Guess Who

If you haven't guessed, it's me in costume. The reason I'm in costume is because I have a new job at Medieval Times. What lead to that was I got tired of working security. Security isn't a very fun job. You have to make sure people don't sneak in, don't do unsafe things like stand on the chairs or leave stuff in the aisles that the food servers could trip over and you have to be an expert on Medieval Times as you are the primary person customers come to for help.

The job I really wanted at Medieval Times was squire but I'm too old to be a squire. The only other job I could think of that I might want to do is Lord Chancellor. The problem with that job is that you are the emcee of the show and I've never been an emcee. You also have to memorize a staggering number of lines. I wasn't sure I could do it. To make matters worse, I got to watch the knights and squires work out and train which tormented me because here was the job I really wanted to do, felt I was qualified to do but, by the rules, I was too old to do it.

After much personal debate, I decided to heck with it. I was going to inform my boss that I was tired of security and was going to leave as soon as he could replace me. Actually telling my boss that I was going to be leaving proved to be a lot harder than I imagined. The fact is my boss at Medieval Times has treated me really well. Also, Medieval Times was the first place that hired me after I retired from the Air Force. For a bit, I was wondering if anyone was going to hire me so I was delighted when they gave me a chance. So, it wasn't easy deciding to leave and having to tell my boss the news.

My boss understood when I told him why I wanted to leave. He asked me to give him a chance to see if he could find something else I could do there. I couldn't imagine what he might find job wise. I didn't care to work in gift shop, reservations, or cash control. Still, because of how he'd treated me, I had to give him the chance.

I got a call from him Friday and he said he'd spoken with the person in charge of sound and lighting. He needed a Dungeon master and Executioner. My ears pricked up real fast when I heard that I could become the Executioner. I thought that would be fun and cool. I would also learn how to operate the spotlights and the sound system. I'd never done anything like it so it promised to be something totally new and challenging. I agreed on the spot to do it. Little did I realize how soon I would get to start.

I was scheduled to work security Sunday afternoon. I showed up, clocked in and went in search of the keys to the security office so I could put on my name plate and get a radio. My boss called me aside and asked if I was still game to do the job in sound and lighting. I said sure. He said good, you're starting tonight! Crap! The head of sound and lighting led me to one of his assistants who took me back to wardrobe where I got issued my costume. No one told me how to put the costume on so I got to figure it out myself. To my embarrassment, I put on the red overgarment you see in the picture backwards. I decided to have the lady who runs wardrobe check to see if I had the costume on right. She realized real quick my mistake and helped me with the costume. She also probably had a good laugh about my gaff. After that, I got to go guard the dungeon and collect tickets from customers who wanted to see it. I was surprised how much business we got. I found out that some nights over 100 people will check out the dungeon.

Just before the show begins, the dungeon closes. I got to watch Post 2 to make sure no one sneaked in. I noticed a big difference with people going by. Some kids wanted to see a little of the show so they could decide if it was any good. I had to tell them repeatedly they couldn't. I suspect they would've taken me more seriously had I been wearing my security uniform. I also had a couple little boys come up and shake my hand. I guess they wanted to shake the hand of one of the castle guards.

Once the gift shop opened, there wasn't any need for me to watch Post 2. I went to the sound and lighting booth where I got to watch the chief of sound and lighting and his assistant operate the strobes, the fog and the various soundtracks. It was interesting to watch. It was also something to watch the show from the booth. The booth has a great view of the show and audience. One thing I discovered the people in sound and lighting must have is a good sense of timing. They must know when to cut in with a certain piece of music and when to fade it out. They also must know certain cues which tell them when to do certain things like activate the fog or strobes. To the chief and his assistant, it was old hat but to me, it was interesting to watch as they carefully timed each segment of the show.

In no time, the show was nearly over and I had to head back out to the dungeon. I opened it up again and collected more tickets. I had to remind myself to call all the customers milord or milady. I now had to play the role of a medieval castle guard whereas in security we don't have roles. I suspect that's because we want people to take us seriously.

The audience cleared the castle quickly and I kept the dungeon open just 35 minutes. After that, I got the key to the security office so I could get my clothes back. Then, I changed back to my security uniform. I helped Dave (another person who works in security) brief two of the new security people on preseating and crowd control. After that, it was time to clock out.

Wednesday, I'll get to learn how to operate one of the spotlights. Sound and lighting operate four spotlights during the show. There is one person operating one of the spotlights who also directs the other three. It'll be interesting getting to learn how the commands and how the spotlight operates. I'll also learn more about the roles I'm supposed to play. First, I'll learn the role of castle guard. Later, I'll get to learn the role of Executioner. Sadly, I won't get to be the Executioner in the show. I found out they have to use one of the knights or squires for that. I will get to be the Executioner who gets his picture taken with people when they pay for the one of the spoof pictures they do at Medieval Times (They have a spoof picture where the person appears to be bound in the stocks and the Executioner is swinging his HUGE axe at them like he's going to chop their head off.) It should be an interesting time. I'm looking forward to learning my new roles and how to operate the spotlights.