "Woodlands", btw) this time around. Ah, well. I'm not gonna complain. The spotlight's fun while it lasts, at least.
The amusing thing was that everyone ( Everyone on cast, that is. I'm not about to forget the patrons who keep praising me ) I talked to told me that everyone *they* talked to had good things to say about me, but *they* (whoever they are) never actually said anything themselves. I bitch, but that's honestly the way I like it. I'd much rather be underrated than overrated; the former is much more enjoyable to disprove.
I may not care much about my own accolades, but it's high time the management said something publicly about the Woodlanders as a whole. If O'gee is actually being on the level about the exit survey data, We were the best performing area EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND. That's right. when we started, half of our performers were just children that other cast members brought up for the "free babysitting", and our group is outperforming the adults. Without resorting to sex jokes and jiggling boobs to boost our ratings and crutch our performances, thank you very much. That's not to say we won't let off with the occasional joke, it's just we don't have to.
At least we're slowly starting to be taken seriously by the rest of cast. Heh. You can't argue with results.
Okay, one more thing, then I'll shut up. And I know someone out there's going to see this and get your panties in a twist. If you do, and they are, it's probably because I'm right. There's a certain... faction... at faire I've had no small measure of annoyance at ever since I first encountered them. They're not as vile as I first thought, or they've become less xenophobic, or something... most likely 'something', but when I first joined cast, and I didn't really know anybody, there was one sure way I could tell if a person was a member of aforementioned faction; not only would they not return any greeting I gave them in passing, they literally did not acknowledge my existence. And that pissed me off. And the next year, when I came back in a new role, I remembered this treatment. Aside from the friends I'd made the prior year who'd since joined said faction, they continued to treat me the same way.
During academy that second year, the big word they shoved at us was "temenos" which, for our purposes, meant the trust we had in each other to be professional and to play with each other, dammit. Temenos was great that year. I trusted everyone on cast to interact with me in a positive way, but I knew to expect nothing from that group from last year, because they wouldn't so much as glance my way, even in character.
Sensing a pattern, here? Good, so did I. Now, without going into detail, there were plenty of reasons I would come into this season's Academy looking for a lousy year, and it certainly did not disappoint. My area, which had been sort of the underground hit of faire the year previous, had suddenly become the dumping ground for actors' children and the people no one wanted anywhere else. This was obvious for a number of reasons, and at first things seemed to go accordingly. But then our mass of rookies seemed to get things together, as rookies always do, at the last minute. It's really quite a nerve-wracking yet beautiful sight, like the wobbly-legged newborn horse that looks like it's about to collapse under it's own weight who, not an hour later, is running and playing in the grass like only a baby horse can. But I digress. The point is that we pulled our junk heap together and turned it into a respectable, sustained area. And about midway through faire, this faction of people, up till now barely conscious of my existence, began to acknowledge me, individuals even going slightly out of their way to do so.
Anyone else ever get the feeling someone's trying to manipulate you? Am I just being super paranoid, or does this sudden shift on the last weekend of faire seem a bit contrived? My first reaction was to be extremely happy I was getting some kind of acknowledgment, but something just doesn't sit well, ya know? Ah. There it is. Condescension. I don't tolerate getting talked down to out of hand, and that's what this feels like. I've been deigned acknowledgment.
This, as opposed to people like Henry, Kerridwyn, Master Sommers, or even Heather Alexander, (to name but a few), who, despite each knowing their skill far outstrips mine, have never treated me with anything less than the utmost respect. Would that all actors could be like that.
Okay, so this is probably the third year running I've aired my dirty laundry from faire on this journal, and I know there are more people paying attention at this point, but this, by definition, is a subjective space. I haven't lied, and if I'm actually proved wrong on a point of fact, I'll apologize.