Southern hooks

[fbhjr]

This was the ninth year we’ve done the Gulf Coast Ren faire in Pensacola FL. This year seemed to be one of our better years for connecting with the crowds there, so I wanted to write down my thoughts about them while I was still fogged from being sleep deprived. No, wait, while they were still fresh.

A very simple plot seems to work best.
We’re sent out to perform in the joust field. The people who come to watch line up all along the long length. So, there is no chance that all of them will hear what is being said. They’re just too spread out for that.*
So, whatever justification we give for us sword fighting has to be simple enough that they can figure it out on their own, or doesn’t really matter.
The “Sultana” having people fight to amuse her seemed to work. The points, not so much as they couldn’t be heard. But, it did amuse the folks close to the center.
We should keep these plots, if they can even be called that, very simple. Greed, revenge, etc, Things that can be explained in three or four words.
“I want the treasure” “He sold our baby” “I hate pirates.” “He called my shirt pink”
Something only at that level.

Simple characters.
They really don’t care at all why we’re there. My character is theoretically a noble who lost his land and money to his brother and is trying to regain enough money to raise an army, go back and overthrow his brother.
The crowd knows “it’s that guy in the pink shirt! He hates it when you say his shirt is pink and will tell you it is red.”
That’s not only all they know, it’s all they want to know.
We need to make any hook for a character we use that simple.

They like couples fighting
If they’re told it is a husband/wife or boyfriend/girlfriend fight, they cheer more. It makes me worry about some of the folks in the audience when you hear them say things like “I wish I could take a sword to my husband/wife”. But, they seem to like it, so maybe we should build more on it.

They like it when you talk to them.
This is very different from up north where a lot of folks are of the “leave me alone and do your show” sort of attitude.
Down there, they really seem to like it when you go up to them and talk to them. (Especially if you’re on the other side of a fence from them.)
To connect with them, we need to talk with them.


*Yes, the SCA does use a microphone and speakers for the field and has offered to let us use it as well. But, unless we have one person do all of the talking that doesn’t work for us. It is OK for them as they’re doing a contest to see who is the best fighter. They don’t have to say much about that. The announcer can say who they are and what they’re fighting with. For us it doesn’t make much sense for one person to explain why everyone is out their fighting.