Music from Joni Minstrel, The Dregs, Axel the Sot, Iris and Rose, The Musical Blades, Sligo Rags, Bounding Main, The Bilge Pumps, Blackjacks ‘N Blarney, Craig of Farrington, The Jolly Rogers, and Marc Gunn

Sponsor: ALEP 2: There and Back Again

Another “Lord of the Rings” Themed Event is in the works! “ALEP 2: There and Back Again” 2011 is returning courtesy of the same wonderful people who brought you “A Long Expected Party” held at Shaker Village in Harrodsburg, KY in September of 2008. This exciting event will feature storytelling, music, adventures, languages and lore all inspired by JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings novels. Come celebrate a reenactment of the great halls of Gondor, the beautiful forested Elven outpost of Rivendell, and the peaceful green hills of The Shire. Join us Sept 28 through October 2nd, 2011 for a weekend you will never forget. Find out more details at ALEP2.us

NOTES:

Download 2005 and 2006 episodes on the website. Just click the link
that says Music and scroll to the bottom.

Please rate the podcast on iTunes

Like our Facebook Page

If you like Hobbits or Lord of the Rings, Marc has a new album in the works of hobbit drinking songs:
http://celticmusic.org/2011/hobbit-songs/

Special thanks to Mr. Paul Barrie from the Window To The Magic podcast for his help with information on binaural microphones… New binaural audio coming to the podcast soon!

THIS WEEK:

The 6th Anniversary of the Renaissance Festival Podcast – Drinking show
special

Drinking show: it’s our 6th Anniversary, so we have a reason to drink!

Renaissance festival Podcast is not responsible of any kind for the
drunkenness that may occur while listening to this, or partaking in
this show. Remember drink responsibly.

Renaissance Festival Podcast The Drinking Game. Take a drink when…

1. There is a stumble or screw up
2. Beer, Whiskey, Ale, Rum, or Mead is said
3. When Marc promotes himself
4. Marc plugs one of his other shows
5. When we make up some facts that are not true
6. For every time Marc, Matt, or Tony laugh
7. Take 2 shots if someone picks on Marc
8. When wench(es) or lass(es) are said, take bawdy shot off the person closest to you

MUSIC

“Whiskey and Beer” by Joni Minstrel
from Joni Minstrel Kicks the King

“Irish Girl” by The Dregs
from Angelina Farewell Concert

“Beer Is Better Than Women” by Axel the Sot
from Tales from the Tavern

“Bring Me Some Whiskey” by Iris and Rose
from Bed Time Stories

“The Toasting Song” by The Musical Blades
From Full Frontal Piracy

“The Whiskey Never Lies” (Burns, ASCAP) by Sligo Rags
from The Whiskey Never Lies

“Pass the Mug” by Bounding Main
from Going Overboard

“All For Me Grog” by The Bilge Pumps
from Greatest Hits Vol. VII

“Old Black Rum” by Blackjacks ‘N Blarney
from Renaissance Festival Podcast Compilation and Dancing the Hempin Jig

“The 3 Song” by Craig of Farrington
from Blue upon blue

“One for the Road” by The Jolly Rogers
from X Marks the Spot

“Beer, Beer, Beer” by Marc Gunn
from Kilted For Her Pleasure

Today, everyone is familiar with Renaissance Faires. But it was in 1963 that Ron Patterson helped to start the very first modern Renaissance Faire, in Marin County, near San Francisco, California. The first Faire grew out of a children’s art program which Mr. Patterson and his then wife, Phyllis, had established in their backyard in Los Angeles.

Patterson’s faire tried to invoke traditional Renaissance springtime markets and harvest festivals. Every performer, vendor, or staff person was subjected to various workshops to ensure as much authenticity as possible.

The Renaissance Faires in California quickly became local traditions and then spread across the country. Today, there are over 200 Renaissance Faires operating in the United States and Canada.

Ron Patterson died in January 2011 at the age of 80.

While the family no longer owns the Renaissance Faire, Mr. Patterson’s sons Kevin and Brian continue to operate the Great Dickens Christmas Fair, which Ron Patterson and his wife founded in 1970 and which occurs yearly in San Francisco.

We are pleased to induct Ron Patterson into the Renaissance Festival Hall of Fame.

Without Rob Middleton, Renaissance Faires across the country would have much less interesting music.

Back in the 1980’s, Middleton was performing at King Richard’s Faire in Wisconsin. At that time, Renaissance Faire music consisted mainly of madrigals, ballads, and wandering minstrels plucking on harps. Middleton, who has performed with a number of groups including CrossRogues, Cloverleaf and Parcel of Rogues, introduced sea shanties and Celtic drinking songs and ballads into the mix. Suddenly, Renaissance Faire music was fun!

With the introduction of catchy, sing-along type tunes, music quickly became a vital part of the Renaissance Faire scene all over the country.

For changing the sound of Renaissance Faires from somber to sprightly, scholarly fare to pure entertainment, the Renaissance Festival Hall of Fame honors Robert Middleton.

Each year the Renaissance Festival Podcast conducts their Annual Renaissance Festival Awards. During the second year of the Awards, a new category was created to recognize and honor those who have made a significant contribution to the Renaissance Festival community. This award is called the Renaissance Festival Hall of Fame.

Hall of Fame nominees are selected by any and all voters, although voters must describe how they feel their nominee has contributed to the Renaissance Festival community. The nominees are then reviewed by a committee of Renaissance Faire participants and members of the Podcast, and final selections are announced with the Annual Awards. Additional information about Hall of Fame inductees is also posted to the website.

Past inductees include:
2006: C. Wayne Owens, aka Seymoure
2007: Dan Mehn, Bill Huttel, Lolly Foy, and Barbara “Bodge” Burinski-Shelton
2008: Joe Kudla and Carol Black

Over the past years, nominees have been selected at the same time as selections for other Award categories. This year, suggestions for Hall of Fame nominees will be taken starting in May and ending in July. Top nominees will be listed in the Awards ballot for fans to make the final selection. The final ranking for Hall of Fame nominees will be announced with the Awards at the beginning of the following year.

Here are the 2009 Renaissance Festival Hall of Fame inductees:

Puke n’ Snot
Mark Sieve “Sir Ralph Puke”, Joe Kudla “Sir Thomas Snot” and John Gamoke “Thomas Snot Jr.”

“He who shall… So shall he who.” Puke n’ Snot has been entertaining fans at Renaissance Festivals everywhere for more than thirty years. Their self-described “mock-Shakespearean vaudeville” has pleased audiences as far and wide as Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando, where they performed as Perry & Slice, two crotchety pirate buccaneers. Puke n’ Snot is the longest-running two-man comedy duo in the country and a headline show at festivals and comedy clubs throughout North America since 1974.

The first appearance of Puke n’ Snot was at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, where they performed under the name Mouldy & Wart. A year later they would change their name to Puke n’ Snot… and so their legacy began.

In 2008 Sir Thomas Snot (Joe Kudla) passed way. However, the Puke n’ Snot show continues with John Gamoke as Thomas Snot, Jr. and Mark Sieve as Puke. It’s a different show than that seen 30 years ago, but it’s still got that same funny flair.

Actor, producer, and director Mark Sieve is the co-creator of Puke n’ Snot. Mark is the author of several books, with the most recent being “Call me Puke: A Life of the Dirt Circuit”. If you want to know the gory details of Puke n’ Snot, this is the book to read. As an act, Puke n’ Snot have put out four CDs and one DVD. To find out more about Puke n’ Snot go to http://www.magaga.com .

Don Juan and Miguel
Jose Granados “Don Juan” Douglas Kondziolka “ Miguel and Dakota Star Granados “Esmeralda”

Don Juan and Miguel ; “…charm friend and foe alike while engaging in the finest stage swordwork ever.”

Don Juan and Miguel have an enchanting stage act with breath-taking whip-wielding, side-splitting comedy, and hair-raising swordplay. For over 20 years this duo has shared their work in the Renaissance Festival Circuit. Jose Granados portrays Don Juan, the gallant and romantic Prince of Spain, while Douglas Kondziolka plays his faithful but odd manservant, Miguel. Dakota Star Granados plays Esmeralda, the beautiful daughter of the prince of Spain. Along with working the US Renaissance Festival Circuit, they’ve performed at Disney World’s 25^th Anniversary Celebration, the Art Institute of Kansas City, various clubs in Las Vegas, private and industrial parties, and made numerous TV and radio appearances.

As well as their unforgettable stage show Don Juan and Miguel, these men stand out for the role they take in helping their community. They own a production company, Blind Dog Entertainment, through which they develop various enterprises at Renaissance Festivals. Since 1995 they have built two dungeons (North Carolina and Pennsylvania), an archery game and a life-size maze (New York). Blind Dog Entertainment was formed to “utilize and promote the talents of a Developing Arts Community in the United States Renaissance Festivals”. To find out more about Don Juan and Miguel visit http://www.donjuanandmiguel.com .

Will Wood as Sir Frances Drake:

Joe Kudla “Thomas Snot” (1951 – 2008)
“He was a man, take him for all and all, we shall not look upon his like again” (William Shakespeare, Hamlet) For 35 years Joe Kudla played Thomas Snot, one half of the Puke n’ Snot team. This old man in tights made millions of family, friends, and fans tears with laughter. Sadly Joe passed away only a few days before his home town Renaissance Festival opened in Minnesota.

Joe and Mark Sieve (Ralph Puke) first got their start back in 1974 at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival under the names Mouldy & Wart. Shows were ten minutes in length, largely improvised, always in the streets. The next year they changed there names to Puke n’ Snot joined at the Minnesota Festival by Penn and Teller. As the years went on that act of Puke n’ Snot became bigger. They were seen at many other Renaissance Festivals, Soon the shows would become too big for the streets of any Renaissance Festivals so in 1983 Puke n’ Snot moved to stage. Puke n’ Snot putting there own spin “trademark brand of mock-Shakespearean vaudeville to audiences composed mostly of morbidly obese, turkey-drumstick devouring, semi-conscious yahoos.” Joe and Mark together put out four cds and one dvd of there work over the 35 years of play the old men in tights.

The show goes on Joe passing just days before the Minnesota Renaissance Festival opened millions of family, friends, and fans wondered what was going to happen to the show. It is a show you just have to see when Puke n’ Snot where out at the Renaissance Festivals. Joe has a Memorial Fund trying to help Joe’s daughter Angela go to college. A “Thomas Snot Pilsner Mug” and “Thomas Snot Memorial Tee Shirt” can be found in their store or online at their home page at www.magaga.com.

Joe “always believed that the show was bigger than the actors…the spirit of the show carries on. People still laugh. Joe would want them to keep laughing. So, to honor Joe and his long legacy”, Mark and the Puke n’ Snot team keep the shows going with a long time friend of both Joe and Mark. John Gamoke has picking up where Joe left off and is playing “Thomas Snot Jr,” and both man (Mark and John) are still acting at Renaissance Festivals today.

You can find out more about Puke n’ Snot and what Renaissance Festivals there are at by going to there home page at www.magaga.com. There you can also read more about Joe and what family, friends, and fans have said as will as leave your own thoughts about him, but most of all see there shows Joe would have like, it would make him happy. Long Live Thomas Snot!

Carol Black “Lady Ettie”
Carol Black (Lady Ettie) For more then 25 years Carol is been entertaining young people to the lost arts of chivalry, respect, etiquette, and manners. She reminds the audience through her skills of storytelling and performance. Carol is also a founding member of Renaissance Entertainers, Services, and Crafters United (RESCU).

When one first see Carol one is reminded never judge a book by it’s cover. It has been said that Carol is the most approachable character at any festivals, and her fascinating gracefulness and great knowledge of etiquette keeps her audiences mesmerized.

Carol has “performed in theatre’s, festivals, and school across the country. Her work has been reviewed and celebrated in major newspapers, magazines, and on television…Her charming toothless smile she brings her message of acceptance to all ages.” Carol’s shows run between 45 minutes to one hour. Teaching lost arts of chivalry, respect, etiquette, and manners that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, one can always be a Lady or a Gentleman. This means No Bullying!

Carol with a costume filled with many surprises. From the oversized large brimmed hat covered with nuts, feathers, flowers, ribbons and bangles, to the flair of the rest of her attire that is accentuated with pouches, pins, colorful cloth, and other adornment, all will find Carol charm and toothless smile a treat for all, even the uncertain.

Carol is the founding member and the president of Renaissance Entertainers, Services, and Crafters United (RESCU) is a non-profit organization established to promote and maintain the health and medical well-being of the participants of Renaissance Faires, historical performances and other artistic events through financial assistance, advocacy, education and preventative programs. RESCU was founded almost 6 years ago by veteran Renaissance participants. They now consist of 10-12 board members including artisans, actors, guild members, and a former bank executive. The board members and volunteers of the RESCU Foundation were or are participants of Renaissance Faires or have a connection that compels them to serve tirelessly so this organization can thrive. The board of the RESCU Foundation spends an incredible amount of volunteer hours assuring RESCU’s role in the future. They do everything that needs to be done, through heartache and pressure. But this aspiration cannot be done without assistance.

Carol still performs at Renaissance Festivals and schools still teaching that any young man or woman to be a Lady or a Gentleman by learning lost arts of chivalry, respect, etiquette, and manners. Carol is still working hard with the RESCU today. You can find out more about Carol Black work and what Renaissance Festivals she is at and about her at www.ladyettie.com and find out more about the RESCU Foundation at www.rescufoundation.org.

The Renaissance Festival Podcast is very proud to announce the latest additions to the Renaissance Festival Hall of Fame. The following people were voted for in the 2007 Renaissance Festival Awards and then selected through a panel of people from the faire community. We hope you too will be pleased to honor these great contributors to the Renaissance Festival world.

Barbara “Bodge” Burinski-Shelton (1955-2002):“Bodge” is a ren-faire legend across the country at the numerous faires where she portrayed the queen. Before taking on the role of Queen, “Bodge” performed with a madrigal group, “The Jongleurs.” She was Queen Katherine at King Richard’s Faire for 24 years as well as queen at Sterling Renaissance Festival and Arizona Renaissance Festival.

Photo from Sturdy Beggars

Lolly Foy: Lolly contributed to many facets of the faire community throughout her years on the circuit. Angus and the Kilt, written by Lolly and Betsy Smith as WenchWorks, has become a staple of many festival acts. Lolly played queen at the Arizona, Minnesota, and Carolina Renaissance Faires and has many a loyal subject. She has retired from her role as Queen to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in Acting at Minnesota State University and, in her first year, placed 36th of 400 nominees at the Region V Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Our best wishes to Lolly as she pursues her dreams.

Photo from MRF Friends website.

Bill Huttel (1953-2001): Bill’s stature and rich baritone voice helped visitors to the faire fall under the spell of King Henry VIII’s royal presence. He portrayed that role for 13 seasons at the Maryland Renaissance Festival and 8 years at the Florida Renaissance Festival as well as smaller faires and festivals in Ohio, Virginia, and Ontario, Canada.

Photo from Memorial site.

Dan Mehn (1937-2006): Dan, the Master Joyner of the Maryland Renaissance Festival, had a passion for American Indian culture, theater, history, and literature. Bringing them all together, he became known for reproducing historic furniture, at first only as a hobby, and then by turning his passion into a full time business in 1993.

Photo by RJ Ayres. Read an interview with Dan Mehn.

by Karen J. Brady

When it comes to accomplishments, C. Wayne Owens, 56, known to many as Seymoure, has a lifetime of them.

“This man is, at his core, an entertainer,” said Jesse Slicer, Owens’ son-in-law. “Never have I known someone personally who was so immersed in the entertainment arts. He’s always one of those types of guys who works hard and never asks for anything in return. Just a satisfied audience. That’s something every entertainer should strive for.”

Born in Oklahoma in 1950, but raised in Los Angeles, Owens was already working as an extra on popular television shows like “My Three Sons,” and “Circus Boy” by the age of five.

In 1963, he left home to work and to attend college at Southwest Missouri State College and the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he studied theater and performed in numerous landmark shows.

The show “King Henry’s Feast,” which Owens co-wrote and also performed, is the longest running live show in Kansas City, lasting for three years. It was from this show that the character Seymoure emerged and Owens toured the Renaissance circuit as that character.

“That’s the truly amazing thing about C. Wayne Owens,” Marc Gunn, a close friend and Renaissance performer, said. “He isn’t just a comedian. He’s a philosopher, a poet, a man who inspires.”

Brian Wendling, who worked with Owens at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival and the old Westport Standford & Sons Comedy Club, agrees.

“Beyond his performing and writing abilities, he is a gentle and generous man, and to me, that says more than any of his performing.”

Owens is someone people respect. Not only does he perform, but he inspires others, not just performers, but those who take in his shows and see the very essence of this man.

“He has taught me that we all, as performers and as people, have something special to contribute, both to the performance environment and to the fabric of our lives as a community,” said Denise Goodson, a performer at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. “His work at faires has spanned a number of venues, over an extended tenure and his contribution over the years has been not only to contribute to the performance at hand, but also to teach other performers what to bring to the table.”

Goodson noted another important characteristic of Owens: that he is a consummate professional.

In fact, Owens is the first inductee into the Renaissance Festival Hall of Fame.

“I think he is the perfect recipient because of his contribution to the Renaissance festival circuit,” Gunn said. “He made people laugh, taught people improv, and best of all, he opened people’s minds in a way that transcended history lessons, and in a way that ultimately leads to a better life for all in our current day. I’ve known no one else at faire who has inspired me so much.”

Wendling echoes those thoughts. “My sense of being a performer is twofold: to be a person of many interests and passions. Seymoure is certainly that, and to be a solo stage performer at a Renaissance festival, one should have the ability to hold the audience with your voice and your story, whatever that story is, and Seymoure has many stories, on many levels.”

To Goodson, it is the example that Owens sets that makes him the perfect recipient of this award.

Indeed, those who know Owens do try to live up to the example he has set in the Renaissance faire circuit. It seems every performer or anyone who takes in one of his shows walks away changed in some way by not only his presence, but the way he projects himself to those around him.

“Back in 2000, we struggled with anonymity and were trying to find a place in the Renaissance festival world,” Gunn says of his duo, the Brobdingnagian Bards. “C. Wayne Owens, through Seymoure, and also through our professional relationship that developed outside of faire, showed me that there is more to this business of music than self-service. There is a higher cause, to help inspire fans, and helps bands selflessly so that others may share the love and dignity that we were shown.”

It seems to be a common tale told by other performers who know him.

“He was always kind to me, and since I was a shy transplant to the Kansas City area, that meant a lot,” Wendling said. “And as I get older, he is one of those touchstones that knows part of my history from almost 30 years ago. Those early days of the Kansas City Renaissance Festival were full of newness and energy and fun. Seymoure was one of those special people then…and he still is.”

For Slicer, Owens’ influence goes beyond the realm of performances and faires to a more personal level.

“What can I say about my kids’ grandpappy, my wife’s papa and a fellow who has not only treated me like a son, but taught me so much about the entertainment world? Well, I guess I can, at a minimum, say ‘thanks’ to him. He’s been a major influence in many parts of my life, obviously, but I think I learn the most about him, and myself, watching his interactions with others.”

For a man like Owens, who grew up with entertainment in his blood, from credits for writing and performing in a variety of shows and films, an appearance on “Jeopardy,” touring Europe and the Middle East, headlining the first USO All Stand-up Comedy Show, creating comic strip characters, and recording five music and comedy albums, it might seem as though he’d find other venues in which to display his talent. On the contrary, it seems his performances at the Renaissance faires have touched not only other performers, but those who simply came to observe and instead found themselves inspired.

Gunn sums it up the best.

“When I talk to Seymoure, I find new meaning in my life. I find direction about what is important. Seymoure inspires me to think, about life, the universe and everything. And if I had one wish for my dying days, it would be that I was able to inspire people as Seymoure has inspired me.”