Full Description
This ethnographic study of contemporary American Renaissance fairs focuses on the Maryland Renaissance Festival, in which participants recreate sixteenth-century England through performances of theater, combat-at-arms, processions, street hawking, and meticulously faithful historical reconstructions. It is also partly an autobiographical account of interactive improvisation, subcultures within the festival framework, the delineation between living history and historical elaboration, and a new understanding of performers and patrons.
Contents
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction: How Merriment Abounds
1. Seeking the New in the Old: A Brief History of the Contemporary American Renaissance Festival
2. Carnival Setting, Cultural Work
3. A Stroll Through the Sensescape of the MDRF
4. Living History at the MDRF: Performing Embodied Knowledge
5. Historical Elaboration: A Royal Day in Revel Grove
6. Performers, Patrons, and Playtrons: Interactions and Interfaces in the Intrastice
Afterword: "The Beer Is in the Pick-Up Truck"; or, "Put Down the Accent, Step Away from the Character and Nobody Gets Hurt!"
Notes
Bibliography
Index
