vakkotaur

Before RST's clocks, before The Ring Conspiracy, there was...

Willa and the Well

Once upon a time, okkay, it was just a few years ago there was a group of faire performers, The Washer Well Wenches (not the same as the Washer Wenches) consisting of "Willa", "Sheila", "Keirra" and supposedly "JP". There was also a fairly active web-board, The Pub, on which various topics and polls were posted. Willa at one point complained of Sheila and Keirra getting all the attention and that she wasn't talked about. This, of course, presented me with an opportunity.

The result was this poll:

Question: Willa deserves...

[ ] to be treated like royalty.
[ ] to see Sheila and Kierra work, at least once.
[ ] to be the center of attention.
[ ] a break today.
[ ] JP.
[ ] some grapes. For purposes of diving. :)
[ ] a lump of coal.
[ ] to sleep in the stables.
[ ] a dunking in the washer well!
[ ] a whip, so she can go after Valentine with it for some of these poll choices.

This was amusing enough for a while. But having inherited the "can't leave nothin' alone" gene from my father and having read irpooh's comment that the poll had too many choices and couldn't they be combined... well, I started pondering.

I eventually came up with a script for a "This Is Your ~~Life~~Poll" sort of presentation based on the poll options - and the results, to a small degree. This script was tightened up and made funnier by "Mercurio Milabonte" of The Shattock Schoole of Defence. Arrangements were also made with a faire organizer, and the rest of the Washer Well Wenches cast - carefully keeping Willa unaware of our plotting. Props were purchased or made (thanks to irpooh) and then it was just a matter of time and timing.

At a faire in Iowa in June 2002 one fine Sunday morning (when there weren't many non-faire types around) Willa was kept from wandering very far after a Washer Well Wenches show and we sprung the little presentation on her and I went through the poll options. Or rather, I went through most of them.

After a bit of an introduction, Willa was presented - and not presented - with various items:

...A lump of coal was suggested, but nobody voted for that.
(just as well.. one more prop.. we should have had it anyway, but..)

...Nobody voted for her having to sleep in the stables. (And we couldn't have done much with that, anyway.)

...there were some votes for her getting to see Keirra and Sheila work.. "...but there is only so much we can do!" (I recall this got a good laugh from many, especially Willa)

...Some votes for a dunking in the well...

but

...also votes for Willa getting a break.. so a compromise was made and she only had her hand dunked in a small model well.

...some votes for Willa being the center of attention. That seemed to have been covered by then.

...even more votes for Willa being be treated like royalty.. so a crown appeared and Willa had a quick coronation.. and Sheila and Keirra played this up well, complete with a "Long live the Willa!" and three hip hip huzzahs.

...it was pointed out that the Queen may take a consort and opinion favored JP (who was far too busy with a camera to replace Godfrey (another conspirator) just then...)

...and that there was support for "indecent acts with grapes" and a goblet with grapes was given (allegedly "for later...")

...and that was when I tried to leave, but irpooh said it was not over, despite my protests that it was. While Godfrey made sure I did not leave, Lady Ampersand presented Her Majesty with a "whip" which Willa did use (lightly).

A series of photos of all this starts here.