1. What is it that you do?
The Sisters Pendragon is a two-woman stage combat and comedic story-telling troupe. We focus on telling historical stories and folk tales which feature female warriors, particularly ones which aren’t very well known.
2. Where are you located?
We perform in the New England area. (Connecticut area)
3. What got you interested in starting out in this business?
I had been on cast at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire for three years when I came up with the concept for the show. I absolutely love the improvisational nature of Faire performance, and wanted to have the freedom to teach people about lesser-known tales in a fun and interactive way.
4. When did you start performing? In general or at renaissance fests?
I’ve been performing for my entire life in various theaters from elementary school in the 80s until now, but I didn’t start at the faire until 2017.
5. What was your local faire or home faire?
Robin Hood Faire and the Connecticut Renaissance Faire are my home faires.
6. How are you compensating for this strange time we are in now?
I have four jobs currently; I’m a woodworker at OrchardWorks Magic Wands, I write articles for TOR.com, I’m the costumer for both CTRF (Connecticut Renaissance Faire) and RHF (Robin Hood Faire – CT), and I perform as one half of Sisters Pendragon. Thankfully times aren’t as bad as they were two years ago; at least now for the most part we can actually have faires again, and perform live.
7. What advice do you have to give to others that are just starting out in this business? Or how to stay in this business?
Seeing as how we are fairly new (haha, get it, FAIREly new) to the business in regards to our independent act, I have no advice to offer other than to keep trying. If you put enough love into your dream, and keep working at it, anything is possible.
8. Do you think that there will be faires in the future or what steps we should be taking next?
I’d say it’s pretty clear that faires are going to continue to exist. The question is, in which form? We are already seeing subtle shifts: from bawdy to more family friendly; greater numbers of fantasy/cosplay versus historical accuracy; etc. As with any type of performance, things will continue to evolve and change as the audience and sociological norms do. Will the Faires of 2050 look the same as those of 1970? I very much doubt it. But the heart, I fully believe, will remain the same.
9. Why Renaissance Faires or theme? What is it that made you so interested in this period?
Honestly? I’ve always been in love with fantasy. I grew up with The Dark Crystal, Flight of the Dragons, Lord of the Rings and Elfstones of Shannara I’ve been reading fantasy novels for the majority of my life, so it’s only natural that I would gravitate towards a venue which is as close to that as it’s possible to get.
10. Are you creating more stock or more content?
I’m in the process of penning a new show based on Edmund Spenser’s “The Faerie Queene,” which will hopefully debut in late 2024 if all goes according to plan.
11. In five years (or less) my goal is to: be working enough different shows to have shows lined up for every weekend from spring to fall.
12. At faire, what was your garb/attire your usual go to?
For the Sisters Pendragon, we wear bodices from E.A.Genie’s Scots and Knots and our skirts are from Silver Leaf Costumes. The overskirts and leatherwork are handmade by myself. I love my Sandlar boots and swear by them, especially for stage combat.
13. What makes you stand out?
It’s not every day you see pretty ladies in big floofy skirts wandering around the fairegrounds… while carrying swords and spears!
14. What was your very first experience at a renaissance festival? What education or training if any do you
have that led to what you do?
My first experience at a renaissance faire was when I was seven years old. My parents brought me to one and I have distinct memories of wearing one of those big conical princess hats with the lace fall coming out the top. I have a BA in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing, and have taken several stage combat courses in the Boston area.
21. Plug your website or fan page here (or both)
We can be found on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SistersPendragon, Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sisterspendragon/, or TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@sisterspendragon under the username “SistersPendragon.”
Authors Note:
Thank you so much for the Sisters Pendragon for letting us feature them on our blog. They look quite fun and mayhaps if we visit CT, we can go see their show.
Again, I would suggest you research their show on their websites as this platform is ONLY for promotion of shows and merchants.
If you, your troupe, your group or if you are an author of Renaissance related books, and would like to be featured on the blog, please reach out to us on our fan page www.facebook.com/renperfmerch
