It has long been my belief that a showcase for the performing talent of our fair Kingdom is sorely needed. Competitions are often held away from sight. Performances are staged at the shire or baronial level, almost never at a large event. Rarely does the entire Kingdom have a chance to see and hear the talents of our bards, minstrels, mimes, puppeteers, actors and other performing artisans of our land. A specific location, at our largest event, would offer a welcome chance to our performing artists to show their talents to the Kingdom and a goodly portion of the Knowne World.
To that end, I propose to create a Medieval performance space at the site of the Lillies War. For convenience, I am referring to this space as "The Lily Theater".
The design for the Lily Theater is based on a 15th century miniature "The Martyrdom of St. Appolonia" (see figure 1), on my reading on the subject of Medieval theater (see the bibliography), and on discussions with modern theater professionals. It consists of three "mansions" (see figure 2), which are raised and covered platforms, 4 ft by 8 ft, with a slightly pitched roof. Overall height is 11 ft. Due to possible wind considerations, the mansions will be staked to the ground.
Each mansion will have a distinct dagged overhang in front and a cloth top and back. Each will have at least one set of steps; other access may be added as we work on the details of the project. In Period miracle and mystery plays, the mansion stage left would represent Hell, stage right would represent Heaven, and one or more mansions in between would represent various locations in the play. It is my intent to leave the symbolism of the mansions vague, so that they can house all types of performances.
The mansions are arranged (see figure 3) in a semi-circle around the "platea", or central area, facing the audience. The platea is an undesignated area which in Period might have been used as a road, battle field or other space in the performance of the play. The platea is separated from the audience by a low wall or rope. Six to 10 benches will be placed for audience seating, eked out with hay bales and chairs brought by the audience if necessary. Torches may be added for evening performances.
The design is very basic. Details of ornamentation and perhaps structure will change as we begin to build and experiment with the design this winter and spring. Distances in the layout may have to be adjusted, depending upon the location that the Lillies Committee gives us.
For this year my intent is to have the structures be temporary; they will be removed at the end of the War. It would be preferable if we could have a construction weekend prior to the actual dates of the War, and could take the structures down sometime after the end of the War. However, I believe the design will be simple enough that the mansions can go up on the first Saturday of War Week and come down on the ending Sunday without undue hardship.
The overhead layout as drawn shows a location between two large trees. This is my preferred location, along the road from troll to the old merchant's area. However, this location has been used in the past by the Fiber Arts Guild and others, and might be under prior claim. Other locations which would be acceptable are near the location of last year's 14th Century Tourney field, at the corner of the campground approach to the new merchant's area, in the southeast corner of the old merchant's area, or along the treeline where the Grand Pavillion was last year. Approximate area, at the current estimate, is 35 ft x 35 ft.
The estimated cost for the project is approximately $500. I can finance the project out of my own pocket if necessary, but would like permission to seek donations to ease the burden. I presume that an account would need to be established with the exchequery, or some similar arrangement. I have not sought to investigate these issues until the larger question of whether or not the project will be approved is settled.
Included in this estimate is the cost of constructing a Royal "Box." If the Kingdom has a tent/fly/shelter in the regalia that will not have another purpose, dedicating it to this function would help reduce the cost greatly.
I have had the chance to discuss elements of this project with several people, and have been gratified with the interest they have shown. I have had several volunteers already, including persons with modern theater experience, and even stage construction expertise. I see no reason why we cannot obtain ample assistance in experience and labor to successfully comple this simplified project. (Names of volunteers will be made available privately.)
Without performances there would be no need to construct a theater. Once approval has been received, it is my intent to do several things to ensure that the Lily Theater is used to best effect:
I realize that many questions remain unanswered. I will not know some of those answers until I begin prototype construction. And there are probably many questions that I have not anticipated. At this point, I feel it is more important to get the idea in motion than to try to have an answer to every possible concern. I will be happy to address any questions or concerns in person or in writing, and I will most happily accept any advice or suggestions. In fact, a version of this document has been placed on the World Wide Web (http:\\www.wwi.net\reachout\calon_a&s\theater\index.html) in hopes of receiving suggestions and feedback.
