Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mark Murphy. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Mark, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I am indeed able to earn a full time living. However, it’s not always as comfortable as some people might like. Working for renaissance festivals comes with enough pay to live on, and if you’re smart, enough pay to have some fun with, but there isn’t much room for error. It’s important to be smart with your money in order to live on what is essentially two days’ pay every week.

Some of the bigger challenges people have when living on the road is the amenities at the festival they stay at. Many festival sites don’t have electricity or running water. Some of them only have space for tents to be set up. It takes some resourcefulness to be able to live and adapt to these conditions during the week.

To answer the last question, a major step that I was fortunate enough to start with is having a vehicle and a travel-trailer. I purchased my trailer early on in my festival career and it has proven to be invaluable. Having a solid roof over my head, a stove, and a refrigerator has made my fairegoing substantially easier than many festival workers I know. I know it’s not always in someone’s budget to have one, but if you can you should.

Mark, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got into renaissance performing shortly after high school. I was always interested in performance arts, and the first time I was cast into anything was at the Colorado Renaissance Festival. From there I began going to more and more festivals, eventually making it a full time job. Now I perform at festivals all over the country. My act is called the Hero of Mime. I perform as a variety of fantasy characters at renaissance faires, depending on their needs. Currently I offer three characters: An Elf, a Merman, and a Fairy. Each of these characters has unique qualities and pieces to their performance which I bring to the various faires I work for.

One piece of my performing which helps me stand out is that I incorporate ASL into all of my performances. I think it’s important to do this because much of the renaissance festivals are inaccessible to non-verbal patrons. It brings me such joy to be able to include these guests and give them a little bit of the festival magic.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

What I find the most rewarding, and indeed, the reason to stay in this sort of business, is simply this: Renaissance performing allows me to contribute to a mystical, fantastical atmosphere that is unlike any other. The small moments where I get to talk to a child, to sign with someone who is deaf, or play a song which touches the heartstrings of a fan. These moments are real life magic. It is unbelievably fulfilling to be able to provide just a little bit of magic into the world, and I hope that in some small way that these moments affect the patrons who experience them just as much as they affect me.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

This topic comes up a lot in performing circles because as our society continually moves to a digital world, we experience less and less the joy of live entertainment. I’m not trying to say that digital media is inferior or anything, but there’s something different about attending live performances, and it’s important that people continue to attend theatre, circuses, and renaissance faires in order to keep the live variety arts alive.

Just as important is to support the artists directly. While the faires do pay us, it’s often difficult to live on, so if you appreciate live entertainers please take the time to follow and share their social media, donate to them through tips or online services, and let the festivals know that you appreciated seeing them. The support of the patrons means everything to performers like me.

Contact Info:

• Website: heroofmime@gmail.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/heroofmime
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeroOfMime/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@heroofmime