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[vconaway]

I have more of a routine than most expect. Here in Washington, most weekdays, I catch a 7:20 bus to the ferry (or an 8:05 if I'm sleepy), walk to Pike Place Market and put my marker in line, perform two hour-long shows between 11 and 3, and get home around 4

Comments

[horsetraveller]

At renaissance festivals, what are your hours? Are you performing for hours on end? And what do you mean by "back-end support"? I'm trying to guess and coming up blank.

[vconaway]

My typical faire schedule involves alternating 45 minute sets with 15 minute breaks from, typically, 10-6 (sometimes 7, 5 in Louisiana because it gets dark early in December).

"Back-end" is anything from writing and rehearsing new music to booking and recording. Not to mention life's chores like groceries, laundry, post office, etc.

[horsetraveller]

I've always wondered. That makes a lot of sense. Are the ren faires only open on weekends?

[vconaway]

Most are, except for holidays (Labour Day, Armistice/Memorial Day/Good Friday) and the occasional weekday for school programs. A few have tried to go all week long, but most have ended badly.

[redsash]

I don't know Washington. How busy is the market to make it worth your time?

I've been experimenting with my Dead Pirate Roger act, but it requires a lot of space...

~r

[vconaway]

It doesn't have much room for circle shows, more of a small music groups venue. What kind of an act do you do?

[redsash]

I guess I was asking what kind of traffic you look for to make a location tenable.

I dress as a skeletal pirate and challenge people to realistic duels with foam swords :-) Ideally takes about 30' of grassy space.

~r

[vconaway]

Traffic is important but not everything. A good ambiance with low traffic (matching tempo to a fountain on Piazza Navona comes to mind) can work really well, and too much foot traffic sweeps people past and doesn't allow listening. I normally thread between the two extremes; I like to have someone pass every ten seconds or so as a minimum.