Rennie Memories 1980 & 1981
Oct. 28th, 2005 11:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grnvixenMoving on to years 4 & 5 of KCRF. I'll post a few reminders from the booklet, please add your memories from 1980 and 1981 at KCRF.
1980: 6 weekends, Sept 13 - Oct 19. Attendance: over 100,000. King & Queen: John Woolam & Joice Appel/Phoebe Mooney. Great Hall and Blacksmith built. Second year of Lord Lionfire and the original Rat Lady, also Peterson/Pearson's second year as consultants. 1980 or 1979 was the year the Wizard's Tower area was added.
1981: 6 weekends, Sept 12 - Oct 18. Attendance: 133,000. King & Queen: Art Campbell & Phoebe Mooney as King Arthur IV and Queen Anne. Chapel Area added. First year for Puke & Snot.
My memories: These 2 years run together a little for me. I think 1980 was when 'The Bank' became official. I made my first bodice; a simple unlined unboned brown thing that still managed to display a lot of clevage. The ED at the time had come around and given a lot of the street characters a $ for something to drink as it was hot (no rest areas then). Not being able to get it into my pouch I stuck it in the next most convenient spot where I knew I could keep track of it. Yup, there :). Wandering by the SCA dell shortly thereafter one of my friends there took one look and declared that "the Bank of England had never been in such great shape". My wench character was born! I added a few lines like 'gathering interest' and 'severe penalties for early withdrawals', switched out the paper money for a large coin, and milked it for years :). One of my favorite spots was up on the front gate 'welcoming' the patrons ("Auditions for village idiot right this way!").
Many of my friends also joined me on the street this year. I had made some of their costumes, which I cringe at now (polyester & zippers!) but hey, one was good enough to get Kirsten immediately cast as a Princess during auditions in the park that summer. And I think this was the year (might have been '79) Charles ended up in court. The King couldn't make it one weekend and the Queen needed an escort. His costume was deemed presentable enough so he got drafted. Little did they know! I think this was also Kay J.'s first year as 'Mother Superior'. More polyester (I have learned so much since then!) but she was comfortable and made the most out of her schtick (blessing cameras). I seem to remember several rainy weekends this year but we still had a good time, directing folks around mudholes etc. I also vividly remember one rainy day where Talisman took over the then-royal pavillion in the Mermaid area and just kept playing through the rain. Patrons and performers alike took cover and listened, occasionally doing a little jigging out in front when the rain letup.
I think it was in 1981 or the next year that we actually started getting a little training/guidelines for our characters. This consisted of one or two general get-togethers of characters with some instruction and a few guidelines. And just general costume approvals. More friends joined court and 1981 may have been the first year there was any type of a scenario; the bastard son of the king trying an assasination attempt toward the end of the parade, which was in the new area (now where the Chapel is, very bare of trees and very HOT). Charles was the bastard son and had a great time with it.
By '81 I think I had added the penny whistle to The Bank's 'act', it was handy to have to play on, and not as many music acts to compete with, the small stages were not going yet. Sony was out there with her bagpipes sometimes however. Which reminds me how on one weekend of the season the local St. Andrews Pipe Band would be out at faire to perform and would march in formation in the parade. It was always stirring to seem them march through the lanes, kilts swinging and pipes sqwaking.
And costumes are always going to be key memory triggers for me :). There was only a loosely defined timeframe for faire at this time so some costumes were still a little medieval. I think I did a purple houppelande for Charles, later period for Margene, Kirsten and then Dennis. This was the first year for the red bodice. Still no boning but definately had found the 'wenchy' look. I don't know how many women used to ask me how I managed the display of clevage that I did. Only thing I could suggest to them was to try a smaller cup size. But what I know now :)!!!
And Puke and Snot, what a great show! As I remember, this was the traveling pair, not the originators, who are the performers we see now. They were great guys, I remember the blonde was named Dean. Was the other Pete? D do you remember? They did a repeat of their show at the cast party that year and at first were surprised when everyone started joining in on the lines. Dean told me later that at first he thought we were mocking them, that everyone was so tired of the show by then. Later they caught on to the fact the everyone just really liked the show and had watched it as many times as we could :).
Whew, what a lot of memories. I'm sure there will be more but I had better stop for now and post this.
Feel free to copy and post this in your own LJ. If you are not on my friends list, please let me know so I can share the memories.
1980: 6 weekends, Sept 13 - Oct 19. Attendance: over 100,000. King & Queen: John Woolam & Joice Appel/Phoebe Mooney. Great Hall and Blacksmith built. Second year of Lord Lionfire and the original Rat Lady, also Peterson/Pearson's second year as consultants. 1980 or 1979 was the year the Wizard's Tower area was added.
1981: 6 weekends, Sept 12 - Oct 18. Attendance: 133,000. King & Queen: Art Campbell & Phoebe Mooney as King Arthur IV and Queen Anne. Chapel Area added. First year for Puke & Snot.
My memories: These 2 years run together a little for me. I think 1980 was when 'The Bank' became official. I made my first bodice; a simple unlined unboned brown thing that still managed to display a lot of clevage. The ED at the time had come around and given a lot of the street characters a $ for something to drink as it was hot (no rest areas then). Not being able to get it into my pouch I stuck it in the next most convenient spot where I knew I could keep track of it. Yup, there :). Wandering by the SCA dell shortly thereafter one of my friends there took one look and declared that "the Bank of England had never been in such great shape". My wench character was born! I added a few lines like 'gathering interest' and 'severe penalties for early withdrawals', switched out the paper money for a large coin, and milked it for years :). One of my favorite spots was up on the front gate 'welcoming' the patrons ("Auditions for village idiot right this way!").
Many of my friends also joined me on the street this year. I had made some of their costumes, which I cringe at now (polyester & zippers!) but hey, one was good enough to get Kirsten immediately cast as a Princess during auditions in the park that summer. And I think this was the year (might have been '79) Charles ended up in court. The King couldn't make it one weekend and the Queen needed an escort. His costume was deemed presentable enough so he got drafted. Little did they know! I think this was also Kay J.'s first year as 'Mother Superior'. More polyester (I have learned so much since then!) but she was comfortable and made the most out of her schtick (blessing cameras). I seem to remember several rainy weekends this year but we still had a good time, directing folks around mudholes etc. I also vividly remember one rainy day where Talisman took over the then-royal pavillion in the Mermaid area and just kept playing through the rain. Patrons and performers alike took cover and listened, occasionally doing a little jigging out in front when the rain letup.
I think it was in 1981 or the next year that we actually started getting a little training/guidelines for our characters. This consisted of one or two general get-togethers of characters with some instruction and a few guidelines. And just general costume approvals. More friends joined court and 1981 may have been the first year there was any type of a scenario; the bastard son of the king trying an assasination attempt toward the end of the parade, which was in the new area (now where the Chapel is, very bare of trees and very HOT). Charles was the bastard son and had a great time with it.
By '81 I think I had added the penny whistle to The Bank's 'act', it was handy to have to play on, and not as many music acts to compete with, the small stages were not going yet. Sony was out there with her bagpipes sometimes however. Which reminds me how on one weekend of the season the local St. Andrews Pipe Band would be out at faire to perform and would march in formation in the parade. It was always stirring to seem them march through the lanes, kilts swinging and pipes sqwaking.
And costumes are always going to be key memory triggers for me :). There was only a loosely defined timeframe for faire at this time so some costumes were still a little medieval. I think I did a purple houppelande for Charles, later period for Margene, Kirsten and then Dennis. This was the first year for the red bodice. Still no boning but definately had found the 'wenchy' look. I don't know how many women used to ask me how I managed the display of clevage that I did. Only thing I could suggest to them was to try a smaller cup size. But what I know now :)!!!
And Puke and Snot, what a great show! As I remember, this was the traveling pair, not the originators, who are the performers we see now. They were great guys, I remember the blonde was named Dean. Was the other Pete? D do you remember? They did a repeat of their show at the cast party that year and at first were surprised when everyone started joining in on the lines. Dean told me later that at first he thought we were mocking them, that everyone was so tired of the show by then. Later they caught on to the fact the everyone just really liked the show and had watched it as many times as we could :).
Whew, what a lot of memories. I'm sure there will be more but I had better stop for now and post this.
Feel free to copy and post this in your own LJ. If you are not on my friends list, please let me know so I can share the memories.
