In our mission all do honor to our most royal mercy Queen Elizabeth! God, save the Queen!
God, save the Queen!
Good people!
Our heart is glad to gaze once more on the verdant rolling hills of this village,
our fondness retreat in all of England.
Past we anticipate that our stay be filled with some recreation, we have a serious purpose for our sojourn.
Village Pillory New York Renaissance Faire
My dream was always to come to America.
I will see it in dreams, I will see it in thoughts and as always thoughts - I will come here.
That's where my love for the Renaissance was discovered.
Out of all places in America.
I was doing street shows in Boston and somebody have told me about the Renaissance Festival.
And then I said: "What do you mean, The Renaissance Festival?"
"How can they have the Renaissance Festival if they don't know the history of it?"
It's not glorious, but there is a certain feel to it.
And...
What else do we have to practice? That's it?
I don't know. I think that's it.
Charlie Chaplin was my hero, Marcel Marceau was...
And that means the gate is open.
I am Shaun Lefon.
I'm a Minstrel of simples which is the human race.
I've been this character for about... Living here about 13 years.
14 years ago?
Yeah, 14 years now.
And the first year I kept kicking and screaming, I did not wanna go to this nerdy thing.
Now, the several thousand dollars with the costumes later and 14 years...
Come as many times as we possibly can.
This is...
This is actually my first year actually, like, dressing up.
Two years ago was when I first came here
and I was just like looking at all the festivities and all that stuff...
And it was just... It was actually really fun!
And now I'm here, and I'm all dressed up, and I think it's way cooler.
And we call this the "Stevie Wonder".
Who has a choice as to where they're born?
We came to work on the 13th day.
We went down to the Florida Keys and we set up
and did a little Renaissance Festival on the side of an airport.
He was right there.
If had I try to have a child in a conventional life I would have put my child in daycare.
I would have not gotten to know my son the way that I know him now.
I've been with him every day of his life and I'm so happy about that.
You just come out of a long relationship didn't want to have a baby with that guy.
And just, basically, pick me off the shelf to make a baby.
There was no idea that we would become a family, that we would continue forward as a couple.
Nothing of that sort.
She did get pregnant and I just never went away.
My name is Alan. I'm 13 this year
and we go around the country as a family, teaching people how to juggle.
We work together, play together, live together, travel together year-round.
When everybody else goes home at the end of the movie, he's still here, his body is still here.
This is their backyard.
When I first got on the road I...
I went because my best friend shot himself in the face.
So I was like: "I had enough oh this! Real life is shit."
So I went on the road.
Boom! We got a looser!
Almost ten years I've been travelling.
There's a sense of family that you don't get anywhere else.
It's about like a travelling hippy calm me and kinda...
Last time I had a relationship was a while ago.
We traveled together, after this fair we went to Texas together, she went to jail.
So I ditched her.
And then with a guy it's been a while.
They break.
Here relationships are kept really short but it's also cool cos you know you have a road dog.
Somebody to.. You know.
Lean on.
For me, the actually the hardest part is remembering to talk at the end of the day.
When I get out of costume at the end of the day
I have a much harder time talking with my voice than I have dropping my voice at the beginning of the day.
We are Queen Elizabeth, first of that name.
Ruler of England, Ireland and Wales.
And this entire kingdom of Shire of Stirling.
We've been this ruler for 22 years.
I have a complete affinity with Elizabeth.
I feel I know her, her pain, her backstory, her very troubled childhood.
And the battles that she had to fight constantly, as a woman of power, in her time and...
I love her!
The connection with the people is extraordinary.
You can tell in their eyes there is a certain freedom.
The margin between the artist, life and a people who witness that...
That's where the magic is created.
American Renaissance