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Sarjenka Hendricks

Dr. Cassel

ENG 1201 English Composition II

December 10th, 2021

Renaissance Faire and Polyamory

‘Come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination’ (Willy

Wonka) is a phrase that properly captures the wonder and joy of being

drawn into the splendor of a renaissance festival. I had my own moment of

wonder and joy the moment that I stepped onto the grounds. Being able to

step into a place that didn’t look like Ohio was magical, but being able to

step into a character with the correct clothes and accouterments made it

seem like a world unto its own. After a while, one can sink even farther into

the atmosphere created by the ren faire, if one allows themselves to be, so

they are able to see more than just what the regular visitors can see. Which

I sank into after getting my own period accurate clothes, as I was introduced

to a young man named Coyote and a world I knew nothing of beyond in

literature, but it was common in the ren faire world. Those people who allow

themselves to see beyond what the ren faire offers up front can find a

subculture within the Rennies, a shortened term for renaissance players,

including those who find themselves drifting towards polyamory.

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Renaissance festivals, also known as Renaissances faires or ren

faires/fests, are based on the Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire that was

started in 1963 in Southern California (The Faire). Since that time, ren faires

have cropped up not just in the United States, but all over the world. They

attract thousands of people every year (The Faire). The faires are more than

just a place for someone to dress up and play pretend, but they are for

anyone that decides to walk in and simply wander about to visit the vendors

and see the performers. Each ren faire will have a setup on various amounts

of acreage where there will be shops, performers, bars, and various

activities that fit in among the time period set for their theme.

The Ohio Renaissance Festival was started in 1990 and is located in

Harveysburg, Ohio on 30 acres (Ohio Renaissance Festival). It is set across

nine themed weekends, has 43 shows, 120 plus daily performances, and 150

plus shops. Each themed weekend is announced in advance so participants

are aware of what will be going on and for those that are interested in the

life, will know what to dress as for that theme. It is not something that is

required, but it is recommended to fully experience the atmosphere that

forms on the grounds.

For the ones who do immerse themselves in the theme of the reign of

Queen Elizabeth I of England (Ohio Renaissance Festival), they are able to

play along with the cast. It involves following certain unspoken rules like

bowing to royalty, speaking in an accent (not necessarily British), and

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depending on what you are dressed as, acting a certain way (Arentz). There

is also the aspect of dressing appropriately for the time period or for a

fantasy realm. There are fairies, cast members dressed as fairies, that

wander the grounds that do activities one would associate with folk tales of

fairies, but the more benevolent kind (Plaugher). Depending on the

weekend, there are time travelers, various Scottish clans, and even a large

grouping of Vikings that return every weekend. Not everyone is a cast

member in terms of parts played, but some are cast members in terms of

being workers in the shops. All the shops have a theme that fits with what

they sell and how they dress (Logsden). There is a sense of camaraderie

among the cast as well as they go through multiple weekends enduring

various changes in weather and temperament of guests that they have a

unique atmosphere behind the fences that no one sees.

Behind the fence that lines the Ohio Ren Faire, this may be a different

boundary at different locations, there is a campground that some of the cast

members and crew stay at during the weekend (Plaugher). This allows them

to be on property for the whole time so they are on time and do not have to

travel far when the day is over. According to several cast members though,

this is where one can see the different types of lifestyles that a ren faire, and

the Rennies themselves, can offer. Not only do these types of lifestyles

include various portions of the BDSM culture, but specificially they most

often include the polyamorous lifestyle.

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Polyamory is a type of relationship where it involves more than just

two participants in not just a sexual content (Hartman). This relationship can

be any combination of genders, sexual identities, sexual orientations, and

amount of people that one prefers to have in a polyamorous relationship.

Polyamory is also called ethical or consensual non-monogamy. In terms of

marriage if one is married to more than one spouse it is called polygamy or

polyandry depending on the setup and gender of spouses. According to a

BBC Future article ‘83% of societies around the world allow polygamy’

(Hogenboom).

Most of the research collected on polyamory focuses on the

relationships found mainly in the US, with a metaphorical handful focused on

foreign countries. Polyamory and polygamy are written about together as

some countries and/or states allow multiple marriages. According to

research done by Pew Research, only approximately 2% of the world

population live in what would be considered polygamous households

(Kramer).

The dynamics in a polyamorous or polygamous relationship is rather

fascinating as there is more focus on interpersonal communications not just

among themselves, but among beings outside of the household (Rubinsky).

Most households are monogamous and may not have any interactions with

beings who are polyamorous, though from interviews it is clear that at some

point people may be briefly exposed to the concept. Whether that exposure
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is just a simple mention of it in a TV program, book, internet page, or

blatant talks about it from friends or random interactions, it shows that it is

not as completely obscure as some would believe it to be (Doe).

Polyamory is a relationship that showcases an extreme amount of love

and overwhelming amount of communication between partners even if the

female partner of the main female in the relationship is not in a sexual

relationship with the male partner of the main female. Everyone in the

relationship knows who the others are and where they are at in the

relationship.

On the grounds of the Renaissance Faire though, it is not of a

permanent nature though in some cases it is entirely possible it may be. The

exact nature of a ren faire is more of a transient nature as store owners may

bounce between various faires and the employees have other jobs beyond

the faire. This allows one to explore various types of subcultures without

concern about it having to last longer than a weekend (Plaugher).

Polyamory is one subculture that is explored and sometimes continued

beyond the faire grounds. According to several cast members and

employees, it is a normal occurrence and most do not even think about it.

From a cast member, Michael Plaugher, it is not something that is really

mentioned as it is not treated as a big deal. Several relationships have been

sparked while on the grounds (Plaugher). It is even common for employees

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in stores to flirt with guests, and in the case of the author, be promptly

asked out and invited into a poly relationship.

On the campground, employees will engage in various types of sexual

behavior including unsafe behavior, but a temporary polyamorous

relationship for the season is typical (Logsden). There are negotiations like

with any sort of polyamorous relationship as those are the most important

part of it (Hartman). Communication is key to any successful relationship,

but even more important to a polyamorous one as that is the only way to

properly state expectations and who would prefer to date whom. This

conversation also includes whether or not the relationship continues after

the faire.

Most of the relationships formed during the season do not continue

after the season (Arentz). This may be because of the fact that the cast

members and employees have to go back to their ‘normal’ life rather than

existing in a world separate from what one does on a daily basis. They are

allowed to escape their own lives not just in their character that they play,

but in what they do behind the scenes.

Cast members start out generally as guests at one point before they

audition and officially become cast members or supporting staff (Plaugher).

According to several people randomly spoken to in lines at the faire, there is

something about the faire that draws one in. It does not have to be in terms

of the actual setting, but it seems to be in regards to the atmosphere

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created by the cast, crew, and the life they create around them that draws

one in. The life that they create in the atmosphere is something most people

do not have the privilege of interacting with, so it is tantalizing.

Renaissance festivals and polyamory are not something that one would

consider going hand in hand, but it would appear that the two subjects do. It

is something I even experienced not once, but multiple times on the

grounds. It is easy to lose oneself in the atmosphere and enjoy the world

created. Yet, being taken in by the charm of people who are open about

their lives and showcase that yes, they are poly, and this is a community

where they thrive was breathtaking. I lost myself in it and made plenty of

friends in the long run through the experience. Now, it does not mean that it

is something that everyone gets sucked into the minute they step on the

grounds, but it is something that one can see or maybe even be involved in

as time goes on. The whole point is to escape their own reality and for a

period of time become something different. Nothing is permanent, but the

idea of escaping reality is something that allows one a chance to recharge

and evolve how they think about their own life and their own relationships.
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Bibliography

Arentz, Natasha. In person interview. 22 Oct 2021.

Doe, Daniel. In person Interview. 1 Nov 2021.

Hartman, Travis. In person Interview. 18 Oct 2021.

Hogenboom, M. Polyamorous relationships may be the future of love. BBC

Future. www.bbc.com/future/article/20160623-polyamorous-

relationships-may-be-the-future-of-love.

Kramer, S. Polygamy is rare around the world and mostly confined to a few

regions. Pew Research: Fact Tank, 7 Dec 2020. www.pewresearch

.org/fact-tank/2020/12/07/polygamy-is-rare-around-the-world-and

-mostly-confined-to-a-few-regions/#:~:text=Only%20about%202%

25%200f%20the,that%20share%20is%20under%200.5%25.

Logsden, Kelly. In person Interview. 22 Oct 2021.

Moors, Amy C. et al. “Desire, Familiarity, and Engagement in Polyamory:

Results From a National Sample of Single Adults in the United States.”

Frontiers in Psychology, vol 12, 12 Mar 2021. EBSCOHost. www.ncbi.

nlm.nih.gov/pmc.articles/PMC8023325/

Ohio Renaissance Festival. Cincinnati Web Design, 2021. www.renfestival.

com.

Plaugher, Michael. In person Interview. 18 Oct 2021.

The Faire - The Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire. 2021. www.renfaire.

com/socal/the-faire.
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Willy Wonk and the Chocolate Factory. Directed by Mel Stuart, performance

by Gene Wilder, distributed by Paramount Pictures, 1971.