Knights, Glamor, Action!

Behind the Scenes of Noble Cause Productions

by Aimee Rockwood

From the untrained eye, a choreographed joust seems a fairly simple, albeit glamorous, affair to orchestrate. Throw a few men in armor onto horses and aim them at each other, or so I thought before I stepped behind the scenes of a Noble Cause joust.

After spending one weekend with Bryan Beard and his jousting company, I began to realize that an incredible amount of time, training, and tactical expertise is necessary to execute a joust in a safe fashion while preserving the excitement of a live action performance. I also began to realize that there was more to this joust troupe than first met the eye.

I interviewed Beard, the owner and managing director of Noble Cause, during a recent performance of his company at The Castle in Muskogee, Okla. His friendly, open face and welcoming manner immediately put me at ease despite being surrounded by a horde of armored men polishing gleaming blades and helms. Beard explained that his troupe is an independent performance company hired to recreate medieval jousts at renaissance faires throughout the country. He also mentioned that while jousting forms the main thrust of his company's business, he has written a stock of story lines that extend from a full blown stage version of the Three Musketeers to a stunt show featuring King Arthur's Knights, and frequently adapts his show to suit the venue, whether a medieval, renaissance, fantasy faire, amusement park, or local festival. Beard has also directed and choreographed performances for international companies with other professionals like Hunter Brown at Frobeland amusement park outside Shanghai, China.

Recently, Noble Cause was hired on the spot to fill in for another troupe experiencing incapacitating damages to one of its horses. Beard was visiting the Norman Medieval Faire in Oklahoma with members of his team when he was told about the incident and asked if he could help out.

"I understood the bind the faire was in, and that there would be many disappointed faire-goers who came to see a joust," said Beard. "Luckily, I have a very qualified team in whom I have every confidence. We were able to mobilize and give the faire a safe, high quality, and professional show even with the time constraints."

Beard immediately brought in one of his most experienced jousters, Daniel Foss, from Chicago. Despite the troupe's lack of rehearsal time and sleep, the audience, their employer, and even the other joust company expressed how pleased they were with the performance.

"I was very impressed with their show," said Linda Linn, entertainment director for the Norman Medieval Faire. "It was exciting, fast moving, and professional, and the jousters were great at involving the audience."

Afterwards, Linn, along with one of the members of the jousting company that Noble Cause had replaced, came to Beard to express their appreciation.

"It was a real compliment for a competitor to come up to me and congratulate me on how overwhelming our show was," said Beard.

Trust versus thrust

With more than 10 years of experience in the jousting and stage combat arena, Beard requires his knights to have a good deal of experience and training before he will allow them to joust in the ring.

"Trust is the most important factor in this business," said Beard, his now serious expression driving home his point. "To be able to trust some guy at the other end of the arena flying at you with a sharp object aimed straight at your heart, you need to know that he knows how not to kill you. That can only come from intensive practice, stage combat training, and a good working relationship."

The company's motto, Tu us in confido, que sque in confido, describes the company's philosophy for working together. 'Trust in yourself, trust in each other."'Our ability to do the Norman show on such short notice was due to the high level of trust we have for each other," said Beard. "It's not something I would do on a daily basis, but I knew Linda really needed the help. And I knew we could do it."

Beard maintains a year-round training facility on his ranch near Oklahoma City for his knights, squires, and other performers to practice riding, acting, and stunt techniques. Beard shares the techniques he learned from drama and stage combat education, through his many years serving as squire then knight under the tutelage of various joust masters, even from the black belt in Tae Kwon Do he earned at age 19. Beard attributes much of his success to training he received from mentors Richard Alvarez, owner of Pierrot Productions, Kent Shelton and other members of the Hanlon Lees Action Theater, and to Tino Brana, joust double for Charlton Heston in the 1962 classic El Cid and former principal trainer and choreographer for Medieval Times restaurants.

"I owe so much to my trainers, especially Ric Alvarez," said Beard. "He taught me a lot about performing and has become a great friend over the years."

Beard also instructs his troupe on proper stage combat tactics so they can deliver realistic, full-speed blows without wounding fellow players, and fall from a horse without breaking bones. Beard emphasizes the importance of knowing and trusting the person fighting opposite you. And that means, practice, practice, practice.

Choreographed fights are practiced at quarter- and half-speeds until routines are known by rote, almost reflex. But simultaneously, performers are required to be flexible, changing the fight to suit the mood and story line of each show, whether it is a full scale joust, a down and dirty street fight, a live chess match, or staged battle.

A Unique Approach

Why the need for such flexibility with a choreographed event? Because Beard takes a unique approach to audience satisfaction.

"As long-time fair-goers ourselves, we know that some of the same people may attend from one day to the next, often many weekends throughout the span of the faire," notes Beard. "To bring the audience back again and again requires that we offer not one show that repeats itself time after time, but a series of shows that tantalize the audience into returning to see what will happen the next day, or even the next week."

Beard's company typically performs three acts per day, each offering a self-contained subplot as well as an incentive to return later during the day for the subsequent acts. Variations may occur throughout each act, and the last act of each day or weekend frequently brings a surprise ending.

Noble Cause shows are based on providing more than a simple, historically accurate vision of a medieval joust. The company adds plot and sometimes not-so-subtle humor to the vivid costuming and pageantry of the Middle Ages to create a rich, entertaining spectacle for its audiences' pleasure.

And speaking of the audience, their participation also factors largely in Beard's shows. By giving the crowd someone to cheer for, whether it be the villainous Black Knight or the heroic Sir William of Whitehall, Beard draws the audience into the story and allows them to become part of the plot. The knights as well as the squires address the crowds, seeking goodwill and support for their coming actions. To preserve authenticity, no modern sound system is used. Noble Cause knights learn to vocalize clearly, enunciate properly, and project loudly across the entire arena.

One of the most pleasing aspects of this company is the extreme approachability of its members. Beard fosters an outgoing, open attitude toward others and welcomes interaction between his troupe and faire patrons and performers from other shows.

"Most jousters tend to be viewed as having an elitist attitude," says Beard. "When I started this company, I wanted to make the experience fun not only for the audience, but also for the performers. We make a concerted effort to get out among the crowd, make new friends, meet new people, and generally make sure our audience is having a good time. Its also a good way to gauge audience reaction and boost attendance at our shows. We have quite a few patrons who follow our shows around the country, and that is really gratifying. I consider myself truly lucky to be able to make a living doing what I enjoy most," he concludes.

Beard and the other performers of Noble Cause enjoy meeting their fans and offer an open invitation to all to say hello and visit with them at the Withrow Renaissance Faire and Crossbow Tournament in Huntsville, Ark., Oct. 9-11.

For more information and a full performance schedule, visit the Noble Cause web site at http://members.aol.com/nblepaldin/ or email Bryan Beard at nblepaldin@aol.com.

Aimee Rockwood is a freelance writer and principal of Rockwood Communications. For more information, contact her at RockwoodCm@aol.com.

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This page was last updated Tuesday, 27-May-2003 13:21:10 EDT