The King and the Fool 2011, and an edited Appalachian

Last one! I don't know what was going on for this show. There were No, None, photos of the full stage with the cast that I could find, and believe me, I looked. I solicited every Reveler I could think of. I scavenged on Facebook pages, and googled every permutation of the words I could come up with. This collage is mostly close-ups of various cast members, and I think there may even be a photo from a different show. But it was a Great show--just wish I had more that reflected it.

And last (LAST!), but not least, I was concerned about the resolution of some of the photos I used for the Appalachian show, so I changed it up a little. Here's the edited version:

Spanish Treasure, and Christmas in Old Europe

Almost done with this series of posts--just one left after these two.

I love the photos from the "Spanish Treasure" Christmas Revels. They really make me wish I'd been in it!

Now, off we go to Eastern Europe, to the Balkans, with an enormous and elegant clock created just for our Empress, and a story centered around what would happen if we really could stop time.

Oh, I gotta tell you: The "monsters" are called Kukeri, and the are traditional to the area, in many iterations. Locals don them, and wander the streets. Again, they were created by Barbara Millikan, creature-creator supreme. You can spot Barb posing with three of them in the bottom left photo in the collage.

A French Medieval Celebration, & A Visit to the Scandinavian Northlands

In 2006, Portland Revels produced their Christmas show for that year, "A French Medieval Celebration of the Winter Solstice." Here's the photo collage I created for it:

We've already seen 2007's "Haddon Hall", so I'll move on to 2008, with "A Visit to the Scandinavian Northlands." Check out the awesome trolls and other mythical beings created by Barbara Millikan, who also makes our dragon every year!

(Just a reminder: These are very large, and I've uploaded them that way. Click on them to see the whole collage, because only a third to a quarter of each one actually shows on this page.)

Portland Revels Does Shakespeare; Christmas in Appalachia

What would happen if the most famous dancer of the Elizabethan era, Tom Kemp, were sent to a small village with instructions to prepare a celebration for Queen Elizabeth, shortly to arrive? Just for starts, each villager would manage to grab a page from one of Shakespeare's plays, and at the appropriate time (or, more like, inappropriate) would leap up, recite a line from a death scene, and die forthwith (in the acting sense, not in reality!). In this collage, look for a scene where every cast member on the stage, except one woman reciting the line, "And the rest is silence," and the queen's party--every villager--lies dead on the stage.

Somewhere in Appalachia, on Christmas Eve, travelers arrive at the small church where the locals have gathered to sing, dance, and feast the holiday. The travelers and townsfolk share their folk traditions, stories, and songs. One traveler, however, attempts to steal the music, grabbing it and stuffing it into a bag that grows larger and noisier with each stolen tune. Will he get away with it?

A Second King and the Fool, and a Scottish show

Today's photo collages (with hopefully one or two more to come) are both from Portland Christmas Revels shows set in the British Isles, the first in England proper, the second in Scotland.

Revels Haddon Hall, and Irish in America

Two more photo collages, one set in Haddon Hall in England, and one in Ireland. Both, I believe were set in the 1930's, but the plot for Haddon Hall involves a family buying the Hall and moving in, only to find that when Christmas arrives, the cabinets open, and long-departed inhabitants come out to celebrate.

This is Haddon Hall:

And these are scenes from the Irish show:

I'm posting these collages in aid of our 20th Anniversary Jubilee, and being very brief, because I haven't thought of these posts as "real", but I have to say, each one reminds me what a wonderful Christmas/Solstice show Portland Revels puts on every year, and how much fun and light they bring to my winter world, whether I'm in the cast or on the stage, as I have been for twelve of the nineteen shows. Revels is not just a part of my life, it's a part of my soul.

Celestial Fools, and a Party in Italy

Picture a drab, brown village in the middle of nowhere. Now picture three fantastically garbed medieval clowns arriving, and the party that ensues, along with magic, wonder, song, comedy, and dance. That was 2001 for the Portland Christmas Revels.

I'm skipping 2002 for now, as I don't have that collage done. I'll be back!

In the meantime, the solstice celebrations have moved, in 2003, to Italy:

Portland Christmas Revels shows for 1998-2000

Portland Revels has done two shows of a Celtic nature. The first, in 1998, was broader in focus, encompassing traditions from Scotland, England, and Wales. (Don't quote me there--it's been nearly twenty years, and I'm going by memory.) These are very large images; click on them to see what isn't fitting on the page.

After that came the first French Medieval show, in 1999.

Then, in 2000, a Victorian Show.

Portland Christmas Revels Northlands show, 1997

1997 was the year of our first Northlands show, and featured the national choreographer of Norway, a champion pole dancer (it's a folk form, not what you're thinking! Quite an amazing dance, though.), and a quartet of folk singer-musicians from Karelia, in Russia. I loved this show, and enjoyed talking to the choreographer about my name, which is very popular in Norway.

The first full show Portland Revels put on was in 1996, "The King and the Fool". (For those of my readers who still check in from time to time, 2014 marks our 20th year. These collages are part of the celebration.)

The first Portland Christmas Revels show was produced in 1995. This is a photo collage of shots from that show, which I've heard described as a "sampler". To see the collage in its entirety, just click on it. You can also press F11 on your keyboard to go completely full screen; pressing F11 again will bring back your headers and footers, and whatever other doodads you're accustomed to. Want to see it even larger? Click on the photo again, which will enlarge it to full size.