Mobile Renaissance Faire Makes History Fun Today and Sunday

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The Mobile Renaissance Faire takes place November 14 and 15 in Robertsdale, Ala. The festival features vendors selling period clothing and jewelry, swords, and historical crafts like handmade soaps and mead. Visitors can watch jousting, juggling, music, and Shakespearian actors.

Fire breathing entertainers walk the aisles on stilts. The mascot dragon dances through the festival offering hugs to the crowds. Kids can get their face painted or try to throw a hula hoop on an accordion playing man in a hotdog suit. Watch a scene from Shakespeare and see dancing poodles. This festival gives visitors a full day of entertainment.

It started with a billboard. Festival organizer Steve Melei saw an ad for the Texas Renaissance Faire while attending law school. He fell in love when he saw this 6 week-long faire held on a recreated 16 century English township on 55 acres. He realized the Gulf Coast area had nothing like it after he graduated and returned home.

Robertsdale, Ala.(Nov.14,2015) Steve Melei, Organizer of the Mobile Renaissance Faire and Pirate Festival (Photo by PR by DeeDee owner, DeeDee Brustad)

Robertsdale, Ala.(Nov.14,2015) Steve Melei, Organizer of the Mobile Renaissance Faire and Pirate Festival (Photo by PR by DeeDee owner, DeeDee Brustad)

Steve Melei held the first Mobile Renaissance Faire in 2001 amidst terrible sleet. He barely broke even but people loved it. The festival is now held at Melei’s own Medieval Village, 30569 Eagle Lane Road, Robertsdale, Ala. “I’ve always been a history buff. I want to impart history to kids in a fun way that gets them outside”, says Steve Melei.

15 years and 30 festivals later, The Mobile Renaissance Faire has become a place where old friends gather to entertain the locals. Musicians Drunk and Sailor are regulars here. Phillip McGuinness, known to fans as Drunk, says “We’ve been doing this so long that the entertainers and crowds become family we look forward to seeing each year.” The crowds sing along and sometimes end up onstage dancing along McGuinness and Sailor, Captain Amos Muirhead.

Cassandra Garner was among the more than 1000 festival attendees today. She has visited the Mobile Renaissance Faire since 2002. Cassandra adds flavor with her brightly colored costume. She entertains the children with her carved puppets that move with the push of hidden buttons. “I used to come all the time, but life got in the way. This is where I recharge.”

Robertsdale, Ala.(Nov.14,2015) Cassandra Garner at Mobile Renaissance Faire(Photo by owner of Pr by DeeDee, DeeDee Brustad)

Robertsdale, Ala.(Nov.14,2015) Cassandra Garner at Mobile Renaissance Faire(Photo by owner of Pr by DeeDee, DeeDee Brustad)

Event: Mobile Renaissance Faire

Dates: Saturday Nov.14 and Sunday, Nov.15

Times: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Venue: 30569 Eagle Lane Road, Robertsdale, Ala

 

 

Information: http://www.gcrf.us/index.html

Tickets: $10 adults, $5 children, under 4 free

What Lurks in the Mind of One Local Artist?

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: DeeDee Brustad                                           

Public Relations

850-710-0868

dbrustad@fullsail.edu

           

 

What Lurks in the Mind of One Local Artist?

Techno Man Drawing by Kenneth James Brustad

Techno Man Drawing by Kenneth James Brustad

Pensacola, Fla. – Saturday, November 7, 2015 – University of West Florida Fine Arts student Kenneth James Brustad of Navarre, Fla holds his first public art show Feb. 27 and 28 from 7 – 10 p.m. at the Old Sacred Heart Hospital. This free event will explore the co-dependent relationship of man and machine. This young artist illustrates how technology is sometimes helpful, sometimes intimidating, or incapacitating in this aptly named show, Beyond the Screen. The drawings start with a picture of a healthy connection where technology benefits humanity. The last picture is an ominous take on what happens when technology takes over our lives. Kenneth James favors pen and pencil drawings in a surreal style reminiscent of the wild works of H.R. Giger.

 

Beyond the Screen art show takes place at 1010 N. 12th Avenue, Suite 211. There will be an opening reception Saturday night at 7 p.m. with the artist on hand to discuss his concepts. The artist says “some people are cripplingly dependent on their technologies while others use it as a pastime or a tool for communication. These works explore both sides of this issue.”

 

His unique art is sometimes disturbing but always thought-provoking. This quiet young man lets his art and his smile speak for him. “Drawing connects me to the world. Sometimes I look at one of my drawings and suddenly my thoughts are put in context to the rest of the world,” explains Kenneth James Brustad.

 

Come share Kenneth James Brustad’s vision and some wine and cheese at his show and reception Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.

 

About Kenneth James Brustad:

Navarre, Fla. Artist Kenneth James Brustad has been drawing as long as he can remember. His work is a wildly imaginative mix of science fiction and fantasy. He will graduate with a Bachelor’s degree from the Fine Arts program at the University of West Florida in May 2016. His art has accompanied productions ranging from Halloween scares to Shakespeare at the Pensacola Little Theater.

Please visit Kenneth James Brustad on Deviant Art or Facebook for more information.

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How to Memorize a Shakespeare Monologue and Wow the Crowd

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Are you faint at the sight of Shakespeare’s words? Many actors worry over remembering a long list of lines for an upcoming performance or audition. Memorizing one of Shakespeare’s monologues can be an intimidating task. These ten steps make it easy.

Southeastern Teen Shakespeare Pensacola Rennaissance Festival Macbeth

Pensacola, Fla (Feb. 27, 2011) Southeastern Teen Shakespeare Company member Maggie Crane as Ross with sock puppets Angus and Lennox in Macbeth at the Pensacola Renaissance Faire. (Photo by SETSCO company coordinator DeeDee Brustad.)

  1. Choose a monologue that fits the personality you want to show your audience. A monologue from Othello is not likely to show your playful side. A Falstaff selection is more appropriate.
  2. Read the scene and play that your selection comes from. Read the synopsis of your scene and any articles you find about your character. The better you understand your monologue the easier it is to memorize.
  3. Look up any words or phrases you are unsure of. Shakespeare was a master of word play. You may miss a joke if you do not understand the exact meaning of a word as it was during his time.
  4. Mark the verbs and nouns and highlight any words you want to emphasize.
  5. Mark the spots where the thought or emotion changes. This helps avoid awkward breaks in the middle of lines.
  6. Create a through line of action. A through line connects what your character was doing before entering the scene to what they do after the scene.
  7. Decide your character’s motivations for their words and actions.
  8. Write your lines out. Skip a line between the thought changes you identified in step 5.
  9. Read each line aloud three times in a row. You want to be exact with your lines. Hearing your lines read correctly helps you learn them faster.
  10. Say each line without looking at your script then check to see if you were right. If you had any words wrong or struggled to recall the line repeat steps 9 and 10 for that line. Move to the next line if you had it right. Each time you have three lines memorized say them together without looking at your script. Continue steps 9 and 10 for the rest of the monologue.

Anyone can learn a Shakespearean monologue. This skill will help you on stage and with any public speaking or memorization.

 Tips

  • Sing your lines or use different accents or voices to memorize lines easier.
  • Get up and move. Pair lines with actions for muscle memory.
  • Go over lines first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
  • Learn whole thoughts or ideas, not by line breaks.
  • Try a line learner app like LinePlease, Script Rehearser, My Lines, or LineLearner.

Sources

Learn-All-Your-Lines-for-a-Play,-in-One-Day

Line Memorization on Acting Up

Choosing a Shakespeare Monologue