RE-CREATION  VS  RE-ENACTMENT 

A Point of Clarification: 

We, the Isle of Standauffish Renaissance Guild are not a Re-enactment Guild, but a re-creation Guild, much like the other organizations like the SCA, ECS and Adrian Empire. We are unique in the fact that we tend to blend the two, depending on what event we are at. What is the difference between a Reenactor and a Recreationist, you ask? Well simply put a reenactor is an actor that portrays a person that lived in history, then performs that role at Faires, etc. Most though not all reenactors will get out of costume at the end of the day, so effectively they are performers. 

A recreationist portrays "someone who could have lived" in his or her chosen time frame. Once you have picked a name, character and time frame you become that persona. You actually live the life and times of that person. We have a seventy question persona worksheet. The ideal is usually stated as "if you were dropped back in time today, would you be able to pass as the person you claim to be". Members of ours and other recreation groups then strive to obtain that ideal as much as is possible for the individual. Hence battles such as you see at SCA wars are not choreographed events, and awards and titles earned are both real and taken seriously. Household are formed with a complete infrastructure and chain of command. We bow to our Kings and Queens and mean it.

A comment was made that some of our members need to remember they are actors and should not be seen in
costume after hours. To this I say that events and Faires are attended by groups such as ours so that we have an opportunity to live our personas "in the flesh". Though we are on diplay as a group, we are not performers, we are living personas. Our camp is not a display, it is our home. Our "costumes" are not costumes, they are garb, the clothing we wear, much the same as a Lady from India wearing her native Sari is not in costume. We expect faire patrons to respect that and most do. The rope around our encampment is our border, our fence. It is customary to ask permission to enter a camp, unless it has been opened for public viewing. Hence the Guard at the gates of most encampments. This is practised even at our own events not open to the public out of common courtesy. I would not just walk into your house uninvited. While we do provide education, demonstrations and entertainment to Faire patrons, it is done so in the living out of our personas. 

Also it needs to be stated that Ren Faires and similar events, especially after hours, are adult entertainment. While no one claims to justify lewd and inappropriate public behavior, it is a fact that participants relish the good old days of the Medieval times. Our mottos is "Live the Medieval times as they should have been". The honor, the chivalry, the battles, the reveling around the fire. This calls to the warrior spirit in all of us. We leave behind the Plague, the head lice, and the rotten food, and we don't really want to kill each other, but the lure of the rest burns deep within us. 

It has been said we create our own Valhalla. And its true... for short periods in the year we escape our mundane lives... we battle all day, feast and revel all night and the next day rise do it all again. The camaraderie, the chivalry and the sport make all the hard work making our own garb, sewing tents, building equipment and encampments all worthwhile. In the process our members are learning and teaching arts and skills.. And our children are also learning and leading active outdoor lives away from those evil video games. This is our recreation, our sport, our lifestyle.  This in truth is our Valhalla.