Rennie Memories 1980 & 1981

[grnvixen]

Moving 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.

Comments

[rowangolightly.livejournal.com]

I think it was '82 when we started to get some training. I was playing Queen Isabella and was in way over my head, but of course I didn't know it! That couple from California came out to do some seminars during our rehearsals at the Art Institute. *chuckle* The gal talked a whole lot to me and I remember being so shocked when the guy said to me, "You know she's trying to seduce you, right? We both are!" I stammered something incoherent. I was just floored...I was a really still quite naive, much more so than I think anyone knew at that point.

I remember you as the 'Bawdy Bank of England' - that was a great character. And dear gods, didn't we all do abominable things in costuming way back then? But yes, I remember things by costumes as well, big surprise, huh...

[grnvixen.livejournal.com]

Couldn't remember what year we had the imported talent but if that was '82 then '81 was the first year we had any sort of training because I do remember something the first year before the accent classes, it was only a couple of general get-togethers as I mentioned though. '82 must have been when I saw my first Elizabethan Costuming book too. WOW!

[rowangolightly.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I look at some of my early efforts...don't have many of them anymore and I think, "Ye Gods!"

[rougewench.livejournal.com]

I intend to post my memories in a separate post, but I'll correct a couple of points here...

From 1981:

Charles' houppelande was green.

Dean Hanus was indeed the Snot in the first cast to join us, but the Puke was not Bruce Bohne (who played him from 82 until we got the "original cast". The man was blond and quite obnoxious and smoked nasty cigars...I seem to remember the name...John...however, he was the man who suggested I would be prettier if I did not wear frost blue eye shadow (for which advice I am grateful).

The assassination took place in the midst of the second parade during the day, held at 3:00 P.M. Carlos Perez played the Bastard Son, and his reasoning for his claim to the throne is that the Prince was "half a man" and would never sire issue. I always thought it was balsy that the prince was played openly gay.


D.

[rougewench.livejournal.com]

Oh, and there was no training in 81 at all. I was hired at the last audition and just told to show up for opening day...which is where I got my first schedule.


D.

[grnvixen.livejournal.com]

Maybe I was confusing the meetings w/ training, since there had never really been any :).

Head THWACK; yup, Carlos was the Bastard and Charles was the Prince. He snarled so fetchingly at Carlos during the bit.

I still think the Houppe was purple though, at least the short one I made him. Somewhere I have a picture of Lois sewing on the codpiece, and biting a thread off, with C *in* the tights :).

[rowangolightly.livejournal.com]

I can't even remember his name and I went out with him...once, although it wasn't that year but '83, I think. I came to his attention after making it 'rain' carrots on them after his line, "Here, defend yourself" when he tossed a carrot at his partner. I remember they were doing their show in the street and not on a stage.

*chuckle* He took me to a lovely dinner on the Plaza and then brought me home, clearly expecting the 'payment' for the dinner. He was utterly astonished when I stopped on the front step, took my keys out, unlocked the door, and turned around to thank him, kiss him on the cheek and then go in my door and shut it with him still standing outside on the step.

He never spoke to me again. *heh* Poor thing.

[rougewench.livejournal.com]

I'll have to yank out my photos from that year and get a look...


D.

[rougewench.livejournal.com]

And I posted my recollections here (http://www.livejournal.com/users/rougewench/356839.html#cutid1) as I knew they'd never fit in a comment.


D.

[grnvixen.livejournal.com]

Maybe you are thinking of the blue & green one Elfy made him? It was long and dagged?

[rougewench.livejournal.com]

I may simply be thinking of the overgarment he wore that year. It was forest/olive green velvet and had the oddest little cream colored satin dags on it. Under it, if I recall, he wore a multicolored tunic which was shades of greens and browns, with tights (as that's how the young men in the court dressed that year)...with a small golden colored circlet.

I do have pictures. I need to post some of them with each of my posts to flesh this stuff out, I think.


D.

[starstraf.livejournal.com]

I think 81 was the first year I worked there — archery booth for the SCA dell

[cepblionhearth.livejournal.com]

My houppelande WAS green, & was worn with a green & gold kinda paisley elvish looking tunic-- Elf made it. The next year I wore it with a purple panne velvet tunic-- the one Lois so deftly applied the codpiece to-- while I was wearing my tights!! Grnvixen made the purple tunic. It was, of course my idea to play the Prince openly gay a la Edward II; it was a blast!! ( and type casting!!!)

[rougewench.livejournal.com]

Wasn't that the codpiece with the silver pentacle on it?


D.

[grnvixen.livejournal.com]

I think so, need to check the picture but I think I made it to match the purple tunic. He was having a lot of fun flashing another codpiece he had with tassels so I made this one. Can't remember if it had tassels too, need to check the pic.

[rougewench.livejournal.com]

It did indeed match the purple tunic. I don't remember it having tassles, however. Just a perfect silver pentacle, made with a simple silver braid trim.


D.