Attract Rennies, Masquers, & Performers to Your Ren Faire
By Leigh Owens
A Renaissance Faire just isn’t a Renaissance Faire without an engaging and immersive cast. The various performers you might meet at a Ren Faire offer an immersive experience and may travel the circuit to attend many Ren Faires throughout the majority of the year.
If you want to attract performers to your Faire, you’ll need to consider four things:
- Faire Dates
- Partnerships with Local Guilds & Associations
- Compensation
- Performer Experience
Faire Dates
Many stage performers - or masquers as they’re sometimes called - will travel from Faire to Faire to make a living. So will some companies of Renaissance Faire casts, their die-hard fans sometimes called playtrons, and even some Ren Faire enthusiasts or Rennies.
No one person can be in two places at once, so the first thing to consider is if the schedule for your Renaissance Faire is in conflict with other Faires. Rennies of all stripes have limited resources besides their time and physical presence, and they have to consider aspects like costs of travel when picking their next Faire.
You will want to make sure that your Faire’s schedule is at a convenient time for Rennies, while still considering other factors like the weather - if there’s no Faires in your area during July and August, they likely lack the ability to protect their patrons and performers from the heat, especially those in heavy costumes and armor, for example.
The double advantage to thoughtfully selecting a date for your Faire is that not only will you better be able to attract acts and cast, but it will be a more convenient time for your potential patrons to come. They, too, have to pick between Faires when they’re on similar or identical schedules.
Partnerships with Local Guilds & Associations
There’s a handful of different places you should look when trying to populate your Faire with interesting characters. You’ll want to look into:
- Local chapters of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)
- Nearby guilds
- Local and national Facebook groups
- Other social media niches
- Other Renaissance Faires in your circuit
The SCA focuses on researching and recreating skills, arts, culture, combat, etc. from centuries before the 17th century. Your local SCA chapter may help supply a royal court if you form a partnership with them. They may be able to provide other resources, as well.
Guilds, such as those in Lundegaard Productions, are volunteer groups that focus on a certain type of character, and are usually casual. If a certain guild is active near your Renaissance Faire, you may have guild attendees regardless. However, you can encourage guild participation depending on the environment you foster and by getting in touch with larger guilds.
In both situations, whether or not the group requires financial compensation will depend on the size of the group, what exactly they’re adding to your Faire, and what other perks or compensation you’re able to offer, such as drink and meal coupons, reduced or free entry, or dedicated space for camping.
Social media can offer a way to network with performers, such as various Facebook groups. You may also find resources on r/renfaire at Reddit.
Another facet of the circuit is networking. Those that travel from Faire to Faire will know each other and exchange thoughts on the reputation of each Faire. You can and should make use of this network yourself, both to contact the masquers and cast you like, and also in developing your reputation.
Compensation
If you're contracting with groups to do special performances, they'll often have their own rates.
For performers you have walking around your Faire and interacting with people to create ambience, compensation isn't as straightforward.
Consider what other Faires near you are offering to their performers. Options outside of a monetary wage include comp tickets, free meals or drinks, dedicated camping space for large entities like guilds, and even covering gas.
Generally, performers are expected to provide their own costumes. While there may be exceptions, costumes are not an expected part of reimbursement.
Whether or not a part is paid depends on the role it plays in the Faire. A king or queen is more likely to receive financial compensation than a milkmaid. However, you must also determine if those other roles may receive tips or busk. Many fairies do not permit street musicians (busking), as they feel it detracts from stage acts, which do operate partially or, depending on the act, entirely on tips.
When a position is volunteer-based, people are motivated by their passion for the Renaissance era and giving back to their community.
Performer Experience
Working at a Renaissance Faire is an act of love and a craft of art. The escapism offered can be intoxicating. However, a job is a job and work is work even if it’s work at a job you love. A dedicated Rennie knows that their presence will be far from all fun and games.
You must ask yourself what you can do to provide the payoff Rennies are seeking for volunteering their time and skills to provide and polish the Renaissance Faire experience for your guests.
Are your volunteers able to have break periods where they themselves can browse vendors? Do they have reasonable meal breaks? What sort of space do you provide for your cast and masquers to break character and rest a moment?
If your Faire is hot, what kind of relief can you offer your performers? Do you have water readily available for them? What options can you provide to keep your performers warm if your Faire is in cold weather?
A significant part of what creates the Ren Faire magic is the sense of community. Do you only address guild and company leaders? Or do you take the time to acknowledge and even get to know group members? Do you make each of your performers feel welcome?
The way to attract volunteer workers is to give them an experience that they feel was worth their time. The way to attract masquers and critical cast is the same - while also ensuring they aren’t missing out on their livelihood.
Keep The Process Simple and Clear
Make sure your website has clear guidelines on what you are looking for, what the compensation is, and how to apply. Folk just breaking into working as a Rennie will feel more confident with clear directions, and experienced Rennies will not feel you’re wasting their time.
A well-organized website can help you with this. And using a ticket manager with a simplified registration process and a built-in volunteer program can hand you that organization. Stride Events offers a wide variety of tools for managing various affiliates for your event so all you have to do is review resumes and judge auditions.
