“Long live the King!
“Long live all of you and welcome back!”
The scene is Merry Old England – specifically, the year 1545, when King Henry VIII ruled.
The greeting comes from the balcony above the castle gates, followed by remarks from the King himself and canon fire, which beckoned us inside the English village.
Nope, we didn’t hop in the wayback machine; this experience was in Waxahachie at the 45th annual Scarborough Renaissance Festival. The 16th-century-themed event unfolds on 35 wooded acres and features live entertainment, artisans, jousting and plenty of people living their best Renaissance life.
ALEXSIS GOES MEDIEVAL
Alexsis is known to frequent Medieval Times, but she’s never been to Scarborough Faire. Intrigued, she gathered up a group of friends and headed to Waxahachie for an early birthday celebration. And instead of a birthday crown, Alexsis decided to channel Morgana from the 2008 BBC show Merlin, for the occasion.
The group enjoyed music, artisan demonstrations, human-powered rides, and of course, traditional ren-faire food such as massive turkey legs and mead, also known as "honey wine." It's one of the world's oldest alcoholic beverages and is made by fermenting honey with water and adding fruits and spices for flavor. Best of all, mead is gluten-free, which was good news for Alexsis’ friend, Sydney, who has Celiac disease.
After lunch, the group headed to Pecan Grove, where they took part in the Sword Master’s Challenge. They faced off against “masters” (and each other) in a sword fight... with foam weapons of course.
After several bouts, the consensus among the friends was that many of the world's problems could be solved with a team foam-sword fight.
The day-long adventure ended at the brand-new Joust Arena & Royal Dais, where the group entered the Medieval era at a 14th-century style tournament. They cheered for armored knights who battled on horseback for the hand of a fair maiden.
IMMERSED IN THE MAGIC
As Alexsis and her friends can attest, a big part of the fun is wearing a costume and becoming part of the magical and mythical population of Scarborough Village.
Mallory Anderson, from Dallas, came to the festival sporting a puffy red mushroom hat accented with fringe.
"Everybody can be whatever they want, literally," Anderson said. "It just feels like a playground for adults."
The group of performers tasked with bringing the playground of 16th-century England to life is the Scarborough Academy of Performing Arts. They are a troop of more than 100 actors who walk the grounds as knights, villagers, fairies, pirates and of course, members of the court of King Henry VIII.
Irene Blackburn plays Mother Nature now, but for the previous 14 years, she was Agnes Jordan, the last Abbess of Syon Abbey. The real-life character required a deep dive into history and a peek at Agnes' will.
“I was in contact with the keeper of the Scion Abbey records in England,” Blackburn said. “I do my research. I knew a lot about the woman. And I went to parochial school as a kid, so I was natural for it.”
Before finding and crafting their characters, the commitment to being part of the company begins in January with auditions. After they're selected, actors attend rehearsals for 8 weekends before the festival. Then of course, there's the festival itself, which is 8 weekends of performing 10-hour days in their roles.
If it sounds like a lot of work, that's because it is.
Janna Zepp, who is the company director and who also plays Catherine Parr, Henry VIII's final wife, says that despite the long hours, the lure of this acting gig is strong.
“Oh, it's a big improv party,” Zepp said. “The fourth wall that is normally there with traditional stage theater is gone. And your audience is your acting partner. And there's nothing more exciting than that. It is theater with the safeties off. So that's the biggest draw.”
That magical interaction is the reason visitors -...and actors - return year after year.
Blackburn/Mother Nature sums it up best.
“Nobody these days really wants reality,” Blackburn said. “We are an escape. Temporary, but we give them that out. They can be whoever, whatever they want here. These grounds are magic. They truly hold magic, promise and all of the good things.”
