鈥淟ong live the King!
鈥淟ong live all of you and welcome back!鈥�
The scene is Merry Old England 鈥� 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鈥檛 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
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Alexsis is known to frequent Medieval Times, but she鈥檚 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鈥�Merlin,鈥痜or 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鈥� friend, Sydney, who has Celiac disease.
After lunch, the group headed to Pecan Grove, where they took part in the Sword Master鈥檚 Challenge. They faced off against 鈥渕asters鈥� (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.鈥��
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 . The real-life character required鈥痑 deep dive into history and a peek at Agnes' will.鈥���
鈥淚 was in contact with the keeper of the Scion Abbey records in England,鈥� Blackburn said. 鈥淚鈥痙o鈥痬y research. I knew a lot about the woman. And I went to parochial school as a kid, so I was natural鈥痜or鈥痠t.鈥濃���
Before finding and crafting their characters, the commitment to being part of the company begins in January with auditions. After鈥痶hey're鈥痵elected, actors attend rehearsals for 8 weekends before the festival. Then, of course,鈥痶here's鈥痶he festival itself, which is 8 weekends of performing 10-hour days in their roles.鈥��
If it sounds like a lot of work,鈥痶hat's鈥痓ecause it is.鈥��
Janna Zepp, the company director鈥痑nd鈥痺ho also plays Henry VIII's final wife,鈥痵ays that despite the long hours, the lure of this acting gig is strong.鈥��
鈥淥h,鈥痠t's鈥痑 big improv party,鈥� Zepp said.鈥�淭he fourth wall that is normally there with traditional stage theater is gone. And your audience is your acting partner. And鈥痶here's鈥痭othing more exciting than that. It is鈥� theater鈥痺ith the鈥痵afeties鈥痮ff. So鈥痶hat's鈥痶he biggest draw.鈥�
That magical interaction is the reason visitors -...and actors - return year after year.
Blackburn/Mother Nature sums it up best.鈥��
鈥淣obody these days really wants reality,鈥� Blackburn said. 鈥淲e are an escape. Temporary, but we give them that out. They can be whoever, whatever they want here. These grounds are鈥痬agic. They鈥痶ruly hold magic, promise and all of鈥痶he good things.鈥�
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