The Olde Times October 1507 edition

Broadsheet of Ye FLORIDA RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL

Florida RenaissanceFestival:

15 Years Olde & BetterThan Ever

What began in February 1993 as a two-day Medieval Faire held in FortLauderdale’s Snyder Park is now a five-weekend cultural extravaganza, knownas the Florida Renaissance Festival(FlaRF), celebrating its 15th AnniversarySeason, February 10th through March11th, 2007, and you’re invited to be apart of the fun and excitement. 2007promises to be a year of change, with thescope of the

King Francis I Valois of France(1494-1547)

Festival expanding beyond the bordersof Jolly Olde England to encompass thewhole of Renaissance Europe.

In the words of FlaRF executiveproducer Bobby Rodriguez, “since itsearly years, Florida RenaissanceFestival has really been about the 16th

Century in its entirety. The major leapsin the arts, sciences and Europeanculture actually arrived rather late to theBritish Isles, while places like Italy,Spain and France were already seeingdramatic shifts in learning and the waypeople saw themselves starting in the14th and 15th Centuries. And even though2007 is the 400th anniversary of the firstpermanent English colony in America –an important milestone, without a doubt– the English Renaissance itself was inmany ways a piecing-together of thegreat advances which had alreadyoccurred in Florence, Paris, Spain andthe Netherlands, as well as in Germanyand Eastern Europe. The 2007 FlaRFshow will reflect those varied and uniquecontributions to European Culture.

The scenario for 2007, “TooMany Monarchs,” is a fun romppeppered with intrigue involving theRulers of England and Spain and theHoly Roman Emperor plotting to takeover the Shire. In the words of MaryAnn Jung, one of the EntertainmentTeam and the actor who portraysCaptain Jean Cabot, the Pirate Queen,“Much silliness and confusion willensue.”

Which isn’t to say that nextyear’s show won’t be familiar to long-time participants. Knights on horsebackcompeting at joust; period music ofevery style and flavor; jugglers, jesters,minstrels, puppet shows, sword fighters,storytellers, beggars and stage shows ofall kinds (not to mention the great food!)remain staples at the 15th annual FloridaRenaissance Festival, where the past isalive and well!

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Getting InvolvedBy Debby DeWitt

FlaRF Office Wench

You’ve come to the Festival, you’veenjoyed it so much that you bought apair of boots. Then you bought a jerkinor corsette. Then you bought a sword ora goblet. Next thing you know, patronsstart mistaking you for an actor. Youfind yourself giggling inside as youinteract with them and that’s when WErealize that YOU are on the “SlipperySlope of Involvement”. So just howdo you become a part of the festivalanyway? We have three great waysfor you to explore that alter-ego that hascome to possess you every spring.

Auditions: Auditions arethe weekend of Nov 3, 4 & 5. Auditionsare a great forum for new actorsto introduce themselves to the southFlorida performing community, and forreturning cast members to display newskills they are developing to enhancetheir performance abilities. Auditions areopen to performers of all experiencelevels, body types, and nationalities, etc. We are particularly interested inbilingual Hispanic, Italian and Germanictypes as we are going for more of aninternational cast this year. MotivatedProfessionalism are the watchwords for

this years cast, and Entertainment teamdirectors Mary Ann Jung, Paul Stickneyand Richard Weber are excited to seenew faces as well as old favorites at thisyears auditions! See website for timesand audition requirements. Thoughsome key roles are paid, most arevolunteer positions. Even those may leadto paid positions in the future, however. Just think, our RENFAERIES startedout as high school volunteers and havedeveloped their skills and characters tothe point that they are now a troupe thatgoes to other festivals and performs atvarious shows throughout the year. It’sbeen a fun way for them to earn extramoney for college! Job Faire: In January, wewill schedule a Job Faire for anyone thatwould like to work for the festival. These are all paid positions and there avariety of jobs available. Just a few ofthe positions we have available are SodaSales, Pub Sales, Ticket Takers, AdminAssistant in the Office, Feast Servers,Information Pages and Game Sales. It’sa great way to earn some extra moneyand pay off those Christmas Credit Cardbills early!! Visit our website, downloadan application and send it to our office. We will contact you with informationon the Job Faire in early January.

Volunteers Wanted: Visit our website (www.Ren-Fest.com)for a volunteer form or call our office formore information!! Some of our bestemployees and cast members started asvolunteers, it’s a great place to start yourslide down the “Slippery Slope ofInvolvement”. Students can also earncommunity hours! To Volunteer, EmailRimaX@BobbyRodriguezProductions.com. We are also in need of a VolunteerCoordinator to help oversee the

expansion of our Volunteer Program;ask Rima X. for details.

Calling AllContingents!Italian ContingentPlans are underway to create an Italianencampment with the emphasis on theHistory of the travels of Columbus andthe New World. Colorful ItalianRenaissance costumes are already beingacquired.

German ContingentWanted - a band of German Mercenaries..."have sword, will travel".

Spanish ContingentFlaRF will be soliciting actors to playSpanish Explorers and Courtiers. Wehope to get the Spanish Consulate inMiami involved in this year’s show.

French ContingentWhat can we say about the French?

FlaRF Staff Gets AFaceliftVicki Patterson joined the staff at the2006 FlaRF. Afterwards we brought heron as our new Sponsorship and

Marketing Coordinator, and what a greatjob she’s been doing. Email her atVicki@ren-fest.com.

Bobby Rodriguez Productions, producerof FlaRF has hired Juan (Al) Perez asComptroller (which, in spite of itsspelling is pronounced “controller”). Hestarted this past February and hasalready made a great impact on theCompany. Email him atAl@BobbyRodriguezProductions.com

Some of you may remember a formercast member by the name of Cliff Dunn(a former Spanish Ambassador andMayor Harry Battles from years past atFlaRF), recently hired as ExecutiveAssistant. Great to have him back, aftera 5 year hiatus in Utah. Email him atCliff@ren-fest.com.

We’d like to welcome our new Intern,Corinne Ramos, who will be assisting

the Production team. Email her atcRamos@BobbyRodriguezProductions.c

omLastly, recently hired as Creative

Director is Rima Xiques. She comes tous by way of New York City where she

has been Executive Assistant at some ofthe largest entertainment firms in the

City. We look forward to her corporateand leadership experience. Email her at

RimaX@BobbyRodriguezProductions.com.

Showtime NetworkUnveils New Program,

“The Tudors”Emmy® and Golden Globe®-nominated

actor Sam Neill ("Jurassic Park"),Jeremy Northam ("The Net," "GosfordPark") and Henry Cavill ("Tristan &

Isolde") have just joined the cast of thenew SHOWTIME dramatic series THETUDORS, which stars Golden Globe®-

winner Jonathan Rhys-Meyers("Mission: Impossible III," "Match

Point," "Elvis") as a young Henry VIII.Ten episodes have been ordered andEmmy®-winning television director

Charles McDougall ("DesperateHousewives") will helm at least the first

two episodes of the series, which isscheduled to air on the network in early2007. Neill portrays Cardinal Wolsey,Northam plays Sir Thomas More, and

Cavill portrays Charles Brandon.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays the young HenryVIII in Showtime’s THE TUDORS

THE TUDORS will focus on the rarelydramatized, tumultuous early years of

King Henry VIII's nearly 40-yearomnipotent reign (1509-1547) of

England. In addition to dalliances withfamous consorts Catherine of Aragon

and Anne Boleyn, the series delves intoHenry's most notable political

relationships, including those withphilosopher Sir Thomas More, Cardinal

Wolsey, head of the English Churchduring its break with Rome, and CharlesBrandon, Duke of Suffolk and Henry's

closest friend.

FloridaRenaissance

Festival

Queen Isabella of Castile

5 WeekendsSaturday February 10th - Sunday

March 11th, 2007(including Monday President's Day

February 19th)10:00 am ‘til Sunset

Plus 1 School Day Monday, February12th, 2007

* * * * * *

CondolencesOur deepest sympathies go out to

Carolyn Nelson, who has been a regularand highly-valued part of FlaRF for

many years, whose son, Matthew diedon September 20th. You are both in our

thoughts and prayers.

* * * * * *

Help Wanted!

Florida Renaissance Festival is nowaccepting applications for the followingpositions being filled for the 2007 show:

Booth ManagerTicket Taker

Page (royal messenger)Games AttendantSouvenir Sales

SecurityPub SalesSoda SalesFood SalesFood Prep

Office StaffSite Crew

Feast ServerFloater

Applications can be found online atwww.ren-fest.com, or call the Festival

office at (954) 776-1642.THE KING COMMANDS!

We’ll see Ye there.

Holiday StockingStuffer Sale!!

Florida Renaissance Festival ticketsmake a GREAT gift for the holidays!

Buy Adult Daily tickets for only $15.00each (A $5 savings off the gate price!)

Price is good 12/1/06 – 12/26/06. Youcan order online at www.ren-fest.com or

call the office at 954-776-1642 topurchase your tickets. Tickets will bemailed or you can pick up at our Fort

Lauderdale office so you have them intime for the holidays!

Experienced Pro,Novice, Amateur or

Joust Curious?Interested in participating in a Pub

Brawl, Pirates Pillage, Street Theatre orTavern Antics? Whether a leading

character or a bit part, if you want to bepart of the cast at FlaRF you will need tobring a head shot (photo of yourself) and

prepare a 1-2 minute monologue(preferably a period piece). This will bevideotaped. ALL ARE WELCOME

and encouraged TO AUDITION.Classes for the cast will be given in:Character Development; physicality;improvisation; dialects; stage combat;

crowd interaction and more.

* * * * * *

The Ren-Faire"The Renaissance was an age of

spectacles, filled with the clash offestival sports, the pomp of processions,the tumult of great citywide celebrations.Almost any occasion - a Saint's day, the

arrival of a visiting prince, theanniversary of a great battle, even the

dismissal of an Ambassador - was reasonto fill the streets with revelry. When

there were no events, however trivial, tocelebrate, the gaiety of the age foundexpression in hunts and ball games,

horse races, boxing matches, snow-ballfights. Trumpeteers were the flamboyant

heralds of the time, announcing towncriers, accompanying brides to church,

enlivening banquets or preceding noblesand dignitaries through the streets. In

brief, the men of the Renaissance neededno excuse for celebration: they were

busy celebrating life itself."

From Renaissance by John R. Hale

FlaRF ActingWorkshops

Plans are underway to begin a series ofacting workshops for local cast whowould like to hone their thespianic

skills. Contact Cliff (Cliff@ren-fest.com) for more info and to schedule

some time.

Florida RenaissanceFestival is produced by

Bobby Rodriguez Productions, Inc., 800 NW57th Place, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309.Phone 954-776-1642. Fax 954-771-7045.