The Great Dickens Christmas Fair Missive |
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Great Dickens Christmas Fair 2021 – April Missive #2 |
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Notes from your Missive Maven: |
This is a rather massive Missive, including some great news about a new/not-new-at-all member of the team. Thank you in advance for taking the time to wade through the information offered as we begin to gather momentum for a hopeful return to creative collaboration and ultimately to production of our beloved Dickens Christmas Fair!
Cat
Please remember to contact the folks referenced in each notice below, rather than hitting “reply”. Contact information for various departments can be found at the bottom of the missive.
Cat Taylor
Entertainment Director & Missive Maven
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- Update on COVID and In-Person Production
- More Information on Group/Show Proposals for Directors
- Announcing: A Red Barn Dramaturg!
- New: The Red Barn Productions Blog!
- Human Relations: Training, DEI Planning and Resources
- AB5 - The New Gig Work Law of January 2020
- The Living History Centre College of Dickensian Delights
- Using the LHC Research Library
- Catalogue and Connect Your Personal Library with LibraryThing
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Dickens Universe Gathering - Focus on A Christmas Carol!
- DEI Resources for April
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Update on COVID and In-Person Production |
It is inspiring and hopeful to watch the state of California (and especially the Bay Area) begin to turn its COVID numbers around. As we mentioned in the Missive on April 1, we will only be able to make a determination about holding an in-person Dickens 2021 once California gets further into the vaccination process, and an official CA Health Department time frame emerges for the lifting of all COVID restrictions for large indoor gatherings.
This is a complex process, so we do not expect to be able to make a decision until mid-June at the earliest. It is clear to us (and probably to you) that the Dickens Christmas Fair simply cannot work with 6’ distancing. Post-COVID, we will all want to continue to be more thoughtful and careful when gathering. Regardless of the decision for 2021, Red Barn Productions is looking at dozens of ways to create and maintain a safer and healthier environment for the Fair. We have the benefit of watching and learning from everything that is being done by other events earlier in the year to enhance the comfort and safety of audiences and presenters throughout the arts and festival world.
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More Information on Group/Show Proposals for Directors |
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As mentioned in the last Missive, RBP will be asking all show and group directors (new and from prior years) to send in an entertainment proposal for consideration for the 2021 Dickens Fair. In past years, Cat has reached out individually to prior years’ directors; this year’s proposal process will accomplish several things, including opening the field more equitably to new directors. It will also help RBP understand who is interested in doing the 2021 Fair, foster needed conversations about diversity and the range and quality of shows presented, and begin to form a picture of how the pool of groups who respond would work together to tell a compelling story about our version of Charles Dickens’ London.
Operationally, this will allow RBP to better regulate how many bodies (paying customers and participants alike) occupy the building during a Fair day. This is essential for general comfort as well as addressing our post-COVID realities. Our primary objective is to keep everyone as safe as possible from illness while fostering the continuing evolution of the unique artform that is the Dickens Christmas Fair and providing our audiences with truly enjoyable and educational experiences.
We have no idea how many people will register for Workshops or audition to be part of the next Fair. For any who are not cast in the show’s principal or ensemble roles, or as alternates; there will be many opportunities with vendors, support, or operations. Please know that everyone who is committed to the show, and can complete the necessary workshops and other requirements, can almost certainly find a place at the Fair.
We will provide more information about the proposals soon. 2019 Directors will receive a draft of the Dickens Christmas Fair Show and Group Proposal Form at the Directors’ meeting on April 14th, and RBP will publish the final proposal form for everyone shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, please stay positive and creative with your research, character, and costume development, and share your enthusiasm with friends and Dickens Fair colleagues. Those in the 2019 Directors Group on Facebook (and prospective new directors) will be kept informed on our progress and they, along with these missives, are the best source of information for all performers. The rumor mill is - as always - an unreliable resource. If you have a question, please ask.
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Announcing: A Red Barn Dramaturg! |
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Red Barn Productions is delighted to announce the hiring of our first-ever dramaturg: our own Laura Brueckner, who literally earned her Ph.D. in our Music Hall, as Miss Eileen Dover. In addition to her dramaturgy work outside of the Fair(e) world, Laura has spent 30 years in the dusty trenches with us, as a booth worker (Mermaid’s Tale & Braids for Maids), musician (Danse Macabre), stage performer (Dogs in Doublets, Stark Ravens, Queen Victoria [2005], Broadside Music Hall), staff member (Group Ticket Sales, Volunteer Coordinator, Entertainment Director), and show director (Broadside).
Laura is joining us on a part-time basis for the 2021 season, to provide research support, show and script development support, DEI resource support, moral support, and anything else she can provide to help this rich creative community thrive and do what it does best. All RBP staff are currently working to build toward the “new normal” of post-COVID Dickens, but once the decision has been made about a live versus a virtual 2021 Fair, it will be possible for specific shows and groups to book focused dramaturgy time. Laura can be reached at dramaturgy.redbarn@gmail.com; her desk hours are 3-5pm, M-F.
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New: The Red Barn Productions Blog! |
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This past year has shown us all how crucial it is to be able to share information among ourselves - from breaking news, to resources for those in need, to artistic inspiration. With this in mind, RBP has decided to launch a regular blog, which will allow us to do deeper dives on topics of interest than can fit in a Missive or a Facebook post. The RBP Blog will be public-facing, but is specially crafted with the community of participants, past and present, in mind - so it will offer updates on operational issues (like COVID regulations), DEI resources, Dickensian delights, global London, and featured posts by and about special guests. The first RBP Blog post will premiere in the next Missive!
The RBP Blog will be edited by our own dramaturg, Laura B. - so if there is a topic you’d like to read more about, drop her a line at dramaturgy.redbarn@gmail.com!
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Human Relations: Training, DEI Planning and Resources |
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Red Barn Productions is committed to anti-racist and anti-oppression practices, both onstage and off. As always, in order to make sure that the Dickens Fair is a joyous, safe, and healthy experience for all, every credentialed participant in the Fair will be expected to agree to the policies, and read and follow Red Barn’s guidelines and procedures. During the summer, our policy manual and registration process will be updated to comply with new laws, as it is every year. This year it will be revised to include a whole new section on RBP’s anti-racism and anti-oppression policies and DEI plan.
Workshop and training requirements for 2021 will include new anti-harassment training. This training will be mandatory for all W-2 employees of Red Barn, and encouraged for all others, including independent contractors, LHC volunteers, booth owners, security, operations and sales personnel (okay, everybody). We are excited to be developing resources that will make our training programs enlightening and useful, and not a litany of ‘thou shalt nots.’
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AB5 - The New Gig Work Law of January 2020 |
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When we are back in production, Red Barn Productions will operate in compliance with the new state law known as AB5. We began adapting to the new AB5 guidelines in 2019 before it became law, and continue to monitor the current and potential changes to the law as it relates to specific arts professionals, such as musicians. Throughout the coming months, we will be reaching out individually to each group and performer to whom this law may apply. |
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The Living History Centre College of Dickensian Delights |
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As it is still a bit early, LHC Education Director Robert Young is not yet requesting workshop proposals, but your thoughts, requests, suggestions, and inspired ideas are welcome at any time. Reach out directly to Robert at robert@livinghistorycentre.org. This is the perfect time for early, generative collaboration!
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Using the LHC Research Library |
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Doing research? Looking for inspiration? The LHC Research Library and Patterson events archive may be able to help. The LHC library catalogue contains over 2,700 books, as well as show scripts and ephemera going back to the very first DCF in 1970.
This is not a lending library - the books stay in the building, which is located near Dr. Insomniac’s Cafe in Novato. But anyone with a RBP photo ID from the Dickens Fair (or, with RBP approval, independent scholars pursuing archival research) is welcome to schedule time to research, photograph, or photocopy/scan approved materials in our collections. Search the Library’s catalogue here: librarycat.org/lib/LivingHistoryCentre.
Reasonable photocopying/scanning (30 pages or fewer) is available on-site at no charge.
Red Barn Archivist Ed Herny is at the Library on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays (but may return emails any old time). He can recommend specific volumes, or help you plan your archive dive. Contact Ed with questions and for in-person appointments at edphemra@pacbell.net.
The LHC has two brilliant librarians, Jason Adajian and Shelley Monson; LHC board member extraordinaire Deborah Doyle is the library consultant. General library questions should be directed to info@livinghistorycentre.org and will be forwarded to the appropriate person for reply.
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Catalogue and Connect Your Personal Library with LibraryThing |
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The LHC librarians highly recommend LibraryThing, a catalogue system for anyone who has a large (or small) personal book collection. LibraryThing is entirely free, and can connect our individual private libraries to help us share resources. See what books you have in common with the LHC, with each other, and/or with the private libraries of famous (or infamous) persons! For more info, visit librarything.com/about.
If you are already a member of LibraryThing, or if you have questions - we want to know! Please contact Shelley Monson directly: shelley.monson17@gmail.com.
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Dickens Universe Gathering - Focus on A Christmas Carol!
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The Dickens Universe is an annual gathering/conference, held by the Dickens Project (UC Santa Cruz), and this year it will focus on our very own founding document, A Christmas Carol!
Attendees include scholars, teachers, and members of the general public who share a love of Dickens' writings and his era.
This year, the Dickens Universe will be held over Zoom, from Monday, July 26-Friday, July 30. Registration fee per Zoom link is $100 if sent by April 20; $150 thereafter. (Perfect for watching safely with loved ones to split the cost!) Prior years’ videos are available on the Dickens Universe site as well, at no cost.
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It’s painful, it’s absurd, it needs to stop. This past month has been full of so much violence against communities and people who deeply deserve to have peace, freedom, and respect. Transgender & gender non-conforming people are watching hateful legislation limit their access to healthcare and even restrooms; Asian-American/Pacific Islander communities and African-American communities are mourning terrible losses and experiencing ongoing trauma; another shooting has torn through a community; and every one of us who reads the news is likely thinking some form of: when the hell will this end? Today’s resources are aimed at helping us take this feeling and put it into action. If not us, who?
All Londoners, especially people from targeted/marginalized groups, are always encouraged to send links and contacts of orgs and mutual aid groups who are doing powerful local work, as well as reading/training resources that support DEI work and collective liberation. I keep a rolling list and lift up ~3-5 resources per Missive, responding as much as possible to emerging needs. I try to heavily emphasize free and low-cost resources; where there’s a price tag I will make it really clear.
Amid all of this turmoil, dear ones, beloved community, please stay safe. You are precious, you are loved, and every breath you take, every idea you spark, every laugh you set free into the air is a gift to the entire world. The world needs you.
Bystander Intervention Training by Hollaback! - Who among us hasn’t seen harassment going on in public and thought, “I need to do something to help - but what?” And some of us recently have jumped in where we saw a need, risking our own safety to help others - which is amazingly powerful. Research also has proven that a stranger getting involved to intercept harassment actually reduces the trauma experienced by the targeted person. And there are many ways to help out!
Nonprofit org. Hollaback! has been offering free, 1-hour, online training sessions in how to intervene in situations on the street to safely document or interrupt harassment, and reduce trauma for the targeted person. Topics include sessions for adults and teens, grounded in stopping anti-Black harassment, misogynist harassment, anti-Asian-American/Pacific Islander harassment, and more. For their training schedule, visit ihollaback.org/harassmenttraining/.
Trangender Law Center - The news out of Arkansas (and elsewhere) about the tidal wave of new laws targeting trans people has been devastating - there is no earthly reason why any person should be prohibited from using a bathroom or accessing health care. The TLC uses its legal expertise to nurture and connect trans people with resources and one another. Visit transgenderlawcenter.org to donate today - or simply read more about their approach to the fight for liberation.
If you are a trans/nonbinary/genderfluid/gender-exploring Londoner, and would like to share the names of local Bay Area orgs that are doing a good job of protecting and nourishing people, drop a line to Laura B. at dramaturgy.redbarn@gmail.com.
Natural Shocks: A One-Woman Play in a Tornado takes on the topic of gun violence in this powerful story, told by one woman as a terrible storm approaches. It’s a comedy, until - as the play says - it’s not.
Award-winning San Francisco playwright Lauren Gunderson has made the Natural Shocks script available free of charge, and encourages theatre groups to stage it and donate proceeds to gun control nonprofits like Moms Demand Action (momsdemandaction.org).
Lauren has also offered, also free, the audio version of the play on SoundCloud.
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Quick Links and Contact Information |
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Quick Links:
Contact Information
For specific questions regarding performing at the Fair, please email Cat Taylor
If your group would like to perform at the Fair for just one day (school caroling groups, etc.)
For specific questions regarding vending at the Fair please email Vendors
For specific questions the beverage department please email Beverage
For questions regarding costumes, please email Costumes
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