Official Dickens Fair Performer Page
Official Dickens Fair Missive Page
Back to Dickens Christmas Fair Backup Performer Missive Page


Dickens Christmas Fair 2007 November Missive #5 - Opening Weekend!
(sent November 21st, 2007)

We could try that "so many hours to opening" thing, but I don't think any of us has the time to figure it out... <grin>

Thanks to everyone who was at the Round Robin on Sunday, it was really great. We're now estimating we have between 140 and 150 Dickens characters and you all looked marvelous!

Quick correction:  The folks from "Inside City Limits" are coming on Saturday, not Friday.

So here we go, take a deep breath, and this weekend remember to eat, drink water, silence your cel phones and...

Shoes first, then corset!

Happy Thanksgiving!
and since I missed it on Sunday - Happy Birthday Rydel!

In This Missive:
Pass House Hours
Costume Department Opening Weekend Hours
Lost & Found
Reminders from Fezziwig's
Public Restroom Etiquette
DCF 2007 Stage Schedule
The Return of the Boar's Head Parade
Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String...
Gentlemen!  You Have Been Warned!
Note from Mr. & Mrs. Fezziwig
Note from The Green Man Public House
Paid Opening at the Photo Parlour
More on the Marin Theater Company
Fire Relief Benefit at Sal's - Saturday Evening, December 8th, 2007


Pass House Hours
Regular Pass House hours will be 8:00AM-3:00PM on the weekends
This Friday and Saturday only, special pass house hours will be 8:00AM-5:00PM
The pass house is located in the green room bay, opposite costumes. This is where you would go to replace a lost pass (be careful with those things!) and deal with any similar paperwork issues. This is also where visiting performers check in, so if you see any lost looking morris dancers or carollers, please assist them in finding it.


Costume Department Opening Weekend Hours
The Costume Department will be open for costume approvals opening weekend  9 am to noon on Friday, Saturday & Sunday mornings.

We look forward to seeing you in all your finery.

Lost & Found
For the audience, lost and found will be at the Merchandise Booth at the front of the fair. For participants, it will be at the Ops Trailer in the breezeway.


Reminders from Fezziwig's
(from Barbara Evangelista)
Two reminders for all participants from Fezziwig's:

1. Fezziwig's is "live" at 10am, so no anachronism's inside!

2. Please be quiet in the Fezziwig bay during the tableau (approx. 10:55 - 11:15am). We know we can't control the customers in the lobby, but every little bit helps.
Thanks!


Public Restroom Etiquette
Please remember not to change your clothes in the public restrooms after 10:30 AM.  - we do have customers being escorted into the bathrooms even before we open, and we don't want to completely dispel the illusion before it's even been set.


DCF 2007 Stage Schedule
There have been a few minor tweaks to the stage schedule, now downloadable from the missives site at http://www.cattaylor.com/missives.html. Please note that the Panto will not be there on opening day, so that day's schedule is different from all other days. This is just the grid schedule, not the pretty schedule that will be given to the audience.


and the following three related items from Therese:

The Return of the Boar's Head Parade
The Boar's Head Procession is a very old and beautiful English Christmas tradition.  It was a staple of earlier Dickens Fairs, and we are reviving it this year.  It will step off from the Green Room sometime between 5:00 and 5:15 and end up in Fezziwigs by 5:30.  If you see the parade raise a hat, or a cheer (God Bless the Boar's Head), or remark to a visitor what a fine seasonal thing it is.


Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String...
One of the things the Christmas Keepers will be doing is bustling about with parcels.  Those parcels will be wrapped in brown paper and tied with string (just a few of my favourite things!).  If you receive - or find - a parcel marked "From The Christmas Keepers," do not open it (it's just an empty box).  Please return it to the Other Books/Christmas Keepers area in the Green Room.
 
Also, if you are a member of the "deserving poor" and you would like to be made the object of extreme Victorian charity, talk to Sharon Collier or Therese Porter about arranging a special "charity call" from a horde of Christmas Keepers.


Gentlemen!  You Have Been Warned!
If you wander through the streets of London with sloppy or sub-standard neckwear, you may find yourself the object of the attentions of Sir Mulberry Hawk's Gentlemen's Cravat Fashion Posse, and be subjected to an impromptu lesson in the finer points of what's wound round your neck.


Note from Mr. & Mrs. Fezziwig
Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig invite everyone to visit their Christmas Party,  Please do come and enjoy the party, but remember that the customers are our most important guests, and to that end, please also dance with them as well as with other cast members.

Thank you
Dave Batzloff
AKA Mr. Fezziwig, Proprietor of Fezziwig's Warehouse, purveyours of the finest teas, and host of the best Christmas Party in all of London
AKA The Director of Fezziwig's


Note from The Green Man Public House
"The Green Man Public House thanks all of you for not coming to visit on Sunday, when the Parlour was still under construction. Your forbearance is appreciated.
 
However, beginning Friday at 11 AM we are once again open and receiving. Please feel free to come and engage in interaction with the patrons and your fellow performers. We offer the usual amenities gratis, and some refreshments by subscription. Lunch is not one of them except by prior arrangement, so if you think you eating our lunch - please see me before we loose the hounds on you.
 
Bear in mind that Mr. Dickens does read  here at 12:00, 2:00, 4:00 and 5:30 - so please come in quietly at those times, and do not disturb his masterful readings. The Pickwick Club lunches with us at 1 PM, and Brass Farthing at 2:30 - you may most certainly come in and make noise then, as all those gentlemen are as loud and jolly as possible.
 
Now for the mean and scary warning: Remember, we are the Green Man - NOT the Green Room. We are a stage. You are actors. Please stay in character at all times. Do not remove your clothing, take out cameras, use your cell phones, etc. We do not have the room or security to store your props or costumes. We very definitely do not have the room or security to store your children: unaccompanied tots will be promptly housed with Security.
 
Any questions may be addressed to Kathleen Bartholomew (Mrs. Bombay). I'm in the Parlour 98%^ of the day, and can be reached alternatively at materkb@hotmail.com. And a good Opening  and Happy Christmas to you all!


Paid Opening at the Photo Parlour
Dickens Help Wanted  Great Pay.  Fashion Maven and  dresser for the Photo Parlour, Pay starts at  $12 per hour with bonuses depending upon booth gross.  Please contact Alwyn@willitsonline.com or call 707 272-1108.  Thanks.


More on the Marin Theater Company
Remember that nice offer from Marin Theatre Company? Guess why our own Gary Grossman can't do there fair this year - he's in the cast!


Fire Relief Benefit at Sal's - Saturday Evening, December 8th, 2007
After a hard working day at the Dickens Fair, wouldn't you like the chance to sit back, relax with a warming drink, a good friend, and listen to some great music? Mad Sal's Dockside Ale House is pleased to host an evening of fun and merriment - and since it's Sal's - the naughty bits. We'll be showcasing some of our local talent, along with the opportunity to purchase libations from the bar and food from our own Patrick Morris.
 
Come listen to the sounds of The Stark Ravens, The Naughty Minstrels, The Ladies Oratorical and Recreational Society, The Broadside Music Hall, Brass Farthing, Paddy West and much, much more. Did we say "burlesque"?? Did we say familiar songs perfomed the way they should be if it's "Dickens After Dark??" Did we mention some of those fine folks from Naughty French Postcards???
 
And it's all for a good cause, an effort to assist one of our own. Mr. David Springhorn and his family were hit particularly hard by the fires that ravaged Southern California this fall. Your donations that evening will help them enjoy a brighter Christmas than a FEMA tree and a few pieces of tinsel salvaged from the shredder machines at the Pentagon. Come on down to the dockside - you know you want to.
 
When: Saturday evening, December 8th, 2007
Time: 8 p.m.
Admission is free with your gate pass; donations gratefully accepted.
Inquires may be sent to: Robin Driskill, marancym@earthlink.net   
 


To sign up for the missives, please email missives@redbarnproductions.org, and request to be added to the missive list.


Link to Cat Taylor's Homepage