#it a query!

I’m sorry for not getting to this sooner, I posses neither time-management nor memory nor executive function.

There are more safety measures in place at the Faire than anywhere else I’ve been since the 2020 covid pandemic began, and more measures are being followed at the Faire – both proportionally and by raw numerical value – than anywhere else I’ve been since the 2020 covid pandemic began.

It is not perfect. With the caveat that I have no concept of amounts in general, I'd say that 90-to-95 percent of patrons are wearing masks correctly when not eating or drinking. Of the 10-to-5 percent who aren't, some are trying to pass off clearly inadequate face-coverings as adequate, having presumably ditched their actual masks upon entrance; some wear proper masks incorrectly; some seem to think that merely holding food or drink but not actively consuming it is perfectly fine, even in the midst of a crowd; some do not isolate themselves before eating and drinking; and some just don't friggin' wear their masks.

Nevertheless, I've seen fewer folk unmasked at the Faire than I have anywhere else I've been since the 2020 covid pandemic began. The two times I've been thus far, I felt safer than I do at the grocery store.

Social distancing is a little tougher to call. Remember how I don't conceptualize amounts? Yeah, I dunno how long six feet is. However, I'm pretty confident in saying that distance of six feet is definitely being observed less than mask wearing is. But this is something that you yourself can have good deal more control over than others' mask-wearing. First day I went, I incorporated a cane in my costume that I would just hold out horizontally if I was approaching a crowd. Cane wasn't six feet, but it plus arm might have been. Second time, the same but with a fake cutlass. I've taken to bringing a blanket that I drape over the benches of audience area as though I'm saving seats, but it's actually just to keep everyone six feet away.

My experience is limited, though. I have yet to enter a shop (I'm there for the in-house shows and maybe two-and-a-half out-of-house groups, not to shop, not in this economy, not with what tickets cost), but I saw a fair amount on the magical Book of Face about shopkeepers having trouble with patrons removing masks in shops. Only saw that after the first weekend, though, not this past one, so it may have been sorted out.

My personal main worry had been for the actors, but of all the people on the grounds, I am the most confident in the performers' safety. They are definitely being protected.

Of course, I have no way of knowing if the safety measures will continue to be followed into October, but I think that they will. The people spearheading the safety measures know what the fuck they're on about and do not take bullshit. I know this because the people in question are the same people performing, some of whom are immunocompromised themselves. My sources here are the weekly livestreams of one of the actors, and an article somebody linked to in the dot-netters group, which will only let you open it once unless you buy a subscription.

Provided that you've naught going on to put you at greater risk to begin with, I would lean toward going.  Bring at least one extra mask so as to be able to change it when you inevitably snot it up halfway through the day, bring things with which to hold people at bay, and do whatever you need to reconcile yourself to probably sitting farther away from stages than you usually would.

And if you decide not to go, I've been filming what I can as best I can. Thus far they've only been posted on the PARF-fan facebook, because of chronology reasons, though I keep intending to at least link them here, but they exist and are watchable, and barring unseen catastrophe, will continue to happen.

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.

Why, it's quite convenient of you to ask, for I intended to share regardless! This marks the first year I've actually made any Halloween predictions. Before I begin, I will disclaim that I have not looked at the Faire's website since last weekend, just in case they added anything to the scenario; so anything that is or isn't there now had no influence on this.

An important entreaty: while I'm not half so arrogant as to wholly believe that my predictions are accurate, they very well might be. Therefore, if you like being surprised by the Halloween plot, please read no further. If you got chills at Morgan la Fey's echoing laugh and sat with mouth agape as she strode down the aisle; if you made the connection like a clap of lightening that these two new characters were Titania and Oberon and proceeded to physically bounce up and down in your seat in excitement; if you realized that Sir Walter was leading up to confessing to having been a ghost the whole season and then involuntarily leaped up upon hearing Zach's voice; if you turned to your friend twenty-six seconds before the introduction and exclaimed “this is fucking Merlin!”; and if you treasure those moments as I do, then return to this post after witnessing the new plot, just in case I'm right.

On Day Two of Queen's Court, I turned to my sister and said “I can't wait for this scepter to be magical during Halloween.” That's all the further my predictions would have gone were it not for the esteemed Joseph Germano. According to him, the scepter was referred to sometime during Opening Weekend as the Scepter of Onyx, rather than the Scepter of ?Teutia? with which we are all by now familiar. Now, I cannot verify this. Ren Faire With Rose filmed Queen's Court on Opening Day (no date is listed in title or description, but I can see myself in the audience and I know Opening Day is the only time this season I wore that band on my hat), and Drake definitely calls it the Scepter of Teutia. I have found no footage of Day Two, nor can I recall either day sharply enough to weigh in based on my own memory. So while I have no reason to doubt Joseph Germano, I have no evidence to back it up, diluting this prediction into more of a theory.

Nevertheless, upon hearing the phrase “Scepter of Onyx”, Joseph thought “Hmmm, that sounds like an established Thing from something. Lemme look it up.” And so he did, and determined that the Scepter of Onyx is an item from one or both of the Guild Wars MMORPGs; which tracks. But then he poked a little more to discern what that particular item does in-game.

According to Joseph's research, the Scepter of Onyx raises the dead.

So that's my theory of what the scepter will do for Halloween. But who will be brought back from the dead?

During Ultimate Joust, Declan Glenfinnan speaks the following line to his brother Ailen: “Keep thy redemption, boy. Thou shalt need more than principles to survive this joust. Our father taught us to win. I'm just glad he's not here anymore to see how weak thou hast become.” The line is in no way out of place, but there wasn't strictly a need for it, either: particularly specifying that he's not here anymore. Moreover, it seems somewhat unusual to me for the script of PARF to fall prey to the bullshit of dwelling on the father without even mentioning the mother – unless there were cause to emphasize the father.

My theory, and certainly my hope, is that the Glenfinnans' father comes back from the dead for Halloween. Because then we can get into the real trauma.

Glenfather building up and praising and rewarding Pippa (the heir) for all she does, encouraging her to find it quite natural to always have priority; while he puts down and neglects or belittles and finds constant fault with Declan (the spare), positing that he does nothing right, that always he casts a poor reflection on him, driving him to succeed at any cost lest he ne'er be good enough. Giving Pippa the tools to succeed at everything, and teaching her to use them. Giving Declan nothing, that he feels he always must take.

Imagine getting to actually see the ill-parenting that drove Declan to hate the world in order to not hate himself.

If this be the case, then perhaps Pippa now has the primary emotional arc and character development, for she will have to come to see how the dichotomy that raised her is unfair and cruel, and she will have to recognize that through the fog of her prioritization. And then both she and Declan will get to call Glenfather out on the matter, and preferably tell him to get fucked (albeit in different terms).

Hi there!  First, sorry for taking so long to answer this.  I'm not the best at checking my inbox, and I'm even worse at answering asks in a timely manner.  As to your question, I do not know of other Teatimes that have been publicly posted.  In all the YouTube channels I know of that post PARF videos, the only one was Michael Ulrich's 10/25 video.  I also checked the few people on Facebook who I know reliably post Faire videos, and they had none.  But!  I did film Teatime once a weekend all season, except for the first Halloweekend.  I stopped posting the videos because my poor old computer stopped being able to actually upload them.  I'm getting a new computer less than a week from now, and once it's set up and everything's transferred, I will begin posting the rest of my 2020 videos, though still only on the Facebook for now.  I will make sure to post on here when I do, so you should know even if you aren't on Facebook.

In the meantime, if you want what was arguably the first iteration of Teatime even before it had a name, I can direct you to Joseph Germano's video of 2019 Pyrate Invasion's Disasterpiece preshow.  The second iteration – and the first one to be named as such – is a series of six shorts over on the Faire's official Instagram.  (Short 1, short 2, short 3, short 4, short 5, short 6.)  And the third iteration can be found on the streaming platform Crowdcast, for which you will have to make a free account, but it is quite worth it.  There are seven of these QuarenTeatimes, unless I missed one in my opening-of-tabs, which is not outside the realm of possibility, averaging at half-an-hour each. (QuarenTeatime 1, QuarenTeatime 2, QuarenTeatime 3, QuarenTeatime 4, QuarenTeatime 5, QuarenTeatime 6, QuarenTeatime 7.)

Hello, I am sorry this languished in the askbox for so long, I never claimed to be good at this admin thing.