Givens and druthers: It's a five day non-profit event on actual battlefield land. The target is an immersion experience, but you know an airplane will fly by or the sound of a modern train will be heard in the distance, but you get my drift.

You've been there working on something(s) for four days. Getting better at this something with each passing day, and on the fifth day the event has a living history program for the general public, for which they pay a modest fee in the form of a donation to the site.

Would you pack up and leave to avoid the public?

Is this asking too much considering the four days of funk, sweat, dirt, and more funk?

Does this sound like a good trade off for being able to use said site for darn near a week?

Hey, we could strut our stuff for the visitors. Pimping new gear is part of the hobby....

Serious and not-so-serious questions, answers, and groans, please.

Charles,

To me it sounds like a fantastic event and opportunity. I for one don't mind public interaction and would welcome the opportunity, especially after spending five days refining my impression. We have to remember that today's spectator may be tomorrows living historian.  

--Last edited by toptimlrd on 2009-04-28 19:31:21 --

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Charles Heath wrote : Does this sound like a good trade off for being able to use said site for darn near a week?

Yes

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Charles Heath wrote : Would you pack up and leave to avoid the public?

Definitely not. I think it would be a great ending. I hate the end of immersion events because it seems a lot of times, other reenactors are in the "whew, it's almost over, we can start quitting" mode, while I hate to see it end. So having a fresh batch of people who are still enthusiastic would be a great ending.

Except, I just realized, are we talking about first person or third person interpretation? If I was required to switch to third person as "payment" for use of the facility, I would, but it would be way cool to be able to interact with the public in first. I know most would vote against that, saying the public doesn't understand it, but honestly, I've had more reenactors not understand it than members of the public.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

Quote :

Charles Heath wrote : Would you pack up and leave to avoid the public? Is this asking too much considering the four days of funk, sweat, dirt, and more funk? Does this sound like a good trade off for being able to use said site for darn near a week? Hey, we could strut our stuff for the visitors. Pimping new gear is part of the hobby.... Serious and not-so-serious questions, answers, and groans, please.

Is it a good trade off, use of a location for 1 day of work?  I would say so.  Especially if they put advertising monies into it.  Hopefully the organizer or the event and the contact at the facility discussed expectations ahead of time for the public demonstration aspect of it.  This way the attendees know what to expect on day 5 and can prepare for it.

I wouldn't mind staying in 1st person if I had the days ahead to prepare and live that life.  Also I think it is sometimes easier to be able to switch to a 3rd person interpretation if you realize the public isn't understanding.  Maybe part of the pre-planning is drawing up a short 1 page summary to be given to the public when they attend with some background on what they are seeing.

I think being able to build up that nice funk would just be an adder when talking to the public.  We talk about how bad they may have smelled after the marches or things like that.  This would be a good chance to give them 4 of the 5 sense.  Sight, sounds, touch, smell.. (I know some places have restrictions on giving out food, so I left out taste).

Besides if it helps bring preservation of a historic location to the public, then that is a plus too.

Since the public is paying a fee/donation I'm sure expecting reenactors, and the site has let you use the area for, I assume, nothing, it seems very ungracious to leave.

The only way to grow the hobby and to educate the public is to talk to them.

Heck I do it all the time even without the four days to ourselves.

I always think of the guys who don't want to deal with the public the same I did when I was a kid and the guy who brought the ball would take it and go home if he couldn't play QB.

In the end we are better off without him, he wasn't that good in the first place.

Not direct to the question, but the spectators can be informed (signage, literature, etc) that the participants will remain in character unless they remove their hat (or some other such simple sign of shifting to 3rd person).  It's an effective way to let folks know how to relate to the period folk present, and is easy to shift back and forth at need.

Direct answer:  I'd pretty much feel like staying around and contributing to the enlightenment of the public, unless modern life required otherwise.

Bernie,

We've done handouts for visitors before. That's a good suggestion, and the printing expense isn't much.  I suspect some of the visitors will understand what is going on, yet others will be asking "when is the battle?"  Somewhere in between is a good mid-point for basic information, and even those ubiquitous schoolchildren handouts with "questions to ask" aren't all that bad for adults.

I'm trying to reconcile a noon event ending with visitors, and avoid the Friday school group parade. Might have to move the end time to 3 pm and expect a "blast off" around 5 pm. That's running a bit late for those with a day and a half drive home, though.

Tribbles, tribbles....

Yup, that would be my question -- what time on Sunday?  If they're coming by before church, no problem.  If they want to come by after two, it depends on my drive.  I love the idea of interacting, but I have another life to return to.

I'm also thinking of the condition I'm in at the end of some events.  Back in 2001 at Burkittsville I followed up the march on Saturday with serving on a detail guarding CS officers.  As soon as I got back to the company they put me on my first all-night guard mount, one on and two off (remind me to rant about what reenactors do and don't know about guard mount some day).  By Sunday afternoon I was not fit company for innocent spectators, nor should I really have played a role in any firearms demos.

On the other hand, last year at Bristoe Station I could have hung around a bit later, if there had been any call, and would have been happy to.  It was a relatively undemanding event close to home.

So I suppose it just depends.

"It depends" is the best answer at the moment. I kid you not.

Sunday just isn't going to happen. People need that day (and more)for the drive home, and due to the event weariness of most participants, that trek will likely be slower than the outgoing drive on Sunday and Monday.

We have all seen a number of events where the adjunct arrives on site, and a good number of the marchers depart, for various reasons, but chief amongst them are "the best part of the event is over."  Meaning the march itself.  Bentonville 2000 was noteworthy in this regard, but there have been more recent cases. At other times, the scant handful who remain on site ostensibly for "living history" can vary considerably. The last Sunday afternoon demo at the various Shiloh NPS LHs are great examples of this.

Perhaps an advertised "nine until noon" type program would work.

Thanks for your input. This is good stuff. Really.

Charles,

I didn't realize the time situation, perhaps IO misread something in the post. Whereas I do like pubolic interaction I also understand the need to hit the road at the close of an event. I do like the idea of a very specific time frame that allows you to hit the road at a reasonable hour. I would definitely get with the park and made sure all parties were on board on the time situation. It sounds like the 9 til noon or 8 til noon comprpmise is a good one.

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Michael Schaffner wrote :  ...As soon as I got back to the company they put me on my first all-night guard mount, one on and two off (remind me to rant about what reenactors do and don't know about guard mount some day).

Guard mount is a ceremony.  Guard/picket/sentry duty is what one does all day/night after the ceremony.

You owe me a nib.  ;)

OK Charles, I'll bite. Me, I don't like dealing with the public. That said, I don't mind the public being around. Having a uniformed guide that can translate what's going on is a handy thing. Kind of like Jim Butler did at Westville with the "Docents".

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flattop32355 wrote :   Guard mount is a ceremony.  Guard/picket/sentry duty is what one does all day/night after the ceremony. You owe me a nib.  ;)

Sorry, but that's like quibbling over the difference between grand guards and pickets.  Pedants only get the old rusty ones...

Back on point, the Docent idea works pretty well.  I'll just add the perhaps unnecessary suggestion that it not necessarily be the guy who most likes talking to the public.

Robert & Mike,

Having a third person guide, or as we've said so often "daylight candlight tours," can be useful to platoon the visitors through the area.  Having visitors wander through on their own hook isn't always the best idea, especially since the camps will be mostly vacated or coming down at that point on the schedule.

Rob, most folks don't have the cajones to say what you did, but the vast majority of participants don't do this sort of an event for the public, and in many ways the public is akin to just another modern intrusion.  Most events have way too many of those, and I don't mean modern invasive vegetation either.

We have enough interp opportunities at the many living histories throughout the year, and probably more than enough for some. We don't have that many events for "just us."  

Sigh. Ain't compromise grand?