Hello! I'm going to the faire in fifteen days (I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED) and I was wondering what shows there are not to miss this year? I already know I'll be at all of the jousts, queen's court, and finale, but was wondering if there are any other shows that I shouldn't miss?
AAAAAAAAAAA I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU TO BE BACK!!
First off, I suggest going both days of the weekend if you’re able. In order to thin out attendance at any given show, they’ve structured the schedule so that most super cool performances are competing with some other super cool performance. For example, Disasterpiece is at the same time as one of the two in-house music groups this year. Likewise, Teatime is at the same time as the other in-house music group. All four of these acts are right before a Joust, meaning that you will have to leave one early in order to get to the other on time, or risk being late for the other.
My personal recommendations? Well, as you said, Queen’s Court is a must. And be sure to get there in time for the whole thing, pre-show and all, because to be quite frank, the pre-show is generally more entertaining than the main show, or at the least as entertaining. I don’t believe that there is anything resembling Boons and Favours this year, so there’s not even anything competing with it.
Just after Queen’s Court is the Gaming Joust, which is an innocent joust in which nothing goes wrong (as far as I know), and is thus not a plot show, which is something to be aware of.
I am notorious for caring very little about out-of-house acts at PARF as compared to in-house acts, with a few exceptions. The archetype of this exception, Rowan and the Rose, is not present this season. However, the other duo of which Rowan Thorn (Arthur Rowan, head writer) is a part, Two Bard Party, is, in fact, there this season. Now, I don’t know whether you’re going the weekend of the 10th and 11th, or the 17th and 18th, because I wasn’t looking at my askbox often enough to be able to tell when this arrived. If you’re going the 17th and 18th, you may be out of luck as far as Two Bard Party goes, as that is the one weekend they are listed on the website as not being present. But the Daily Writ for that weekend does list them, so plans might have changes and website not updated, which would be on-brand. Regardless, I recommend this group most highly. Geeky folk music at its finest. Rowan in particular has an incredible knack for writing songs about very specific things in specific stories and telling them so well and with such good music (often courtesy of the group’s other member, Randal Piper) that one does not need to know a damn thing about the subject of the song to be completely blown away by it. If they’re present your weekend, super duper mcfreaking recommend.
Whose Jest Is It Anyway was my favorite non-plot show back in 2012 and 2013, and I never quite forgave them for getting rid of it (well, the real issue was the lack of an improv-track show through which to get to know those characters, and that was solved with the introduction of Disasterpiece, but the point still stands). But now it’s back! It’s a half hour of short-form improv, somewhat filtered through characters, and it’s just a lot of fun.
For something quiet and small, Mags Cockburn at the picnic grove is lovely.
I definitely enjoy the music of the out-of-house group Wine and Alchemy, and my mom enjoys it even more, but their fusion world music doesn’t seem to be for everyone. Or maybe the masses just don’t care about music in languages they can’t understand.
Judging by the timing of your move from PA, the show you’re likely least familiar with is probably Disasterpiece, although that’s surely not giving you and your youtube-watching enough credit. If you haven’t watched any previous Disasterpieces, here’s a handy playlist of all the ones that made it on the magical Tube of You. It’s the spiritual successor to Rumple’s tragic backstories, taking a modern story that’s at least moderately well known and adapting it for a half-hour slot in Faire-style telling, but with an added element of everything going wrong. This is the show that, starting in 2018, fixed the issue of a lack of shows through which to gain an understanding of the improv track characters. In 2019, it also had an overarching plot throughout the season, which was SO COOL, but of course the individual performances could still be appreciated as one-offs. There’s an overarching plot this year, too, and videos of these shows can be found on the parf-fan facebook (because I haven’t gotten to cross-posting them on here yet, and I’m not putting ‘em on youtube until my previous years are all up because I will NOT be mucking about with chronology and organization in such a manner on that platform). Really super duper hecking recommend.
At the same time as Disasterpiece is Mags to Rich’s, the in-house asterisk group this year. It’s a duo, and if you’ve ever enjoyed an in-house asterisk group recently, you’re sure to enjoy this. I’ve only seen them once, because same time as Disasterpiece, but I wish I were able to see it more. If I were able to go more than one day a weekend, I would. Jules and Leigh Ann are so good.
Variety Royale is the Chess stand-in, and a good show for witnessing interaction between the characters. It’s an in-universe competition between a bunch of out-of-house acts, largely non-musical, and the lineup changes weekly. It’s enjoyable, though I do usually feel a little nervous about proximity, as there’s little else going on at the time to thin out the patrons.
Teatime is a MUST. It’s Sir William Pickering as portrayed by Jonathan Handley and Sir Walter Roderick Kensington as portrayed by Alex Stompoly sitting on Swashbuckler stage throwing shade and talking shit for thirty minutes. It is GLORIOUS, it is HILARIOUS, it GIVES ME LIFE, and I love them so much.
At the same time is Music With Her Majesty, the other in-house music group. I have not yet attended this show, more’s the pity, because Teatime is different every week, and I want to film it as much as possible. But I know the group is wonderful, for two reasons. Once, they’ve performed at Finale in Pub Song a couple times, and have been excellent. Two, they’re a in-house music group at PARF, which means the OF COURSE they’re excellent and highly enjoyable, that’s how that works!
Ultimate Joust is also a little nerve-wracking as far as proximity goes, and I’ve thus only attended twice. I’d very much like to go a little more, though, because it is Absolutely Necessary to the plot and character stuff this year, but in a completely different way than is usually is. I’m not saying anything else, but you really do have to experience it.
And of course, the closing show, which I have been calling Finale in Pub Song, which has not been catching on which is some serious bullshit because hello it’s perfect. As my name for it indicates, it is a blend of the Pub Sing (which I have never experienced personally before, as it takes place at the same time as Ultimate Joust, and I’ll wager you’ve never experienced it either for the same reason, so here’s a channel the content of which is approximately half Pub Song) and Finale in Song. It is not the traditional Finale as we know it, with a host(s) from the cast and an overarching theme or conflict (NOT THAT THERE WAS AN OVERARCHING THEME OR CONFLICT AT ALL EVER IN 2019 FOR SOME UNFATHOMABLE GODFORSAKEN REASON WTF) that changes every week. Rather, it is hosted by the Musicians of the Shire, and closely resembles Pub Sing, but does have a few non-music out-of-house acts, and sometimes an in-house music group, too. I do like traditional Finales as we think of them more that this, but this makes sense for the season, and is certainly enjoyable.
Pro tip, after Finale in Pub Song ends, just hang around in the audience are a for a while until the exiting crowd thins. Otherwise, six feet will be utterly impossible.
If you let me know specifically which day you’re attending (probs via messaging), I can tell you what I’ll be wearing and you can come say hi to me if you want. I would love that! You’re the only other Faire youtuber who seems to care about main season plot, and your videos have filled an important and specific niche, and I appreciate them so much, and also ur tumblr is cool.
