By Chuck Bennorth
I spent my summer with my beautiful bride Denise. Together we spent much of our summer taking pictures, mostly in 1574. (don't ask how, just accept it)
We took pictures, a lot of pictures, mostly of people, which is one of my very favorite things to do.
Now some of you that know me will point out that I took pictures of people last summer and the summer before, and even the one before that. That is true, but this time was different.
This year I got to take photos of friends. Denise has the gift of being able to connect with people, and she helped us get to know many more friends at the Faire. And really get to know them. Besides simply taking their photos, I got to know them and to understand what an incredible group of people they are. What a talented group they are.
And what a caring group they are, as I soon came to realize. They are a family of people that care about their own, and rally around their own. At the beginning of the summer, there is a very touching, somber and moving memorial for those in their faire family who were lost over the previous year. The symbolism is very powerful and the emotions are pretty raw as these people honor those that were close to them. There are not many times that I am moved to tears when taking photos, but seeing the care and the pain of these people in a very public memorial for those lost, is one of those times.
While taking photos, I had the pleasure of renewing friendships that I had made in previous years.
This wonderful family gave up their spot on the fence rail for us last year for a joust, so that we could see and photograph better, even though we did not know them at all. This year they were some that we watched for a talked to each day.
I had taken photos of Shane over the years as he helped sell pewter at the Black Dragon. His warm hello and cheerful banter was always fun to watch. He had not been around for a bit, but I ran into him this year again. Great to see him.
Terrence always had a smile for us, and would pose if we had a photo idea. His stories about the flower of the day would keep us laughing. The writing he shared on FB about the kind of life he wanted to live was really interesting.
Brian was another that I have known from the Black Dragon over the years. Always greeted us with a kind word and a great smile.
Bob is one that we look for across the centuries and places. We look for him in 1574, but have also seen him around 1919, 1944 and 1776. A true Dr WHo.
Did I mention that I saw some wonderful acting this summer? Turns out that William Shakespeare was a pretty good writer and these wonderfully talented actors brought his words to life for us this summer. Shakespeare's Corner is one of my favorite stops when in 1574, it has wonderful actors and wonderful early day lighting for my photos of these actors.
I saw these two performing Taming of the Shrew (I think). The action, emotion and physicality of this scene amazed me. Bravo to you both for that few minutes.
I always enjoy watching the intensity and depth of Stacy's acting. What a force.
James (Large) was terrific in this scene. He had no lines, but instead of just standing there watching, he watched and listened to what was said, and REACTED to them. Even though he had no lines, you could see him preparing to respond at times, physically responding to the words being addressed to him. I will not soon forget the acting lesson he gave me that day.
I enjoyed this scene with Aly and Drew a number of times, the rapier wit and comments that they would exchange.
I am not sure how it happened, but had the very good fortune to become a friend of this beautiful singer and person. Generally later in a faire afternoon, I would find Denise and myself enjoying a one song concert just for the two of us from Taylor. I would just stand there with this huge grin on my face listening to the most beautiful singing voice that i know. Thank you Taylor for each of those songs. I am eagerly awaiting the chance to buy your first CD.
This was another singer that we would search out each day, for two reasons. Arne's songs are so witty and fun to listen to, and would always leave us laughing. (assassins prayer was my favorite). The other reason was that we like taking photos of the people we know at the faire, good pictures whenever possible. Arne made it his personal mission to give us as goofy of a look or a smile whenever we tried to photograph him. This is the best photo I have ever taken of Arne, and it was only because he did not know that I was there until after i had clicked the shutter.
Talking about talented people, Brian and Stephy created the costumes and looks that we would see them in each weekend. I am fortunate if I can dress myself in things that somewhat go together, and these two would create these amazing looks from scratch. Denise and I would look forward to the different looks that they would show up with each weekend. They would also patiently wait and pose as I would get photos of these amazing costumes and looks. Well done to you both.
Moonie has been a part of the faire for as long as I can remember. His shows make me laugh over and over. That handsome gentleman in the photo with Moonie is Bridger, Denise's son, here on a visit from Utah (and yes, he does look like Draco Malfoy). Moonie selected Bridger to be part of his show that afternoon and Bridger did great. As Moonie told him afterwards, "You were the best one".
A few weeks later, Denise's daughter Sierra joined us for a day at the faire. While she was not on stage during the moonie show, she and Denise did manage to find the ice cream vendor at the faire.
My thanks to all of you, by the way, for your wonderful welcome of these two kids of ours. Greeting them by name with smiles and conversation helped them to have the great times they both had.
After taking pictures of these two gentlemen, part of the royal court, for years, we had the opportunity to meet and talk with Dennis and Andy. I learned that Dennis is not only an actor there, but a director as well, and that Andy is also a teacher at the Queen's college. Two of the nicest guys you will meet there and both very encouraging to me about my photos.
We had the pleasure of getting to know Paula this year and to see the beautiful sewing and such that she is able to create. I met William via comments on FB, but never was able to tell him hello in person, which is definitely on my list for next year. Such kindness he sent my way via his thoughts on my photos.
I also had the honor of meeting these three this summer. Besides being an actor at the faire, Cameron is a talented music composer and musician. I have enjoyed listening to the music he has composed and had fun conversations with him about them. Please check him out on soundcloud. Giuseppe is an actor at the faire, a firefighter in his other life, and takes wonderful care of Taylor all of the time. It was nice to be able to say hello to him this summer. (He also does a good Errol Flynn impersonation for my camera). JP is not only an actor at the faire, but around the far west suburbs where he both acts and directs. We are looking forward to seeing his work there sometime soon.
Thanks to Denise, I was able to meet and come to appreciate the funniest witches that I have ever seen. These ladies are better than Samantha and all of Harry Potter's friends combined. The silliness and acting that they put into each weekend are wonderful. (Favorite line of the faire: "Mildred, who gave you a sign?" "God", cracking us and herself up)
These 5 became wonderful friends over the summer. We had known them a bit from last year, but this year became closer friends of ours. Lori is one of the sweetest people you could ever hope to meet, always up beat and smiling. Melissa always had a hug and a smile for us, and let us know she was glad we were there. Susy (sans Foxen) was another that Denise really bonded with, a very talented writer whom we look forward to reading more from. Risa always gave us laughs with her Beckett stories. And, through Susy, we are getting to know Chris as well.
These are two of the younger performers at the faire. Marion is one of the hardest workers there, always on the go and interacting with people. She does a great job. I have seen the other, (going by a stage name this year) growing up at the faire. I have often enjoyed seeing how she would encourage and include in the young kids at the dances, welcoming them to the dance circle.
While we often would be dressed in matching colors, we decided to change things up by getting Denise a Faire garb of her own. Besides the very pretty and fun outfit for Denise, this also led to a wonderful friendship with Susan. The quick bond that grew between Susan, Denise and even our daughter is very special. We are honored to have teamed with Susan this summer.
These three talented women decided to honor us with their friendship and encouragement this summer. Kind words of appreciation for our photos, plus heartwarming greetings each time we saw them were much appreciated. And talented, each one as well. In addition to being a dancer, Erikka is a talented fashion designer and posts some of the most thoughtful and astute commentaries on life today, Kate is into some wonderful face painting, drawing, painting and acting, and Leah is a dancer, designer of art and painter. We are so fortunate that they decided to include us in their circle of friends.
Gloria surprised us this summer, picking us out from the crowd and introducing herself to us. Thank you so much Gloria for your kind words to us this summer and for taking the time to look at our photos.
So, what kept you the busiest at the faire? I am glad you asked.
Being taught the very basics of sword-fighting by Jeff. Thank you for the lesson and for not rapping my knuckles when I got it wrong. And watching Jeff teaching others how to do this, always with patience and a smile.
Watching these two run the camp, making sure that people were where they needed to be and presenting their shows about how not to die and how weapons work. You could easily see how much all of their team respected the leadership of these two.
I laughed every time they did some of the routines in their classes, particularly when Lt Chris would send Captain Chris to the corner for beating up on an example subject.
In addition, Lt Chris showed me some of his photography, some amazing work that I had never imagined. Thank you for sharing and well done.
David became a friend over the summer as well, often making time to talk with us and teach us about Bristol history. Speaking of other talents, David is a very talented organist.
We had the pleasure of getting to know Fred a bit last year, and enjoyed getting to know him better over the summer. I think he would get a little tired of our cameras often pointing at him, but he took it in good humor. His parts in the classes when he was the surgeon were terrific. (wrap him in a blanket, call the clergy, for ....)
I was able to watch the friendships blossom between these next four woman and Denise. Smiles, laughter and hugs between them were part of our time down with the GSM.
In addition to her acting here, Kate is involved in teaching actors, with some of her cast mates even being her students. And she makes a pretty good witch when she wants to.
If you are ever looking for Shelly, figure out what needs to be done around GSM and she will often be involved in its getting done. A true giving servant's heart and caring to all around. If someone needs help, she is often the one they come to.
We enjoyed getting to know Jenni better this summer. In the past, her roles limited us from being able to talk much, but this summer was different. A very talented actress and a great sense of humor and laugh.
Heather was often around the GSM, so we had the honor of getting to know her a bit as well, and even more so this fall. One of the things I often had trouble determining what was "real life" and what was "Faire life". Heather was Andrew's twin sister, in some way. It took me half the summer to determine that was "Faire life", not "Real life". This photo was taken when Denise was trying to determine how we had missed taking a photo of Tuttle all summer.
The GSM is really a special group and a pretty close knit family within the faire. You would often see the two young ones (nipperkins??) hanging around with the different GSM members. The whole group would watch out for and interact with these two. These two have more "aunts and uncles" than they know what to do with, and they are all the better for it.
These three welcomed us into their GSM world. We had wonderful conversations with them, finding out more about who they are and what GSM is like. Each had a smile, a handshake and a conversation with us. Fun young actors who will go far in this world.
At times, I wondered if we were bothering them with our being around so much. I wondered if this gentleman was trying to scare me off with this shot, but i was wrong. We were so extremely honored as they welcomed us into their group whenever we were around, and adopted these two wandering photographers.
My favorite time of the day was late afternoon hanging around the GSM, talking with our friends and capturing photos as the light got better and better.
In addition to all of this, we took photos. We photographed people in love.
People being loved. (Happy birthday to Amanda from the BBF)
Warm and kind friends.
Smiles that would light up our day.
And the people of the Faire, which is what a Chuck do.
And best of all, I was able to do it nearly every weekend with my beautiful bride at my side. Thank you Denise for sharing this with me all summer. And for helping me to meet so many of these amazing, kind, fun and talented people.
We are already looking forward to next summer and seeing you all again. Thanks so much for your kindness, kind words, friendships, acceptance and encouragements.
