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Street Acting
Acting Main Page
Street Etiquette | Stage Presence | Pick a Name | Pick a Profession
The majority of acting at faire is not rote and recitation,
though that has its place; rather its interactive and improvisational
acting. Improv classes certainly can help, but generally a few wits are all that are
required. Remembering three things make all street interactions easier:
 | Offer a situation in which you possess an out.
 | something that can allow you to continue on your way.
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| Don't be afraid to use your out, but allow someone else to speak also.
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| Speak slowly, give yourself time to think. |
The terms used to describe street acting include:
| bit/gig - a small bit of
prepared material which can generate conversation.
Sometimes this is a material object: "I say good man, have you ere seen a
more magnificent fish?". Sometimes its a query: "I possess a terrible boil,
could you help me?". Or even a metaphysical question: "While the Moon is a
lesser body than the lordly Sun, they occupy the same sphere; how does the moon not catch
fire?". |
| out - your ticket to freedom or a
convenient way to end a bit. These are
generally tailored to suit a bit, but can be very general. "Thankee good gentles, I
can tarry no longer." Or "Gods teeth! I've forgotten my baby!" And when
they've
just grown tedious, "Allow me to ponder these words; I will speak with thee
anon." |
| stall - a phrase, sound,
gesticulation used to stall for time. Ideally you should
be able to spit it out whenever you get stuck and give you or someone a moment
to jump in. "Be that the truth.", "Well then." |
Persona
Obviously, if someone can ask you near any question about yourself, you need have a
good idea of your person. In general, this means such common features as:
| Name |
| Age/Date of Birth |
| Occupation |
| Place of Birth |
| Parents/Family - people married very young. |
The more detail you build up, the sillier it can be. Far better to know that your
sister almost married a hog farmer but she accidentally fed the hogs rat poison, than just
that "I have a sister".
Staying In Character
To make this soak in, its often necessary to clear your mind of those
nagging 20th Century thoughts. I try to take a few minutes of a sort of meditation
in the mornings after I've dealt with my bed roll and breakfast.
Some Guilds do group morning exercises; some stretching is a great way to
start the day. Ideally my morning minutes involve a little stretching to loosen up,
pushing the arms up and extending the push through my whole body, rolling my neck,
crossing my arms across my body and pulling on opposite shoulderblades, and those more
standard back and leg stretches. Then with my blood sluggishly starting to flow, I
stand loosely and (stay with me here) envision a connection from my head, down through my
body, and out my feet into the earth.
The idea is to picture a vortex, a sink, and allow the various distracting
thoughts of bills, the DMV, and other worldly nonsense to one by one be acknowledged and
set adrift into the abyss. Sometimes this involves a bit of soul searching to even
recall what exactly is nagging you. Once the annoyances are addressed, one by one
bring up the characteristics which make up the faire persona.
It's almost a mantra, a recitation of those things which are important.
My name is John, I was born in September of 1568, and so on. Thus clothed, I
tell myself that I'm about to open my eyes on another beautiful day. And generally
it works.
Acting Main Page
Street Etiquette | Stage Presence | Pick a Name | Pick a Profession
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