http://www.inweekly.net/article.asp?artID=2536
RENAISSANCE FAIRE’S
RISING
What:
When:
Where: Pensacola Interstate Fairgrounds,
Cost: $10 adults; $5 children
Details: 429-8462 or www.gcrf.org
When Frank Hunt’s alter ego Fenix parties like it’s 1399, he prefers to play by the
book—an authentic medieval fight manual book to be exact.
“We do try to integrate historical sword moves
into our performance,” says Hunt, calling from Phoenix Sword’s dragon’s lair in
Worcester, Mass. “My wife and I are both part of the Higgins research group
that actually goes through these sword fighting manuals from 400 to 700 years
ago.”
Hunt says the Higgins Armory Museum’s Sword
Guild spends hours dissecting translations-in-progress—like a 1,000-page German
and Latin manuscript written in 1550 by Paulus Hector
Mair—and then he utilizes the research when crafting
Phoenix Swords’ theatrical productions.
“We’re taking material from these manuals
written centuries ago that tell people how to sword fight,” he explains, “and
then bringing the moves forward into our current performances.”
Of course, Hunt and his troupe of more than
20 members have to be careful when opening a serious can of medieval whoop ass.
“Since a lot of those manuals were written
to be a fight for your life, we have to soften it a bit. So, some of what we do
is flashy and Hollywood,” he explains. “But we do try to bring authentic sword
fighting techniques to the audience.”
The 42-year-old says living by the sword—and
painstakingly using the medieval fight manuals to ensure historical accuracy—is
a fairly new phenomenon with stage and film productions.
“The documentation that we use has only
really become available in the last five to 10 years,” he says. “Most of the
stuntmen who choreograph fight scenes in
While Hunt likes to play by the book, he
also embraces scenarios that appeal to the mainstream. For example, he’s
incorporated danger acts, like fire-eating and “fire swords,” into the group’s
already red-hot repertoire.
“Everybody likes it when we light the head
of our big, bald guy on fire,” he jokes. “For the finale of the fire show, we
actually have a fight where we have a pair of swords that are specially
modified so we can set them on fire. I duel with the aforementioned big, bald
guy.”
The real challenge to his craft, Hunt
insists, is learning how to capture the anachronistic authenticity of medieval
martial arts while keeping his Phoenix Swords crew safe.
“We’ve never had a serious injury,” he
confirms. “You do get your knuckles skinned occasionally. But we’ve never had
more than a bad bruise.”
So, no one in Phoenix Swords has ever caught
on fire during the group’s infamous fire-show finale?
“Um,” Hunt recalls with hesitation, “we had
one case when a guy’s beard caught on fire. We put that out rather quickly, so
there was no permanent injury. To put it in context, we’ve never had anything
we’ve had to explain to our insurance agency.”