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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 1998)
Aggielife Page 3 • Friday, October 16, 1998 A step back in r-pu lime story by kyle whitacre • photos by robert mckay Merchants, performers celebrate 16th century England at "Texas Renaissance Festival jlConveiLii i Antonio’! fficialsai' acilitiesat ust south of Plantersville, Texas, exists a small, 50-acre plot surrounded by buildings that look as if they are straight out of 16th century Europe. All manner of royalty and common people walk through the tall pines and grass fields unabated by each other’s presence or that of monks, wizards, swords- and Texans. lenders selling a variety of goods call through the dirt trails as ac- scomr |rs perform on small stages littered about the grounds. .SanAitiThe 24th Annual Texas Renaissance Festival is in full swing this imer.cto 11 and is open every Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to dusk lectionrftugh Nov. 15. Jforthetihousands of Texans are experiencing the romanticized times of lie said'i las a track : inal Four, w them in le college ip held in n the Alan Oct. 15-i h Tedd^ 1,8 pm i. Oct. 23, p.m. |gs, knights, wizards and fairies in New Market Village, the site of festival. variety of actors, performers and fans travel around the country these festivals, entertaining the masses with the culture, style, nner and dress of 16th century England. tephen Jones, one of the festival’s stage performers and the man- r of the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, said he has participated in Re- hsance Festivals around the country. I’ve been doing this for about 10 years now,” Jones said. “We go ncoast to coast and do about 12 fairs a year.” -iosting the jousting event on horseback and performing in the ality play “The Nature of Mercy,” Jones dresses like a character e movie Ladyhawke with an accent to match, is fellow actor David DeAngelis said an actor gets unique ex- ience out of traveling across the country and acting in various ivals. It’s an incredible amount of experience for an actor to get,” DeAn- s said. “We’re performing rehearsed and improv acts for up to 00 people a day.” ver 250 different shops border the land and circle around inside jo create a pathway system through the festival. |limK. Johnson, group sales manager for the festival, said each in- endently owned shop is opened only for the seven weeks of the lival. rlhe design for each shop must be approved by us for it to be |jlt,” Johnson said. “The owners take care of everything; we let them use the land, and that’s the only part we play.” Items sold include pewter, swords and armor, stained glass, furni ture, sculptures, jewelry, hand-blown glass and Renaissance clothing. Twenty stages with continuous entertainment are also located throughout the site. Among the entertainment is the jousting tournament. Jones hosts the events with his booming English voice and fancy horsemanship. Four knights compete in events testing speed and ability and then fin ish the competition with jousting. Each section of the audience roots for a different knight competing in the tournament. The Dead Bob Show held at the Player’s Podium is one of the hu morous performances to catch at the festival. Starring a witty skele ton and his zombiefied cadaver ventriloquist,the act incorporates its audience to create dark, graveyard humor. The Human Chess Match is an hour-long stage show with each performer dressed as a chess piece. The chess-piece actors fight for control of the stage board with comedy and stuntwork. The match is performed on the Falconer’s stage, which also showcases Birds of Prey, a show on falconry and other trained birds. The comedy and juggling act of the Flaming Idiots features two jug glers who perform on the Globe Theater stage. The performers combine biting sarcasm and death-defying feats to entertain their audiences. Other acts at the Renaissance Festival this year include The Duel- lists and Cliff Hanger at the Castle Theatre, Chariot races at the Tour nament Field, Scottish Highland Games and Society for Creative Anachronism at the Battle Mound, The Sturdy Beggars at the Mud Pit and Chateau du Macabre, a haunted dungeon. Besides the scheduled stage entertainment, walking around the fes tival is entertainment enough with all the great costumes and char acter actors strolling through the grounds all day. Renaissance music fills the air with acts such as Cantiga, The Rogues, Istanpitta, Celtaire, I Madrigali, Featherstone, Wyndwyre and His Majesty’s Sackbuts. The spirit of merry old England stays alive in the heart of the Texas Renaissance Festival where all the romanticized legends of 16th cen tury England can be enjoyed without any of the disease, famine, pesti lence or Holy Wars. Two washwomen push their carts of dirty laundry through the Grand Marche parade route. Mpne-man performance chronicles ITERCOH pife of former president T. Roosevelt "f BY BETH FOCHT The Battalion n 5 he audience in Rudder Au ditorium will travel back in time this weekend to the years of President Ted dy Roosevelt’s life. The f>C Opera and Performing Arts So fty presents Jerome Alden’s adap- ation of Roosevelt’s life, “Bully, An Iventure with Teddy Roosevelt.” 1/1 PM I Bully,” a one-man show starring Ihn Davidson of “Hollywood Iquares” fame, celebrates the life of Reformer president through stories, eeches, letters and imagined con- rsations between Roosevelt and ^friends, family and enemies. 'Davidson adds this play to a long St of television and stage perfor- _ paces as “Bully” makes the sec- stop of its national tour in fop«F an - Colle§e station - Davidson said “Bully” is the ggest accomplishment of his ca- er, and he is looking forward to is national tour. “We tried ‘Bully’ out a year and a ^ a 8 0 f° r a bout three weeks to see the production would work and if could handle this character,” avidson said. “It was received onderfully by audiences, better an we expected it to be, so we are king it out for a tour.” Davidson said for him, the most lallenging part of doing the play as not learning the script but the notional roller coaster he goes ffough in his portrayal of Roosevelt. “This play covers Teddy Roo- velt’s whole life, and the character aes through every possible emo- on,” he said. “I have to go through itense fear when I’m fighting a griz- iybear or when the character sur vives an assassination attempt. “I then have to be able to switch gears very quickly and be giddy with joy at one moment and then go through devastating sadness when Roosevelt’s first wife and mother die the same night.” He said the way the audience re sponds to the production is very moti vating and also keeps the show going. bet rtMtW lii^ k gulte> ,HW K fskenS rfJ ft Gotti" -nyDoogl* 19 r« s ' Jan** Fii* 845-# 1 ^ eddis 9 ' 1 “Roosevelt defined the modem presiden cy and changed the office forever. ... This is a way to look toward the future and see how the presidency will change in the next century/' John Davidson Star of “Bully” “Teddy Roosevelt attacked life, and he did it very theatrically,” Davidson said. “The character is very charismatic, which makes the show most entertaining.” As a one-man show, the relation ship built between the star and the audience is very important and es sential for the success of the perfor mance, he said. “Most of the time, I am speaking directly to the audience,” Davidson said. “The play really communicates with the audience, and it (the audi ence) is cheering me on by the end.” Davidson said doing this produc tion is not very different from doing a musical performance, for which he is most well-known. “Live theater is one of the most exciting things,” he said. “Acting in this play is not different from per forming in a musical production be cause I warm up my voice before show time in the same way as if I was going to have to sing. “You see, this is a very vocal and musical performance. I have to use my voice in a range of octaves to help add to the characterization of Roosevelt.” Davidson said he feels it is impor tant that this play is happening dur ing the centennial of Roosevelt’s ca reer, . so Roosevelt’s life can be celebrated. “Roosevelt defined the modern presidency and changed the office forever,” he said. “As we are going into the next cen tury, this is a way to look toward the future and see how the presidency will change in the next century. ” “Bully” performances will be held on Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Following each performance will be a question-and-answer session with Davidson. For tickets or more information on “Bully,” contact the MSG Box Office at 845-1234. PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOHN DAVIDSON John Davidson, former host of “Hollywood Squares” and “That’s Incredible,” stars in “Bul ly,” a play chronicling the life of former president Theodore Roosevelt. The play is present ed by OPAS.“Bully” performances will be held Saturday and Sunday in Rudder Auditorium.