therules

The Rules

Requirements for Guild Membership

This is the icky bit. Yes... we do have some rules. Every effort has been made to keep them to a minimum (and thusly keep them out of the way). The last thing anyone wants to do is hamper the actors' ability to create a great show for our paying guests. That being said, the quality of the show and the safety of our members cannot be guaranteed without some set guidelines and if we cannot guarantee those two fundamentals... no faire, parade or school in the world will want us to come around.

Please note: In the event of conflict, rules set by the faire we are attending will supersede our guild rules.

• Every guild member is required to attend a minimum of two meetings (enough to complete training and demonstrate facility with our cooking setup) and one flyering/promotional event prior to the opening of faire.

• Everyone must have a character, name, and garb, all approved by the guild master. As a practical matter, a deadline (usually one month before faire) will be set by the guild master in order to create a cohesive show. We're more than happy to help with this and have lots of ideas ready to go.

• Safety

• We cook, which means we are working with food, heat, and sharp implements. Thus, our attention to safety is paramount and anyone who cannot or will not meet some basic safety requirements has no place at the hearth.

  • Only guild members over the age of 18 will be allowed to cook or cut. Members below the age of 18 are welcome to join with a parent in one of the many support roles of cook's apprentice.

  • No one will be allowed to operate the ovens until fully trained in safety and fire prevention.

  • All safety rules will be adhered to all of the time and safety equipment will be used and maintained by all guildmembers (knives sharpened, gloves mended, etcetera).

  • All guild members must provide a utilitarian cooking knife, keep it clean, keep it sharp, and use it safely. Knife use seminars will be part of guild member training.

  • No synthetic materials of any kind may be used in costumes. All clothing must be made of linen and wool with a preference for wool.

  • Closed-toe shoes must be worn at all times during cooking demonstrations.

  • Clothing should be relatively close-fitting within the bounds of the period. No flowing "poet's sleeves" or paned trunkhose (slops) may be worn. They aren't accurate for a bunch of cooks anyway.

  • We are not licensed by the Board of Health. Therefore only guild members may cook or eat what is cooked in the guild yard. We are not to become the after-hours cookhouse for other faire participants.

• A handout on male and female attire is available and will be provided. Help is available if you are not gifted with the needle. Do not buy cloth or clothing until you have guild master approval. We don't want you to waste your money. NOTE: Please do not wait until the week before faire to ask for help if you need it. That is too late.

• A minimum of gear is necessary to present ourselves as residents of a 16th century kitchen. As a starting point for your gear, a minimal-cost and period-appropriate basic starting kit will be sourced by the guild master and made available to new guild members at cost including:

  • knife and sheath

  • turned wooden bowl/plate

  • wooden spoon

• Faire is 80% history and 20% theatre. “Call Times” are an integral part of acting. Sometimes you will need to be somewhere at a specific time for a specific event, barring emergency, you are expected to keep your call times. We are a loosely-structured guild in general and this will be kept to a minimum.

• Short morning meetings will be held each morning ½ hour before the gates open. Attendance is mandatory unless prior arrangements are made with the guild master. Please note: “hung over” is not a good enough excuse to miss the meeting. This is when we will plan our day and we will need everyone there.

• If you must make a phone call, consume something from plastic containers, or speak out of character, you must do so out of sight of the patrons (backstage). Nothing is so damaging to the patron’s suspension of disbelief as the sight of someone in perfect period garb texting their friends or eating a snow cone out of a plastic cup.

• The guild yard is for activities that will be interesting and entertaining to the patrons. Sleeping is not interesting to watch. If a guild member feels the need to take a nap in their free time, they must do so backstage.

• Every guild member will be required to present themselves in garb and in character for the full day of faire. If you are not available every weekend, or have special needs, contact the guild master before faire begins. In order to plan, we must know who we have to work with.

• The guild does not accept responsibility for items left in our encampment. Each visitor to our encampment will be expected to clean up after themselves and keep track of their own gear.

• Families are welcome, but parents are responsible for keeping track of their own children. Children under the age of eighteen must have a parent or guardian sign the minor hold-harmless agreement for them and keep current all emergency contact information with the guildmaster. The guild master will not accept liability or act as surrogate guardian for anyone.

• The faire has seen fit to require that actors wear wristbands identifying them to faire officials as castmembers. These include specific bands indicating someone is below the age of majority. We are required by the faire to wear these at all times, and we will comply. A simple strip of cloth can cover the band and leave it accessible should a member of faire management ask to see it.

• No underage drinking or illegal drug use will be tolerated at guild events. If a guild member is drunk or high, they will not be allowed to participate in guide activities. There are laws that supersede our personal feelings on these matters and we will abide by them.

Morning meetings allow for us to set the tone for the day, set up our kit and make plans to cover anything that was we couldn't foresee in the meetings before fair. Murphy’s law dictates that no plan will survive first contact with the patrons, and these meetings will allow us to maintain the fluidity required of us at an event that might see blistering heat or torrential rain showers at the drop of a hat. It also allows us to give notices and recognize what worked or didn't work on the previous day of faire.

I realize that some of that sounds pretty hard core and draconian. We aim to have as much fun ourselves as those we entertain, but we must keep our members and our viewing public safe. Our goal is to create a safe place for having fun, entertaining the crowd, teaching about our history, and if we're lucky, learning a little something along the way.

Consequences of rule violations will - of course - vary with the severity of the offense. It can range from a firm and uncomfortable chat with the guildmaster to (in extreme cases) expulsion from the guild... which is an instance I pray we will never have to explore.

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