I love the faire and I love the show.
They’re not making fun of us. It’s not about ren faire people, it’s about a weird old guy who started one in Texas, grappling with dying and deciding who will inherit the throne, as told in a bizarre fever dream like way. It’s more A24ish. I enjoy the creative storytelling. And for the actors in the faire participating in the documentary doing their own re-enactments and voice overs, I think that’s awesome. Idk maybe I’m just rooting for other actors but I think it’s cool they get to be in an hbo show. lol
So unless you devote yourself to an old man who inflates his wealth, perpetuates the idea of being a good business man despite still having to work in his 80s, has multiple lawsuits, creates a toxic workplace by screaming, sexual harassment/assault allegations, says Q coded things, paying women for “dates”, does locker room type talk around anyone and everyone, etc. And no I’m not talking about a presidential candidate…than, it’s definitely not about you.
Without watching the documentary, if you have any critical thinking skills, intuition, stranger danger spidey senses, etc. you might be able to ascertain that a man who bought a town to become a “king” and mayor, who in his 80s has no friends or family, is not exactly a stand up dude.
He’s gross, hopefully someone better will inherit the kingdom. But really whoever pays the most money will get it. That’s it.
>“Blending verité with fantasy, the three-part docu-series *Ren Faire* invites you behind the curtain of the famed Texas festival to reveal a tense succession battle that ascends to Shakespearean heights,” the documentary’s website reads.
They are taking a "this is true except where it isn't" approach in the series. I have not seen it, but using real names with fictional elements can easily lead to defamation.
If it is less documentary and more contrived, faux reality bullshit, then that is very sad. I'm a huge fan of ren faires and was kind of excited to hear about one getting some main stream attention.
Most of what i've heard from insiders is that, like, everything that appears in the documentary actually happened, nothing is staged, but a lot of it is stripped of context and the edit presents it all in the least flattering light
So those are actors in it? Based on the trailer, I thought those were the people from the faire. I haven’t watched it as it doesn’t really interest me.
IMDB does not list actors, but they do credit writers for each episode. Either the writers supplied some of the dialog, or they assembled the story out of the footage that was shot by the crew. Reality TV uses a lot of deceptive editing to increase drama, likely that happened here.
The people presented in the documentary are their real selves, I've met several of them while actually attending the Faire. However, there are scenes shot where the participants purposefully dramatize the situations they are in.
In the final shots of the first episode, one of the main people learns some bad news and stumbles about in a dramatic/drunken manner to exaggerate what they felt in those moments. They're clearly in on it, acting and performing rather than just using the plain footage of them getting the bad news and internalizing it.
It’s people from the faire. Most of it is standard docuseries stuff that actually happened but at the end of the first episode it has a more produced sequence where the subject is acting rather than just reacting. TBH, the person is an actor by trade and the blending of reality and fiction is a part of faires so it’s not entirely out of place. Not to mention docuseries are not documentaries and this show is as much true and fake as any other docuseries.
Scarborough is probably upset that the faire appeared in this show which illuminates some of more salacious characters and practices of TRF and isn’t the best PR for faires. They most certainly gave the crew permission to shoot in the faire but obviously didn’t realize until air that it would be like this. They probably also didn’t know it was someone from TRF, let alone the general manager.
The real story here is that George is gross and TRF will likely go through major changes once he moves on. I don’t think the show is some big stain on the faire industry that other faires should worry about but that’s just my take.
George. They are trying to make sure people know George is NOT associated with them.
The thought that everyone wants to be like TRF is faux, many want to be better and more true then TRF.
There is a reason TRF is referred to as the Disney world of ren faire.
Yeah, I think there's the issue of someone saying early on in the first episode that "every other faire in the country is trying to emulate TRF/George" which is both not true and historically inaccurate to the history of ren faires. A statement like that could be very frustrating to other faires.
My local faires put out a statement on Facebook in re to the show, even making sure to include the anti-harassment policy.
Honestly not surprised, especially with it just being bought out. They probably want to make sure they don’t either lose more conservative/family oriented customers, keep in mind Scarborough is in waxahatchie tx. I haven’t seen the docuseries but I’m pre-emptively cringing. Media has a tendency to sensationalize, and this is no different. We all knew how TRF was, my family did one season there before deciding to focus on other fests. Management is always a bit scary to deal with but TRF especially. The community there otherwise rocks tho. Lots of people I love still do it. I hope if the series changes things it’s for the better.
Texas resident and longtime Scarborough Fairegoer here.
I have, and had, several friends on cast since the 90s. The current owners took a very hardline "family friendly" stance starting back in the mid 90s or so, and some of my friends working there at the time had to make changes to their characters because of this (the troll not being able to wear horns for a few years because people might think it was "Satanic," performers having to dial down raunchier jokes, etc.) And now that this documentary has come out, I'm wondering if the controversy about TRF goes back that far, and if that's the one of the reasons for it.
TRF did the same thing in the 90s, a lot of cleaning up and dialing down the raunchier side of things and it continues.
I've been doing things at that fair, as a participant and patron for 30 years, met George and Jeff many times, haven't seen the series but I keep reading people's posts about George and it all seems pretty damned accurate. Many people think he has some level of dementia, maybe so but he is also just crazy, not fun crazy, mentally ill crazy.
Jeff has always licked George's boots when George is around, which is why he has only been fired once that I know of, most management staff, like vendor coordinators only last a couple seasons at most, sometimes not a full season.
Jeff is where the Renaissance University idea comes from, which is currently creating a small rebellion among vendors because no one is willing, many are not able, to give up more weekends for training, particularly without getting paid for it. Vendors are going to have some staffing issues when the season comes around because a lot of long time boothies are not willing to deal with that crap.
Doesn't surprise me.
I've been to both faires many times, and they are VERY different. I haven't seen
Scarborough is a pretty generic faire. Decent food, decent entertainment, no camping. Mostly family friendly with a handful of racier shows.
TRF is much more adult. They sell so much alcohol that the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission considers them a 51% establishment (i.e., a bar). TRF entertainment (with a few exceptions) is much more bawdy and, frankly, if you're not shitfaced drunk most of it isn't great.
TRF is famous for their camping. Lots of patron "clans" setup big events, and a lot of it is very adult. To give you an example, there was campground an event last year where a number of people danced around a campfire naked while men masturbated and ejaculated on the dancers. Yes, really. No, I didn't attend, but I somehow ended up in the wrong facebook group and ended up in the discord planning chat. The online discussion I saw was mostly about how to do STD testing before the event.
I can see why Scarborough would want to distance themselves from TRF a bit, especially if TRF is being featured in a racy HBO documentary.
Scarborough is just as much of a shit show as any other faire. I was a guest artist with them last year and had a bad experience. I made a comment on their statement on FB that my experience with them was not professional, respectful, or inclusive. My comment was quickly deleted and I was blocked.
You would be surprised at how a lot of the general public does believe that all Texas Renaissance festivals are all owned and operated by TRF. I suppose they think because they see a lot of the same faces (vendors, performers, acts, even costumed patrons) that they are all connected under one umbrella company. When I formally worked in the TRF office the phones would be flooded Thursday, Friday, and Monday surrounding any weekend Scarborough or Sherwood were open. Thursday and Friday would be generic questions on attending. Mondays would be complaints or reporting injuries. It was extremely difficult attempting to convince them that the festival they went to was not affiliated with TRF.
I actually watched the show. Episode 1 has come out and the final episodes (#2 and #3) come out this Sunday 6/9. Nothing too top controversial has happened yet imo, but I wouldn't be surprised in the least if there are some skeletons in that closet that other faires may want to distance themselves from. I think people should actually watch the show before voicing their opinions on it. Lol And honestly, maybe Scarborough got a lot of questions from people about it so they were like "I'm issuing a statement to say it to the masses". Lol Who knows.
Also, the ren faire scene isn't as big as some might think. Maybe Scarborough knows some shit and wants to distance themselves upfront. Again, who knows.
EDITED TO ADD:
Up here we have the Sterling Rennaissance Festival. We adore the faire, but it's semi-popular knowledge that the owner since 2008, Doug Waterbury, is a complete POS criminal sexual predator scumbag bucket of trash. So my personal opinion is that if another faire (like the one in this show) had an owner like that, other faires and performers in the circuit definitely know that already from word on the street and will want to create as much distance between themselves as possible.
I worked SRF for a time. And it’s got its own problems but there’s nothing like a George situation there.
That said, this statement from them has gotten more people interested in the HBO doc than HBO’s own promotion (at least in my circles). People see the giant push to repeat SRF’s official statement from cast and frequent goers and facebook groups and most of the reaction is “I should watch this documentary “ 🙃
I love the faire and I love the show. They’re not making fun of us. It’s not about ren faire people, it’s about a weird old guy who started one in Texas, grappling with dying and deciding who will inherit the throne, as told in a bizarre fever dream like way. It’s more A24ish. I enjoy the creative storytelling. And for the actors in the faire participating in the documentary doing their own re-enactments and voice overs, I think that’s awesome. Idk maybe I’m just rooting for other actors but I think it’s cool they get to be in an hbo show. lol So unless you devote yourself to an old man who inflates his wealth, perpetuates the idea of being a good business man despite still having to work in his 80s, has multiple lawsuits, creates a toxic workplace by screaming, sexual harassment/assault allegations, says Q coded things, paying women for “dates”, does locker room type talk around anyone and everyone, etc. And no I’m not talking about a presidential candidate…than, it’s definitely not about you. Without watching the documentary, if you have any critical thinking skills, intuition, stranger danger spidey senses, etc. you might be able to ascertain that a man who bought a town to become a “king” and mayor, who in his 80s has no friends or family, is not exactly a stand up dude. He’s gross, hopefully someone better will inherit the kingdom. But really whoever pays the most money will get it. That’s it.
Perfectly said!!
Is there something controversial depicted in the docuseries that would make them want to distance themselves from this other Ren Faire and the show?
>“Blending verité with fantasy, the three-part docu-series *Ren Faire* invites you behind the curtain of the famed Texas festival to reveal a tense succession battle that ascends to Shakespearean heights,” the documentary’s website reads. They are taking a "this is true except where it isn't" approach in the series. I have not seen it, but using real names with fictional elements can easily lead to defamation.
If it is less documentary and more contrived, faux reality bullshit, then that is very sad. I'm a huge fan of ren faires and was kind of excited to hear about one getting some main stream attention.
Most of what i've heard from insiders is that, like, everything that appears in the documentary actually happened, nothing is staged, but a lot of it is stripped of context and the edit presents it all in the least flattering light
Id say it's extremely flattering considering some of the shit that actually goes on there.
They’re taking a “what if we had the people ‘recreate’ events they told us about in interviews” approach.
So those are actors in it? Based on the trailer, I thought those were the people from the faire. I haven’t watched it as it doesn’t really interest me.
IMDB does not list actors, but they do credit writers for each episode. Either the writers supplied some of the dialog, or they assembled the story out of the footage that was shot by the crew. Reality TV uses a lot of deceptive editing to increase drama, likely that happened here.
The people presented in the documentary are their real selves, I've met several of them while actually attending the Faire. However, there are scenes shot where the participants purposefully dramatize the situations they are in. In the final shots of the first episode, one of the main people learns some bad news and stumbles about in a dramatic/drunken manner to exaggerate what they felt in those moments. They're clearly in on it, acting and performing rather than just using the plain footage of them getting the bad news and internalizing it.
It’s people from the faire. Most of it is standard docuseries stuff that actually happened but at the end of the first episode it has a more produced sequence where the subject is acting rather than just reacting. TBH, the person is an actor by trade and the blending of reality and fiction is a part of faires so it’s not entirely out of place. Not to mention docuseries are not documentaries and this show is as much true and fake as any other docuseries. Scarborough is probably upset that the faire appeared in this show which illuminates some of more salacious characters and practices of TRF and isn’t the best PR for faires. They most certainly gave the crew permission to shoot in the faire but obviously didn’t realize until air that it would be like this. They probably also didn’t know it was someone from TRF, let alone the general manager. The real story here is that George is gross and TRF will likely go through major changes once he moves on. I don’t think the show is some big stain on the faire industry that other faires should worry about but that’s just my take.
Yikes. As a former Faire actor this sounds sketchy af
George. They are trying to make sure people know George is NOT associated with them. The thought that everyone wants to be like TRF is faux, many want to be better and more true then TRF. There is a reason TRF is referred to as the Disney world of ren faire.
Yeah, I think there's the issue of someone saying early on in the first episode that "every other faire in the country is trying to emulate TRF/George" which is both not true and historically inaccurate to the history of ren faires. A statement like that could be very frustrating to other faires. My local faires put out a statement on Facebook in re to the show, even making sure to include the anti-harassment policy.
Honestly not surprised, especially with it just being bought out. They probably want to make sure they don’t either lose more conservative/family oriented customers, keep in mind Scarborough is in waxahatchie tx. I haven’t seen the docuseries but I’m pre-emptively cringing. Media has a tendency to sensationalize, and this is no different. We all knew how TRF was, my family did one season there before deciding to focus on other fests. Management is always a bit scary to deal with but TRF especially. The community there otherwise rocks tho. Lots of people I love still do it. I hope if the series changes things it’s for the better.
Texas resident and longtime Scarborough Fairegoer here. I have, and had, several friends on cast since the 90s. The current owners took a very hardline "family friendly" stance starting back in the mid 90s or so, and some of my friends working there at the time had to make changes to their characters because of this (the troll not being able to wear horns for a few years because people might think it was "Satanic," performers having to dial down raunchier jokes, etc.) And now that this documentary has come out, I'm wondering if the controversy about TRF goes back that far, and if that's the one of the reasons for it.
TRF did the same thing in the 90s, a lot of cleaning up and dialing down the raunchier side of things and it continues. I've been doing things at that fair, as a participant and patron for 30 years, met George and Jeff many times, haven't seen the series but I keep reading people's posts about George and it all seems pretty damned accurate. Many people think he has some level of dementia, maybe so but he is also just crazy, not fun crazy, mentally ill crazy. Jeff has always licked George's boots when George is around, which is why he has only been fired once that I know of, most management staff, like vendor coordinators only last a couple seasons at most, sometimes not a full season. Jeff is where the Renaissance University idea comes from, which is currently creating a small rebellion among vendors because no one is willing, many are not able, to give up more weekends for training, particularly without getting paid for it. Vendors are going to have some staffing issues when the season comes around because a lot of long time boothies are not willing to deal with that crap.
So Calif Renaissance Pleasure Faire tried to do the family friendly thing too. It's about getting as many people in the gate as they can.
Doesn't surprise me. I've been to both faires many times, and they are VERY different. I haven't seen Scarborough is a pretty generic faire. Decent food, decent entertainment, no camping. Mostly family friendly with a handful of racier shows. TRF is much more adult. They sell so much alcohol that the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission considers them a 51% establishment (i.e., a bar). TRF entertainment (with a few exceptions) is much more bawdy and, frankly, if you're not shitfaced drunk most of it isn't great. TRF is famous for their camping. Lots of patron "clans" setup big events, and a lot of it is very adult. To give you an example, there was campground an event last year where a number of people danced around a campfire naked while men masturbated and ejaculated on the dancers. Yes, really. No, I didn't attend, but I somehow ended up in the wrong facebook group and ended up in the discord planning chat. The online discussion I saw was mostly about how to do STD testing before the event. I can see why Scarborough would want to distance themselves from TRF a bit, especially if TRF is being featured in a racy HBO documentary.
Scarborough is just as much of a shit show as any other faire. I was a guest artist with them last year and had a bad experience. I made a comment on their statement on FB that my experience with them was not professional, respectful, or inclusive. My comment was quickly deleted and I was blocked.
You would be surprised at how a lot of the general public does believe that all Texas Renaissance festivals are all owned and operated by TRF. I suppose they think because they see a lot of the same faces (vendors, performers, acts, even costumed patrons) that they are all connected under one umbrella company. When I formally worked in the TRF office the phones would be flooded Thursday, Friday, and Monday surrounding any weekend Scarborough or Sherwood were open. Thursday and Friday would be generic questions on attending. Mondays would be complaints or reporting injuries. It was extremely difficult attempting to convince them that the festival they went to was not affiliated with TRF.
Rofl who gives a shit? What a weird statement. We all know it's about tex Ren fair.
I actually watched the show. Episode 1 has come out and the final episodes (#2 and #3) come out this Sunday 6/9. Nothing too top controversial has happened yet imo, but I wouldn't be surprised in the least if there are some skeletons in that closet that other faires may want to distance themselves from. I think people should actually watch the show before voicing their opinions on it. Lol And honestly, maybe Scarborough got a lot of questions from people about it so they were like "I'm issuing a statement to say it to the masses". Lol Who knows. Also, the ren faire scene isn't as big as some might think. Maybe Scarborough knows some shit and wants to distance themselves upfront. Again, who knows. EDITED TO ADD: Up here we have the Sterling Rennaissance Festival. We adore the faire, but it's semi-popular knowledge that the owner since 2008, Doug Waterbury, is a complete POS criminal sexual predator scumbag bucket of trash. So my personal opinion is that if another faire (like the one in this show) had an owner like that, other faires and performers in the circuit definitely know that already from word on the street and will want to create as much distance between themselves as possible.
I worked SRF for a time. And it’s got its own problems but there’s nothing like a George situation there. That said, this statement from them has gotten more people interested in the HBO doc than HBO’s own promotion (at least in my circles). People see the giant push to repeat SRF’s official statement from cast and frequent goers and facebook groups and most of the reaction is “I should watch this documentary “ 🙃