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February 15, 2005
Scarborough Begins
And so, for 2005, it begins.
My fourth season as a cast member of Scarborough Faire is the festival's 25th anniversary year. We are all extremely excited by this, and it promises to be a year unlike any other.
Saturday, Februrary 12th, was the annual orientation. Costuming and Character for the coming year are approved for both Lys and myself.
Sunday, February 13th, was our last free day until after Memorial Day. The next seven weekends will be taken up with Workshops as we dust out the cobwebs of the previous year and prepare ourselves for a year of interactive, improvisational theater in the round. The eight weekends following that will be the actual performances themselves.
All this on top of my regular job.
But I love it. I won't go so far as to say "I wouldn't give it up for the world", but it will take a lot for me to abandon the festival.
But as much as I love it, I am not looking forward to the exhaustion that comes with it. Everything personal has to be taken care of Monday - Friday, after 5 p.m., or time has to be taken away from work to do it. I am a volunteer at Scarborough, but I'd rather miss time time from work than time from Faire.
The biggest 'loss' is time spent with friends. For the workshop process, weeknights are devoted to homework - building the details of a character: background, voice, physicality; coming up with ways to entertain the paying clientele. Because that's what it's about. I enjoy it. It's my hobby. It's fun. But it's about the customer. If I have fun, but bore a patron, then my job is not done. If I entertain a patron, but bore myself, then my job is done. Of course most of the time it is entertaining for us both. And that is the way it should be.
It has become such a big part of my life, I don't know what I'd do without it.
Posted by Shannon on February 15, 2005 8:06 PM
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