Thank God the three-day weekend is over! This Monday rang in the halfway mark. The faire season is already halfway over. It feels like just yesterday I was climbing out of a plane with a midget into uncharted terrain. I'm actually realizing how much I'm going to absolutely hate leaving, and when I get home I'll have no idea what to do with my time. I've got a band back home to occupy some of my creative mind, but I'll have nowhere to act until the TN faire comes rolling around.
Now for some good news, I may have a shot at being in a movie with Jack Black. That's all I'm going to say about that one, wish me luck!
And a special thanks to everyone who's been visiting the blog, thanks for the well wishes and comments, I'll try and keep posting interesting stuff every chance I get! I love you all very much, and I can't wait to see you when I get back home, or I'll be sad to have to say goodbye when I leave here.
That's all for now,
Thorny
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Thursday, August 28
So I haven't written in a bit, I've been finding several ways to occupy my time. The shows have been running perfectly, drawing in big crowds and keeping them laughing. Hamlet is by far more fun to do than Richard III, and it's a better show, so we're saving that for our bigger crowds, and using Richard to warm up in the mornings.
When we're not doing our shows, we've got something we call "Mud Statues" which is a blast to do. We cover ourselves in about an inch thick layer of mud and pose motionless in the lanes. When someone drops money into our basket, we move around a bit, either entertaining or scaring the crap out of whoever tipped us, depending on if they knew we were real or not. Also, we've been going around covered in mud, offering free hugs to whoever, and offering one dollar mud insurance. (If you pay us the dollar, we will not hug you whatsoever.) It's been a blast.
As far as during the week, when the festival isn't going on, I've been occupying my time by playing NES roms, (Almost beat Dr. Mario, two more levels to go!) and drawing cartoons. (You'll find some cartoons as well as new pics in the photobucket account. http://s535.photobucket.com/albums/ee355/thornyren/)
Anyway, I'll be around, feel free to drop me a comment or call me during the week, or come say hi at the mudshow itself.
When we're not doing our shows, we've got something we call "Mud Statues" which is a blast to do. We cover ourselves in about an inch thick layer of mud and pose motionless in the lanes. When someone drops money into our basket, we move around a bit, either entertaining or scaring the crap out of whoever tipped us, depending on if they knew we were real or not. Also, we've been going around covered in mud, offering free hugs to whoever, and offering one dollar mud insurance. (If you pay us the dollar, we will not hug you whatsoever.) It's been a blast.
As far as during the week, when the festival isn't going on, I've been occupying my time by playing NES roms, (Almost beat Dr. Mario, two more levels to go!) and drawing cartoons. (You'll find some cartoons as well as new pics in the photobucket account. http://s535.photobucket.com/albums/ee355/thornyren/)
Anyway, I'll be around, feel free to drop me a comment or call me during the week, or come say hi at the mudshow itself.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Sunday, August 17
Day 2 of MIRF.
PHOTOBUCKET HERE: GO HERE FOR PICTURES! http://s535.photobucket.com/albums/ee355/thornyren/
Today was even better than yesterday. I coated myself in about an inch thick coat of mud and stood like a statue on a corner in one of the lanes, collecting tips, only moving when someone dropped money in my basket. It was fantastic. The shows are coming along great, the audiences are loving them, and my voice is FINALLY coming back. Huzzah! After the show was over, Thai food was catered straight to the site for the cast and crew, and then everyone headed down to the bar. And I mean EVERYONE. Shot a few games of pool, listened to an AMAZING drum session, danced, talked, and like the idiot I am, forgot my camera. More pictures soon, I swear!
PHOTOBUCKET HERE: GO HERE FOR PICTURES! http://s535.photobucket.com/albums/ee355/thornyren/
Today was even better than yesterday. I coated myself in about an inch thick coat of mud and stood like a statue on a corner in one of the lanes, collecting tips, only moving when someone dropped money in my basket. It was fantastic. The shows are coming along great, the audiences are loving them, and my voice is FINALLY coming back. Huzzah! After the show was over, Thai food was catered straight to the site for the cast and crew, and then everyone headed down to the bar. And I mean EVERYONE. Shot a few games of pool, listened to an AMAZING drum session, danced, talked, and like the idiot I am, forgot my camera. More pictures soon, I swear!
Saturday, August 16
Day 1 of MIRF
The first day was absolutely amazing. My fear of the mud was quickly destroyed by the cheers of the audience. It's good to be able to get on the streets of a village and play again. I made roughly 35 dollars in tips, which is nice, and then we all went out to eat at Qdoba's. Overall, a great day.
The first day was absolutely amazing. My fear of the mud was quickly destroyed by the cheers of the audience. It's good to be able to get on the streets of a village and play again. I made roughly 35 dollars in tips, which is nice, and then we all went out to eat at Qdoba's. Overall, a great day.
Friday, August 15
Ran the show for the first time in the mud today. It was not pleasant. I got really cold, really flustered, upset, and embarrassed. That's all I've got to say about that.
Wednesday, August 13
My eyes snapped open at 5 AM. I was freezing. I looked around me in a confused daze, realizing that I was in my tent, halfway across the country. I wasn't even on my air mattress. I was laying on the floor in front of my computer. I tried to sniff, but my nose was absolutely clogged. Not to mention the horrible pain in my stomach reminding me that I hadn't eaten in a full day and a half. I was sick. Shit.
I grabbed my shoes and stumbled outside, trying to walk the 40 yards to the port-a-johns. I didn't bother grabbing a jacket, I hurt. Bad. After fighting off my urge to just get sick in the bushes, I searched for a part-a-john with toilet paper in it. Not a single one, until I got to the last one. Now put yourself in my situation. You're dazed and confused, it's 5 AM, you're sick to your stomach, and you know something's going to come out of one end any second now. It's cold, it's dark, and you aren't sure how much toilet paper is left in this smelly shit-tank. Welcome to Michigan! I stumbled into my tent, turned on my space heater, put on a jacket, and went straight to sleep.
At 10 there was a knock on my door. And by knock I mean Tommy just said "Knock Knock" in front of my tent. I got dressed, smoked a couple of cigarettes, and walked to Tommy's trailer. He was playing Elder Scrolls: Oblivion on his PS3, and he offered me a cup of coffee. I drank it, watched him play, and then we got to work. With the new liner in the pit, we added water as a guy who's known as Basil came and pushed the dirt into the pit. We worked for a good 4 or 5 hours, adding dirt and mixing it up, playing little improv games as we worked. After we had all the dirt in and mixed, we realized that we needed about twice as much as we got, and that wouldn't be there until the next morning. So, we broke for lunch, (much to my body's satisfaction), ran through the scripts several times, got comfortable with the shows, wrapped up, and went back to the campsite. I'm here now at the Casa, waiting for the rain to pass, enjoying some White Stripes.
I grabbed my shoes and stumbled outside, trying to walk the 40 yards to the port-a-johns. I didn't bother grabbing a jacket, I hurt. Bad. After fighting off my urge to just get sick in the bushes, I searched for a part-a-john with toilet paper in it. Not a single one, until I got to the last one. Now put yourself in my situation. You're dazed and confused, it's 5 AM, you're sick to your stomach, and you know something's going to come out of one end any second now. It's cold, it's dark, and you aren't sure how much toilet paper is left in this smelly shit-tank. Welcome to Michigan! I stumbled into my tent, turned on my space heater, put on a jacket, and went straight to sleep.
At 10 there was a knock on my door. And by knock I mean Tommy just said "Knock Knock" in front of my tent. I got dressed, smoked a couple of cigarettes, and walked to Tommy's trailer. He was playing Elder Scrolls: Oblivion on his PS3, and he offered me a cup of coffee. I drank it, watched him play, and then we got to work. With the new liner in the pit, we added water as a guy who's known as Basil came and pushed the dirt into the pit. We worked for a good 4 or 5 hours, adding dirt and mixing it up, playing little improv games as we worked. After we had all the dirt in and mixed, we realized that we needed about twice as much as we got, and that wouldn't be there until the next morning. So, we broke for lunch, (much to my body's satisfaction), ran through the scripts several times, got comfortable with the shows, wrapped up, and went back to the campsite. I'm here now at the Casa, waiting for the rain to pass, enjoying some White Stripes.
Tuesday, August 12
As I'm dropped off at the airport, the tension seemed almost too much to handle. I was nervous as hell, and I knew it would be a good three hours before I got another smoke, so I lit up. I was immediately caught by a security guard who very strictly told me that the smoking area was across the road where people unloaded. I very quickly obliged and sucked down my smoke.
As I boarded my plane, it all seemed too real. Here it is, the day I leave for the Michigan Renaissance Festival. I took my seat and was relieved to find that the man seated next to me was a midget. I knew he would make my flight more enjoyable, because who doesn't love a midget? After the flight attendants lazily went through the procedures to show us how to die in a quiet, dignified fashion, I reached into my bag and got out my copy of the watchmen. I'm 3/4 of the way through it now, and I love it so much. That wasn't too relevant, but I wanted to shout my love for that comic book from a rooftop.
We landed in Detroit right on time, and I actually got to the luggage claim early, which was odd because the Detroit Metro airport is HUGE, and my gate was farthest from the luggage claim. My being early actually scared me a bit, because the fact that I didn't see my luggage made me WAY too paranoid. After I got my bags, I got in Tommy's truck and we made our way out to the Festival grounds.
When we got there, I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer size of the festival grounds. This place is HUGE! Almost every vender booth and restaurant is a permanent structure, and I've only seen about 10 tents this whole time. The campsite is right on the Festival grounds, and when we got there, Tommy's trailer was already set up, and soon my tent was, too. I got my own little secluded area between some trees, and the entrance is a few branches arced over one another, making a little grotto. I have since named it Thorny's Grotto, and my tent is "Casa de Thorny". We set up a few wooden palettes, and then put the tent on top of those.We lined the tent's floor with industrial camping blankets to give it a bit of a cushiony carpet. We went to Wal Mart afterwards and picked up a few things, including props for the show, basic camping supplies, and an air mattress. When we got back, we water sealed the Casa and started to work on setting up the pit. We stapled in a tarp and talked about nothing for a while, had a good time. I met Skutar, the guy I'm working with, he's awesome. Met some other people, too, including my neighbors, who are all old school hippies and rock. One guy even told me he was at the Grateful Dead's last show. That's awesome.
When we got back from the pit, it was around 7 o'clock. I started to watch the Squidbillies, but inevitably passed out.
As I boarded my plane, it all seemed too real. Here it is, the day I leave for the Michigan Renaissance Festival. I took my seat and was relieved to find that the man seated next to me was a midget. I knew he would make my flight more enjoyable, because who doesn't love a midget? After the flight attendants lazily went through the procedures to show us how to die in a quiet, dignified fashion, I reached into my bag and got out my copy of the watchmen. I'm 3/4 of the way through it now, and I love it so much. That wasn't too relevant, but I wanted to shout my love for that comic book from a rooftop.
We landed in Detroit right on time, and I actually got to the luggage claim early, which was odd because the Detroit Metro airport is HUGE, and my gate was farthest from the luggage claim. My being early actually scared me a bit, because the fact that I didn't see my luggage made me WAY too paranoid. After I got my bags, I got in Tommy's truck and we made our way out to the Festival grounds.
When we got there, I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer size of the festival grounds. This place is HUGE! Almost every vender booth and restaurant is a permanent structure, and I've only seen about 10 tents this whole time. The campsite is right on the Festival grounds, and when we got there, Tommy's trailer was already set up, and soon my tent was, too. I got my own little secluded area between some trees, and the entrance is a few branches arced over one another, making a little grotto. I have since named it Thorny's Grotto, and my tent is "Casa de Thorny". We set up a few wooden palettes, and then put the tent on top of those.We lined the tent's floor with industrial camping blankets to give it a bit of a cushiony carpet. We went to Wal Mart afterwards and picked up a few things, including props for the show, basic camping supplies, and an air mattress. When we got back, we water sealed the Casa and started to work on setting up the pit. We stapled in a tarp and talked about nothing for a while, had a good time. I met Skutar, the guy I'm working with, he's awesome. Met some other people, too, including my neighbors, who are all old school hippies and rock. One guy even told me he was at the Grateful Dead's last show. That's awesome.
When we got back from the pit, it was around 7 o'clock. I started to watch the Squidbillies, but inevitably passed out.
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