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Three Towson students spend their weekends working in the 16th century
By Lauren Slavin

For most Towson students, the weekend is a time of relaxation after a long week at school.

Sleeping, studying and the occasional party keep many students occupied on Saturday and Sunday.

But for three Towson students, the weekend is spent working nine hours a day in the 16th century.

These students are employed by the Maryland Renaissance Festival, an outdoor entertainment venue in Annapolis.

“I’m a normal person Monday through Friday,” junior theatre major Alex Li said.

“But Saturday morning I have to get up at seven o’clock in the morning, bright and early; I have to get dressed because we can’t wear normal clothes obviously working at the Renn Faire, we have to wear costumes; and we have to be out of the house by eight o’clock.”

Employees arrive at the fairgrounds around 9 a.m., many still in clothes from the 21st century.

But once the cannon goes off and the festival opens at 10 a.m., modern clothes and slang are replaced with old English and period costumes.

Li works at the Fantasy Guilde Studios where he sells clay nymph and satyr horns that are best sellers throughout the festival.

“Working [at the Renaissance Festival] is different, it’s not like any other job,” Li said.

“It’s a different environment. You don’t have an actual store front, you’re more like just little booths, and you don’t have a cash register or all the different things of modern stores.”

This is Li’s first year working at the Renaissance Festival, but he already benefits from several perks of employment.

“When you get off of work you can enjoy your rest of your day at the faire,” Li said.

“Technically, you’re just getting in for free; granted you work, but you’re also enjoying yourself, which is something I don’t think a lot of other [work] places do.”

The relationships that come from working at the festival are another great part about the job, according to Li.

“I’ve made a lot of friends since working there,” he said. “All the different vendors there are like a really close group, they’re like a family. Every year this is what they do.”

Senior biology major Allison Allen has been a part of this family since her childhood.

Her mother owned a booth at the Renaissance Festival when she was younger, and she started working at the battle axe throwing game when she was 15 years old.

At age 21, she is now the assistant manager.

“The job isn’t very easy; you have to be pretty bulked up to work there,” she said.

“You carry 50 pounds of axes back and forth every 40 seconds to two minutes.”

She works with senior digital art and design major Michael Vares. Because of the heavy lifting, the workers at the battle axe game are predominantly male. But that hasn’t stopped Allen from climbing to the top of the ladder.

“I get to make the men look really silly cause I’m better at it then they are,” Allen joked.

Both Allen and Vares have worked retail jobs, which lack in comparison to working at the Renaissance Festival.

“I was working at Michael’s the past few years. I’d probably get the same amount I get working one weekend [at the festival] over the two week cycle [at Michael’s],” Vares said. “I was only part time [at Michael’s], but still.”

Apart from the pay, there’s also the factor of gratitude from costomers and employers.

“People actually will appreciate you for the things that you do,” Vares said.

“We have some people who are like ‘I can’t believe you do this, this is the hardest job at the faire.’ When I’m at Michael’s I’m picking up crap that people leave all over the place all day, and that’s expected of you.”

Li sees the Renaissance Festival as a more ideal place for someone with his talents to work.

“I think for someone who makes costumes and does theatre it’s more or less a fitting place,” Li said.

The one downside to the job all three students could agree on: the commitment to give up their weekend.

“You are giving up a big chunk of your time to this. I haven’t had a free weekend since the last weekend of August,” Li said.

“But I think what you get out of it in return is really worth it.”

Pulled From: http://www.thetowerlight.com/arts/a-job-for-the-ages-1.2025974