A Tale of Two Worlds

Living a Fantasy Life: Or, Who are Those Guys with Swords?


Everyone has a way to escape the reality of a stressful and busy life. Some people immerse themselves in novels, following the hero’s fantastic adventures. Others become avid movie buffs, daydreaming about being the charming British playboy who wins the heart of the shockingly beautiful girl-next-door (though I’m sure they imagine themselves with better teeth), or as the muscle-bound hunk of a hero who saves the city single-handedly before winning the girl. For some, though, being a passive observer in the lives of the fictional characters they so want to be simply isn’t enough. Instead, they choose to actually live out the lives – or perceived lives – of fantasy characters. These people are wizards or knights, princesses or gypsies, royalty of a medieval court or peasants and blacksmiths. Regardless of the alter-ego chosen, for many this is more than a hobby; this is an alternate life. What motivated these people to form such a complex and nearly-obsessive immersion into actually living out a fantasy life, rather than being content experiencing the lives of others through media outlets? What compels someone to dedicate their life to a pastime of being someone else?

The Society for Creative Anachronism

The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) was founded in 1966 in Berkeley, California. This shouldn’t be a huge surprise; a lot of strange things come out of California. The SCA is an international organization dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts, skills, and traditions of pre-17th-century Europe. The 30,000-plus current members like to refer to their activities as recreating "The Middle Ages as they should have been". That is, just the good parts of the Middle Ages; indoor plumbing, electricity, and without that pesky black plague thing that was really putting a damper on the fun people had back then. Members of the SCA create a persona, complete with family history, profession such as seamstress or blacksmith, and generally complicated and nearly unpronounceable names. A few times throughout the year, members from around the country congregate to act out the lives and personas they have created for themselves. The best way to attempt to understand what makes SCA members tick is to observe them in their natural habitat; a monthly SCA meeting.

Walking in to my very first meeting of the Hillsborough branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism, hoping I’d be able to blend in, unnoticed; this was not to be the case, as the contact had apparently alerted the entire group that a “member of the press” would be in attendance that night. However, it wouldn’t have mattered; the pink sweater and designer purse blew my cover the immediately upon walking in the door, in stark contrast with the mostly black t-shirts in the room. At least my dark hair fit in. The majority of the 30-some people in the room actually fit the physical stereotype I had silently admonished myself for picturing before arriving.


Coronation, Jan. 2008
Courtesy:
Kingdom of Ansteorra

Conversations with members, though, revealed that they’re not all the Dungeons and Dragons playing, fairy-obsessed social recluses one might imagine. Aged from mid-teens through AARP eligibility, members generally seemed to lean toward the nerdy side without coming across as complete freaks of nature.

Kristen Gilben, 28, who goes by the name Maol Mide ingen Medra within the SCA, is a self-described “bug grower”. It was obvious by the smirk on her face that she got a kick out of telling people that’s what she did for a living, and she seemed to take pleasure in the confused look on my face. “I’m the curator of the butterfly exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry,” she finally explained. Ah, of course; a bug grower. Gilben’s specialty within SCA is as a master of all things artistic, from painting to theater to calligraphy. It was theater that started Gilben in the SCA at the age of 15. While driving home from a performance with a friend, they came across a group of historically garbed SCA members at a gathering. They pulled the car over, grabbed costumes out of the trunk, and joined in the fun. She’s been a devoted member ever since. What holds her interest in the SCA is the “complexity and challenge” of recreating the art of the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods. “If you study and recreate those,” she explains, “modern art is just so simple.”

For Henry and Marjorie Kuczwara, the SCA is all about family. Henry, a pipe smoking lineman for a local phone company, was introduced to the group by his ex-wife 27 years ago, and now performs the duty of a blacksmith for the kingdom. It was family that introduced him to the SCA, and it was through the same group that his new family was formed after his first marriage dissolved. Marjorie Kuczwara, a retired history teacher, found the SCA in 1983 while on a field trip with her class.  The couple was married within a few years. Henry isn’t the only family Marjorie found through the SCA, though he’s the only she’s legally bound to. It was a fascination with history that drew Marjorie, to the group, but the best part for her is the people.  “We’re a family,” she explains, a grin causing the crow’s feet around her blue eyes to crinkle into the gray hairline.

One prominent topic of conversation at the SCA meeting was the Renaissance fair currently in town. Apparently although some of the garb worn by SCA members at their get-togethers is hand made, much of it is purchased at such fairs. The annual fair also serves as a gathering place for like-minded fantasy aficionados from around the state. This was definitely worth checking out in person.

The Renaissance Merchants

The final day of the Renaissance festival started out perfect. Unfortunately, it didn’t stay that way for long. Around mid-day, the skies opened up and a downpour soaked the outdoor festival grounds. This didn’t dissuade many of the attendants, though. Among the yuppie parents scurrying to covered areas with their broods, while attempting to put on already wet ponchos, were the true die-hards. Men stomped about in regal attire, complaining to anyone who would listen about the misfortunes God had brought about on them that day. Peasants in burlap clothes proclaimed the wonderful gifts of rain for the crops. The horses didn’t even seem to mind; the joust went on.


Their Royal Majesties William and Onora
Courtesy:
Kingdom of Gleann Abhann

Scattered amongst the stands selling turkey legs and stages with pirate musicians were the most highly coveted merchants. Sasha McCoy, 18, sold bodices to those looking for a little extra lift in their period wear. The bodices ranged in price from $98 to $215. This is not a cheap hobby. According to McCoy, her stand sells 10 to 12 bodices today. Customers are generally from the active role-playing community, especially from the SCA. “I get all kinds of customers though, really,” explained McCoy. “Ladies just like the way it [the bodice] feels.”

For the more masculine and/or adventurous, weapon shops were must-visit attractions at the fair. Gene Ellison, leatherworker and salesman for Legacy Forge, displayed an array of swords, axes, maces, and hammers for sale. The prices of the weapons ranged from $50 for a small dagger to over $1200 for the most ornate piece, a small sword adorned with mother-of-pearl and rubies in the handle. This must have been early “bling”; today it’s watches and gold teeth, while then it was jewel-encrusted murder weapons.

“After the 1600s, swords and daggers became more of a status symbol,” Ellison explained. “Guns became the weapon of choice for protection. People just carried the ornate weaponry to show that they could afford it.”

Yes, just like the gold teeth of today.

“Clients absolutely live this,” Ellison went on. He explained that price was no object for those truly involved with the role-playing lifestyle. While the rest of us might take a shopping trip to the mall for the latest pair of Nikes, for others a special dagger was just as coveted.

Live-Action Role Players

Dungeons and Dragons, the tabletop role playing game created by E. Gary Gygax in 1974, has been a running punch line in jokes about uber-geeks for the past 30-plus years. In the game, players create a fantasy character with a medieval basis. They can range from orcs and ogres to an every day human. Well, an every day human that has the power to launch the Magic Missile spell at any foe who dares to stand in their way. Players roll dice to determine the physical attributes of their character, and then story-tell an epic adventure, guided by a Dungeon Master, or Geek Guru.

Live-action role players, or LARPers, take Dungeons and Dragons to another level. The basics are very similar to those of Dungeons and Dragons; however, instead of just telling the story of the adventure of their characters, they act them out. Both Dungeons and Dragons and LARP games follow a set of rules outlined in guide books, but with LARPing costumes and props are often used. The effect is something of an improvisational play run amok.

Although medieval fantasy is the general setting for LARP games, vampire themes are gaining in popularity. Bonnie Zabytko, 38, is an IT professional and a member of the gaming club White Wolf. The Tampa chapter of the club has a membership of around 30, but the national chapter boasts a membership of over 1000. White Wolf uses a “world of darkness” setting, combining medieval fantasy with the likes of vampires and werewolves. Like the Kuczwaras of the SCA, a sense of family and friendship has kept Zabytko involved in her own brand of fantasy for the past three years.

“My favorite part of LARPing is the way several people will get together and weave a story from almost nothing that is enjoyable to both watch and be involved in,” says Zabytko. “The best part of LARPing is the camaraderie we all have with each other to portray the best as well as the worst of characters in a setting.”

Martial arts teacher John Arroyo, 44, sees his 18-year involvement in LARPing as a means of escaping the reality of the every day, yet also enjoys the friendships the fantasy play has forged.

“It is a way to get away from it all and immerse myself into a genre that I really like (fantasy),” explains Arroyo. “It allows me to, in a way, live in the different worlds that I read about in books. As for the best thing about LARPING...I would have to say it is the camaraderie that comes about between the folks that adventure together and whom put together the games themselves.”

Are We Really So Different?

For the most part, fantasy-dwellers such as LARPers and members of the SCA aren’t really so different from the rest of us. Of course, there are exceptions; the 28-year-old Tampa SCA member who legally changed his name to Felyza Drylar Wishbringer comes to mind. Yes, it’s even on his driver’s license. But beyond the slightly-weirdo fringe, most of these fantasy activists are simply looking for companionship and escapism, just like most people. The fact that they choose to live and act out their reality-avoiding fantasies instead of simply observe them in books or movies affords them a freedom that the rest of us miss out on. While I’ll stick to a great novel or the latest blockbuster flick at the cinema, in I way I envy the folks with enough nerve to get away from it all and have a great time, regardless of how others might view them. Besides, some of the corsets they wear are actually quite flattering.

By: Amanda "Amandasaurus" Norris
Staff Writer, ZAM Network

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