*sob*

Rydell flirted with me... that must mean I'm UGLY.... *boohoohoo*

Senior women really go for the courtly manners and it's so cute to get them all flustered. I also like to go for women who are with some obvious oafish lout and show the guy up with a bit of razzle-dazzle. I'm sure I've ruined more marriages that way.

If I'm not feeling mean, I'll ask the gentleman to present a flower to her for me. When he does the usual modern American fumble and bumble, I act all disappointed and instruct him on what he ought to be doing.

Agreed, Chelsea. Sound judgement is something we all need to use with any interaction with patrons, whether it's flirting, asking about their harvest, or telling them a rumor about a visiting noble (You're so vain... you probably think this post is about you...). Always have an out. That's basic street improv. Recognize when it's not working, or when it's going a little beyond your initial plan, and exit stage... um... wait. There isn't a left. It's theatre in the round!

> Interestingly, I have observed this is far more likely to happen to guy-actors
> who flirt as a gig than girl actors, whereas I think I would have initially
> guessed it would be the other way around.

Nah. Non-charismatic guys have approached women and been rejected. That gets burned into their subconscious, and flirting comes with a feeling of "this just can't be real". The equivalent women don't get approached in the first place, so flirting can trigger an "At last!"

I've been there. But now that I've forgotten how to flirt, it's easier to pay attention to small children and the elderly.

-- T

> "Play it up and give her the time of her life. .... If you do, they will return again and again and again." -Kitty
>
> Yeah... but I feel beholden to add to this that when engaging in this sort of thing,
> you need to stay alert and be somewhat adept at reading people.

So, this struck a memory for me. Some years ago, I was attending Faire (paid guest, but in middling-to-good costume (more-accurate than most paid guests, even the ones who DO try costume). Long day ... Good day ... Fun day ... but then, it was Faire! :)

En route out the gate after criers had announced closing, there were bunches of actors lined up for various kinds of "farewell" interactions (I presume most of these were familiar skits & well-worn bits of no-longer-entirely-improv for them)

One lovely lass, fondling a zucchini about the size of her forearm, invited me to "come help her grow them REALLY big, in her garden..." or some such.

Obviously, this was just standard Faire ribaldry, not a genuine "invitation". I replied with a vague bow & some pseudo-Rennish, along the lines of "alas, m'lady, but with such crops as THAT in thy garden, thou hast no need of my own scant contribution!" and kept walking.

Here's the thing. Either she was a *really* good actor and prepared to show disappointment/umbrage/etc, or she really took it personally (at least for a moment). I was looking in her eyes, and got a *really* solid flash of "he just called me a perverted slut!" or some such very-genuine-seeming hurt . I watched her as she sort of "shook it off" and moved on to "bid farewell" to the next patron.

It's bothered me, off and on, ever since -- that I might have hurt the feelings of a nice colleen, who just wanted to play the game with me. :-( Sometimes, I just figure that I mis-read her... I just can't talk myself into *really* believing it for long.

Not, mind you, that I've any *objections* to perverted sluts. I'm rather one, myself (all except for being monogamous with my wife ... rather puts a crimp in my being much of a slut...) .

Has anyone ever experienced a patron who "played" to your gig, but insultingly so... that is, such that you felt *personally* insulted (insults between *characters* often being part of the *fun* of Faire...) ?


Thanks!

- Steve
( still puzzling over some random exchange with a stranger, from... like... 10+ years ago... how lame is that? ):