More than 400 years ago, the Elizabethan Age was a period of
human history filled with the pomp of pageants and plays and the
dangerous political intrigues of the royal court. On Saturday, the
annual Northern California Renaissance Faire returns to the South
Valley region for a five weekend run to entertain and enlighten
visitors about Tudor times.
More than 400 years ago, the Elizabethan Age was a period of human history filled with the pomp of pageants and plays and the dangerous political intrigues of the royal court. On Saturday, the annual Northern California Renaissance Faire returns to the South Valley region for a five weekend run to entertain and enlighten visitors about Tudor times.
To celebrate the popular Renaissance Faire, MHAT-19 (Morgan Hill Access TV) and CMAP (Community Media Access Partnership) will broadcast two special “talk shows” of South Valley resident Marty Cheek chatting with guests “Queen Elizabeth I” and “William Shakespeare.” Elizabeth is played by Richmond resident Deirdre Sargent and Shakespeare is played by Jesse Dunn of San Francisco. Both performers are character actors at this year’s Northern California Renaissance Faire.
Videotaped in MHAT-19’s downtown Morgan Hill studio in August, Queen Elizabeth discusses her life and times. She describes her difficult relationship with her half sister Mary, a devote Catholic. When the two were young, they had a gracious relationship with each other. But when Mary ascended the throne after the death of their teenage brother Edward, she grew paranoid of political power seekers and jealous of Elizabeth’s popularity.
Queen Elizabeth also describes one of the most terrifying times in England’s history – when the empire of Spain tried to invade the island. King Philip of Spain had been married to Mary, and after her death, he wanted Elizabeth’s hand in marriage to extend his political power.
“I was kind to him for diplomacy sake,” the queen said. “When I declined his advances, I’m afraid he did not take it very well.”
Philip was a “weak ruler,” she explained. “He was ruled by his own indecision and paranoia rather than by faith in God and the good advice of counselors about him. He only had men about him who would tell him what he wanted to hear.”
In the summer of 1588, King Philip’s fleet of war ships sailed north to attack Elizabeth’s England.
“When he did build this armada and sail it forth to try to conquer England, well, God himself did raise a storm and sink all those ships,” Queen Elizabeth said. “We did not have to fight one man. So that should tell all the people of Philip’s country whose side God was on.”
William Shakespeare discusses how he as a young man from Stratford-Upon-Avon he traveled to London and rose in his career to be the eminent playwright of the English stage.
When Cheek asked Shakespeare what he thought of the modern entertainment medium of movies, and if he might like to write screenplays for the art form of cinema, Shakespeare said, “I think the opportunities for the writers are literally huge … There would be interest to it (for me). But I could never abandon the stage entirely. There’s a power and intimacy that comes from the living actor and a magic that comes from every performance because of the differences of the audience.”
Both Elizabeth and Shakespeare said they have traveled to California to promote the Northern California Renaissance Faire. The faire is set in the village of Willington at the Casa de Fruta resort on Pacheco Pass. The faire provides a fun time for families, as young children and teenagers will be entertained by all the attractions of the event such as jousting, jugglers, Tudor-style snacks and comical plays.
For information, visit www.norcalrenfaire.org.
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On CMAP:
The Queen Elizabeth program will air Sunday, Sept. 19 at 11 a.m. and Thursday, Sept. 23 at 6:30 p.m.
The Will Shakespeare program will air Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 6:30 a.m. and Saturday, Sept. 25 at 11 a.m.
On MHAT-19:
The Queen Elizabeth program this Saturday and Sunday at 7 p.m. It will also air this Sunday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The William Shakespeare program will air this Saturday and 7:30 p.m. It will also air this Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
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– To watch the watch the Renaissance Faire talk shows online, visit MHAT-19’s website at http://blip.tv/file/4096520 (for Queen Elizabeth) and http://blip.tv/file/4096422 (for William Shakespeare).
– Check next week’s listings for broadcast times on MHAT-19 at www.mhat.tv and on CMAP at www.cmap.tv
