Ren Faire's Chaotic Storytelling

Ren Faire is is a chaotic blend of reality and fiction, and somehow manages to be one of the best things I've seen all year.

[Jess_of_the_Shire]

It seems the chaos continues! In the time it took to make this video, Jeff Baldwin has been reinstated as General Manager. According to Lance Oppenheim, George watched the show and apologized for his actions, and the Fest is back in the loving hands of Jeff. Congratulations to all involved! Remember to stay kind in the comments. These are real people and real people can always impress and surprise us.

[ALTR_no_EGO]

Fairly certain Jess could do a video about the history of manufacturing paper cups, and I could watch it, and be happy.

[kanojo]

The crazy part about this whole 'drama' is that it's exactly the same script at *every* small or medium business that's owned by one aging patriarch. There's always a cast of characters angling to take over, they are always liars and performers, and there's always the realisation that despite all the drama, the old guy at the top never actually seriously considers handing things over to a chosen successor. It's always grubby and cheap and the worst people end up with the 'prize', which they then ruin.

I've worked at a dozen such places and the consistency of this succession drama happens every time. Just like it did in the medieval times with kings.

[GlenLake]

I thought it was a Mockumentary at first. Nothing wrong with playing make believe, indeed an argument can be made that we are all doing it, all the time.

[mndrew]

Sounds to me like someone needs to show up to the faire roleplaying as Maximillian Robespierre.

[DT-vchd]

"I didn't know we had a king. I thought we were an autonomous collective."

[jasonlarue]

Grew up going to the Michigan Renaissance Festival, around 8. I learned to never say you needed to go to the bathroom, as an Actor may take your hand and shout for everyone to make way for someone that needs to use the Privy. :)

[pendragon]

Your costumes are always so on point, Jess!

[conorfynes]

The choice between three distinct and ideologically opposed candidates feels like they're factions in a Fallout game or Skyrim.

[Awfullybigadventure]

The whole Ren Faire’s succession drama sounds like the background for an episode of Bones, or any other murder-of-the-week police procedural / detective 👀😆

[bsaacp]

I was a performer at the RennFaire in Marin (not San Francisco as you mentioned) and I/we did two shows of full power, full speed armored combat. One of great pleasures in performing at the RennFaire was being the character and leaving the real person behind. What quickly evolved was the realization that my character was a real part of me and the real me was also that character. Ah, those were the days, which are now 25+ years ago.

[allisongliot]

Fascinating analysis. For me, this also brings up the question of how much “reality” tv ever actually reflects reality. As soon as you put a camera and invisible audience in front of someone, they’re going to articulate their story differently than they would have without one.

[stevewatt]

sitting here watching this one I had a notion, I would love to hear you tell bedtime stories, the good old ones, like Hansel and Gretel or really any Mother Goose stories. I know it's not as creative as the episodes you research and tell but that voice is so suited to fairy tales.

[williampalmer]

Thank you for watching this show for me, so to speak. It seemed interesting but I don't have Max, and I often don't do well with "reality" drama. For me, your re-telling is far more entertaining than actually watching this madness unfold.

[HeatherWallace-cp]

I watched the doc, and hands down this video is 100X better. Don't watch the doc, just watch this. She breaks it down so well, and actually makes the doc sound interesting. Great job.

[iNDY]

I dunno why I watched it the other day, not exactly a fantasy nerd, but it was an amazing watch.


Both real and unreal kinda stuck fighting it out. Its obvious the focal points of the show love what they do....but its also....in the back of their heads realise they
don't actually know the logistical nuts and bolts of keeping an operation that large working.

It's not lost that they put in scenes of the dry and routine paperwork and regulatory compliance needed in the incorporated parts of town, inside the porta-office. George still lives in the real world, he doesn't seem to dress up at all in renfaire garb and just seems to wear those weirdly marshall doctrine end point shirts...which is kinda telling in other ways.


George is kinda terrible, but kind of a necessary evil, he runs his kingdom as a proper business and effectively understands the value of using catalogues/instruction manuals to approach building his fiefdom in a very rationalised almost scientific way. As gross as the berating scene was, it kinda showed us how formulaic his approaches are and how deviation from required reading is treated as a threat to the business itself.

As far as I can tell probably ok'd the documentary because he understood the PR value it will create, from one of the books he read, when the producers craft an actual story that is truly unique to his little fiefdom....King is playing the meta-reality and saw a scribe in the documentary crew, or maybe all parties understood what could be gained and prostrated themselves by choice.

That park just went mainstream and his entire kingdom is going to be richer for hail King George!


I ended needing to go out and get something greasy to eat, whilst watching it...its an interesting kind of fake authentic.


Not a theatre kid, more STEM dork trying to add some vapour to those letters, so that's my bias of not knowing theater culture.

[rtmsound]

Growing up in the early seventies I lived about a mile from the Ren Faire in Marin County, CA. People would park along the road and walk in. As a young teenager I enjoyed the costumes the faire goers wore. A fond memory.

[chipparmley]

Some people have jobs where the job becomes who they are. Their life, their personality becomes all about the job.

[chelseasmith]

I used to work out there as a performer and, honestly, I've been so nervous to watch the series. Though even just listening to you had me gigglesnorting because girl, the stories this one could tell...

[LeoAngora]

It seems more like a docu-series or a reality show than a proper documentary.