Aggielife
Page 3 • Friday, October 16, 1998
A step back in
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story by kyle whitacre • photos by robert mckay
Merchants, performers celebrate
16th century England
at "Texas Renaissance Festival
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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
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|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.
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“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.