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Some of the cast of the “Romeo and Juliet” along with other faire goers
mug it up during Coarsegold Union School’s Renaissance Faire and Play.
From left to right back row: Hayley Hyatt (knight), Spenser McConnel,
Nick Birkel, Gina Tempesta, Jodee McMillen, Kyle turner, Andy Woolsey,
Blaine Salisbury (crouching), and Alex Davis. Front row: Chase Carter
and Philip Fayne.
Seventh graders Bryce Simons, Sarah Hudson, and Andrea Scialabba sit in
front of some of the project boards at the recent Coarsegold Union School
Renaisance Faire and Play.
COARSEGOLD — Coarsegold Union School held its annual Renaissance Faire
and Play on Saturday, May 31. Seventh grade teacher Tracey Hurd said the
fair was a tremendous success, “we had a number of demonstrations.” Included
were falconry (with a real eagle, an owl and a falcon), medieval weapons
and armor, medieval games, calligraphy, and brass rubbing. “We just had
so much going on,” said Ms. Hurd.
In the afternoon,
in addition to putting on an abbreviated “Romeo and Juliet,” by Mr. Duff
McCartin’s class, students of the three seventh grade classes, dressed
up in Medieval clothing and presented individual projects based on the
history of the times. Inside the auditorium, the stage proper was ringed
by triptych displays of the various student efforts. Subjects included
historical figures — Mary Queen of Scots, Joan of Arc, Leonardo Di Vince,
Catherine of Aragon, Bloody Mary and others; events — War of the Roses,
the Black Death; and details of the age — inventions, castles, clothing,
food, the life of knights, etc...
The fair was impressive and fun — great for the school, visitors, parents
and most importantly the students. The projects were well executed — the
students knew their areas of study and were enthusiastic about demonstrating
their accomplishments. Medieval music played in the background.
“They choose what they want to learn about,” said Ms. Hurd, “By taking
a subject and hitting it multiple ways, the information sinks in. They
may not know everything about someone else’s board, but they know their
own cold.” It is a different approach to learning — gathering information
on a subject; organizing what is learned on three sided story boards with
a written description, pictures, drawings, and in some cases physical
examples (Caroline Fruth included samples of medieval food for tasting);
dressing up in the appropriate period costume; and finally giving oral
presentations to whichever curious spectator stops at the display. The
result is both educational and entertaining.
Some
examples:
Taylor Phillips walked his audience through various inventions and activities
of medieval times, “The compound Micro-scope was invented In the 1590s
in France. It was expensive to buy and difficult to make. The magnetic
compass was originally from 12th century China” He went on to describe
medieval games such as “Castle,” which was “hard to play because they
kept changing the rules. Fala was a game where you try to sink an opponents
ships,” like the game of Battleship and “Nine’s Man Morris,” which though
over eight hundred years old, is still played today.
“The War of the Roses began in 1455,” said Matt Muzychenko, “It ended
in 1485. There were ten different kings during the war. Each side used
a rose for its symbol.”
Caroline Fruth informs a visitor to her Triptych on Medieval Food and
the Chauserian Feast, “That her demonstration was of a feast of in the
castle — Wastrel Bred means white bread . Cardamom seed cost 850 dollars
for fifty pounds . They used a lot of spices because it hid the flavor
of rotting meat. Juice went bad so they served wine and beer ...” Caroline
also offered a tastes of medieval food.
Erin Lukan talked about Medieval Dress, “Peasants wore simple clothes
... wooden sole shoes with leather sides so they wouldn’t wear out so
soon ... wealthy women were not encouraged to show hair so they wore a
hennon or a butterfly wrap ... ”
Jennifer Carol and Myra Padilla told the listener about Bloody Mary, Catholic
Queen of England, “She ruled for five years and died of cancer,” said
Jennifer. Myra then added, “She wanted everyone to follow her religion.
They called her Bloody Mary because 300 people were burned at the stake
for refusing to be Catholics.”
Leandra Johnson dealt with the terrible Black Plague, “The plague was
carried in the belly of a flea. People would try to escape and leave their
families, but they would be infected and just spread it more. Plagues
are still around today and there are over 200 species that can carry it.”
Tasha Boyd described her subject as, “a semi-fictional character. There
were a lot of Robin Hood types who became outlaws in the forests. But
the story goes that Robin Hood was buried under the arrow which he shot
when he died.”
About Joan of Arc, Stephanie Raines said, “She heard voices when she was
a little girl. They told her to go the church and pray. The voice told
her to free France. She did and then she was captured and was sent to
prison. She was tried and burnt at the stake.”
“Medieval Art started around 400 A.D.,” said James Mumm, “changes really
happened around 1200. Over the next two to three years new art began ...
metal work was popular because it lasted the longest ... It took two years
to copy a manuscript. The First letter was special and took months to
finish ... Artists started to make stained glass in 800 a.d. The designs
used symbols to tell stories.”
Stephanie Raines described three inventions of the middle ages, “Glasses,
matches and the flush toilet valve. In 1280 glasses were invented to fix
near sightedness ... In 1580 matches were made when they realized that
if sulphur and phosphorus were mixed you could make fire ...”
After the presentations were over the crowd took seats to watch a presentation
of “Romeo and Juliet.” Surrounded by medieval atmosphere and history,
the audience enjoyed a different perspective on Shakespeare’s most famous
romantic play. The lovers, Nick Birkel as Romeo and Gina Tempesta as Juliet,
come from warring families. The two struggle to be together in the face
of impossible opposition. They are caught in the middle of the original
Hatfields and McCoys conflict. Just when it seems the two will manage
to overcome family resistance a disastrous mix-up befalls them and both
tragically die.
The three seventh grade teachers, Tracy Hurd, Joel Pflugrath and Duff
McCartin, and their students put on a terrific Faire, play and history
lesson. The community looks forward to next years offering.
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