To learn more about the Arizona Renaissance Festival and read the FAQs there, CLICK HERE!
The Arizona Renaissance Festival and Artisan Marketplace is a medieval amusement park, an outdoor theatre, a 50-acre circus, an arts and crafts fair, a Jousting Tournament, and a feast all rolled into one non-stop, day-long, family adventure!
Our annual event welcomes patrons of all ages and backgrounds to Fairhaven, a fictional 16th-century European village where costumed characters present non-stop music and comedy on 17 stages and throughout the fun-filled lanes.
CLICK HERE to visit the public AZRF website and learn more!
Auditions for the 2026 season are happening on August 30 and 31, 2025. They will be held in person at a location in the East Valley and you will be given that location/directions after you sign up for an audition.
Crew Interviews will be held via Google Meet and will happen between September 2 and September 12.
Auditions vary for each applicant.
They do not require you to prepare any audition materials up front as all auditions are improvised in the moment. There are Audition Hosts present that will help you through the process every step of the way. If you want to read about the audition process in details you can do that HERE.
Video submissions may be requested for music acts or certain larger character groups, but usually no video submission is required.
If you are asked to submit a video, it will be after you submit an application. You will be given detailed instructions and guidelines at that time.
There is not an age limit to be a performer, but there are additional guidelines/rules for minor performers which will be discussed in detail at/after the auditions.
In general terms - If you are 15 or under, we will ask you to participate with a parent or guardian. If you are 16 or 17, you will be paired with an adult performer on show days.
Roles vary, but all cast members are to interact “in character” with patrons and with each other.
Your primary function is to foster the illusion of the village and to give patrons a uniquely fun experience.
We expect you to have fun while helping our guests do the same!
To see available roles you can do that HERE.
No, you do not. If you do not feel confident about an accent, don’t worry.
We will give you techniques to develop it (or cheat) during our workshops.
There are opportunities to be a part of several crews that help run different areas of the entertainment department. There is even the rare possibility for departmental manager positions.
All crew positions are still visible to our patrons, and are all costumed participants that need to be able to answer basic questions about the festival.
There are openings for stage managers & stage crew, family-friendly pirate crew at the Mermaid Grotto, and with the rabble rousers at the Joust as well.
There are opportunities with sound equipment, event timing and management, line control, props/running crew, and participant coordination.
Budget priority is for returning cast members and those who make their primary living in the performing arts.
The majority of the roles available for audition will receive a very small stipend to help offset a portion of the expenses that come with being a part of the cast and crew. Cast members will also have access to free workshops where they will learn about improvisation, character acting, costuming, dialogue, and other topics.
Several other departments at the festival hire seasonal, hourly employees. You can learn more about available positions on the Arizona Renaissance Festival website.
Water for cast members is always on hand at locations throughout the village. In addition to water, the entertainment break area always has Gatorade available for cast & crew members.
Food and other beverages are not provided but are available for purchase. The entertainment break area is equipped with rentable lockers for storing a small packed lunch.
The Festival has workshops/rehearsals on every other Saturday in September, October, November, December, and January.
The weekend workshops are approximately 5 hours long each.
We ask that you attend 80% of the workshops leading up to Opening Weekend.
Additional rehearsals and events that are needed will vary on a case-by-case or character basis.
--A list of specific dates that are set aside for workshops and other festival events as we prepare for the upcoming season will be provided at auditions.--
Yes, absolutely. We do this for the love of performing, but an even stronger reason we come back each year is the community we have built since we opened in 1989.
We have no doubt that you will walk away at the end of the season with some really great new friends!
Even better, you will become a part of our awesome village's family.
"It takes a village..." so the saying goes... and We Are Fairhaven!
This is a great place to start! Our free workshops provide you with the information and skills to get started with improvisational and interactive theatre.
Many new cast and crew members with little or no experience enjoy their first-year with the festival so much they return season after season.
If you don't love singing, it's not required.
If you like singing, sing anyway! If you sing off-key, who cares?! If you are not comfortable singing solo, try group singing instead!
If singing interests you, then we will help you learn the songs.
Cast and crew members are not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages while on festival property.
Smoking tobacco is restricted to specific backstage areas only. Recreational marijuana is not allowed on festival property.
Other illegal substances are not allowed.
Festival participants that live locally are allowed to camp onsite Friday and Saturday evenings ONLY. There is full-time camping available for traveling acts/performers.
A refundable deposit is required for each person (16 and up) who will be camping on site during the festival season.
All other camping rules & details will be available after the cast list is posted.
The festival is a rain-or-shine event. If it is raining, we are open!
We are rarely closed for extreme weather conditions, but some performance schedules or locations may be adjusted as necessary on an average rain day.
Most everyone on cast is assigned a group. Even if you perform solo, or as a duo, or trio, you will be assigned to a larger group in order to see that you get the information, support, and supervision you need from the festival.
Most troupes move around the Festival on a schedule during the show day.
Cast members provide their own costumes.
We will guide you along the costume creation path and give you informational resources so you can make (or buy) appropriate costuming.
Typically, the higher the character’s social class, the more expensive the costume.
We will be glad to look at existing costumes to see what may be useable as a character or crew member at the festival.
Costuming is a detailed process with guidelines and limitations that are too complicated to list here.
If you wish to discuss costuming further, please contact us with specific questions and we will be happy to answer them.
There is a contact link at the bottom of this page.
There are many participants at the festival that do not work full days or every day of the show.
There are full-time and part-time opportunities available in all departments, but the specifics vary.
Details are available on request.
Full-time campers are the only participants that are able to bring pets on property. All other pets should remain at home.
Pets are never permitted front stage on the festival grounds.
Service animals are not considered pets by the federal government and are welcome.
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Under the American Disabilities Act (ADA), a service animal is defined as a dog or miniature horse that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability.
ADA is also clear that emotional support, therapy, comfort, or companion animals are not considered service animals and, therefore, are not permitted in the festival.
