About Us   The Lord Mayor’s Company is a troupe of Shakespearean loving comedians that formed in 2004 to perform scripted skewering of Shakespeare’s plays at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. Since that time they have also performed at Renaissance Festivals in Muskogee OK, Sedalia MO, and Hartville MO as well as community and school program gatherings. The current group includes two veteran performers from the first gathering of players, Dean Kinsey and Christine Wade. Then there is Kent Plumb who joined in during the 2006 run at the White Hart Renaissance Festival. And then there is also, making her debut with the Company in 2008, Jana Jessee. The 2008 Season of the Company includes a March Performance at the Joplin Community Clinic benefit fundraiser, performing in the inaugural season of the Joplin Renaissance Festival on the weekend of April 26th and 27th, and taking the stage all four weekends of May at the Castle of Muskogee Renaissance Faire. The group will also be serving as hosts for the Kansas City Renaissance Festival’s daily Royal Cigar Smoker. Other events are still being discussed but dates are also still open.   The Characters We Play   Appashionata "Notty" Von Cleavage Notty, has had a strange life indeed, the daughter of a German Baron, and a Gypsy Queen, she spent her adult life independently wealthy and was known for a time as one of the Flirtatious Swashbuckling Bandits that would come to Canterbury during the harvest festival. Her Mother, Katarina Svoboda, revealed herself to Notty and asked her to join Commedia Sans Arte for a season upon the stage, which she did. The Notorious Madame Red took notice of her at that time and offered her a night job in addition to her stage work. When Commedia went their separate ways The LORD MAYOR'S COMPANY was formed and Notty stepped in when her sister Kate had tired of making things unpleasant for the company. Notty is startled that she, who needs no money is now working two jobs, and if she is not on stage or at the Blarney Cock, you will most likely see her sleeping where ever she can, Clarissa calls it "rehearsing her death scene."   Katherine “Kate” Tanner-Denby-Svoboda Kate is most often who you will see on stage with the LMC. Raised by an uncle and married to Thomas Denby a theater owner she was reasonably happy making him miserable until the theater burned down and he was presumed dead. She returned to her uncles house until her mother Katarina Svoboda the Queen of Gypsies made her self known to her and recommended she join Commedia Sans Arte when Notty tired of it. Kate then continued with The Lord Mayor’s Company and does actually enjoy the freedom of her life as an actress. She is now more shrewish out of habit than discontent, I still wouldn’t cross her though.     Gerard Fawkes Gerard Fawkes was born in the castle at Fawkham Green outside London, born to servants of the household of Lord James Faucombe. He was a servant of all-purpose and in his early twenties he was assigned to accompany Lord Richard's second son, Master Arthur, to the continent. Gerard soon found himself with Arthur in one of several mercenary companies that plied their trades in all parts of the continent. For several years the company wintered in the chateau of their patrons, the family Coeurbois, where Gerard received instruction in reading, writing, logic, chess and heraldry. Gerard also enjoyed the various troubadours and minstrels that entertained during the long dark days. He stayed with the company for fifteen years.  Returning to England, Gerard chanced upon a Gypsy outside Canterbury. After a lengthy consultation this Gypsy Queen, Katarina Svoboda, offered him her advice. He was a man who had seen enough of death and blood. To counter these influences, he must make a great change in his life. As he gained acclaim in skill at arms, he must now gain acclaim in skill at arts, specifically performing arts. To counter anger he must embrace comedy. To this end he was to travel as a player and one day he would understand his purpose. After working with many troupes, he now finds himself with the Lord Mayor’s Company.   Alistar Kent Alistair Kent was not having a good week. He was a bit down on his luck, as he had been stranded in a small village south of Canterbury, he had been attacked and bitten by a rabid deer, and he was down to his last few pence, forced to drown his sorrows in the local tavern with little more than his good looks and mediocre credit. Then Alistair's luck took a turn for the better . The Lord Mayor's Company happened to be passing through the small village in which he was temporarily residing, as they were on their way to perform at the harvest festival at Hart's Grove. Enamored by the beautiful Kate Denby (or perhaps it was Notty clad in her sister Kate's clothing), Alistair was easily enticed into performing with the LMC at that particular upcoming venue, unsuspecting of the nature of the contract by which he was about to be employed. The LMC agreed to front Alistair the money needed for him to clear his tab at the tavern, in exchange for his services as an actor. At first Gerard was taken by surprise by the sheer magnitude of said bar tab, ("Just exactly how long have you been drinking here, three fortnights?!?")  but Gernot was slightly unimpressed. ("I've seen worse on my account...") However, as Gerard had given his word to the deal, he realized that with the wages paid by the Lord Mayor's Company, they might then have Alistair's services for well-nigh an eternity. Thus began Alistair's brush with indentured servitude. Fortunately for Alistair, he did not take it upon himself to sing, either for his supper or his tavern bill, else the amount he owed would have instantly tripled. Since that time, Alistair eventually repaid the coffers of the LMC, and has proven himself a capable member of the troupe. It also remains somewhat questionable which sister with whom he was initially infatuated, Kate or Notty; however, it has been rumored that the two sisters have been at odds with each other over Alistair's affections.   Beatrice L’Tart – Although born in France, Beatrice and her father moved to England shortly after her birth, due to the untimely death of her mother. She was raised soley by her father Pierre L’Tart, a renowned baker, until she reached her 11th year. At that time Pierre L’Tart decided that Beatrice needed a mother-figure, and Pierre himself could use the companionship. Pierre, then married a widow with two daughters of her own, about the same age as Beatrice. Life went along swimmingly until Beatrice’s father was killed in a freak accident in his bakeshop. Beatrice was left with only her stepmother and stepsisters to share her grief. Unfortunately for Beatrice they had other plans. They wanted Beatrice to continue the bakery with her father’s recipes and take all the credit for themselves. When Beatrice refused, her stepmother forced her to go work in the laundries to support the family, Beatrice also had a knack for stitchery. Whilst doing laundry one day, by the river, the Lord Mayor’s company happened by, and heard her singing, while cleaning and mending some clothes. As it happened, just a few days before, they lost a few of their previous members to another acting troup, they were in need of filling out the cast. At the very least, Beatrice could mend their clothes and sing a few tunes to entertain the crowds. The Lord Mayor’s Company, then asked Beatrice to join their humble company. She gladly accepted.     Eastern Group    Gernot Fenster My role in this most humble troupe of performers is to straighten the prop cart, clean the prop cart, paint the prop cart… I can’t stand for it to be dirty…no, unclean…not even slightly messy. Yes… I do all that I can to be the best props handler I can be. Without me, the rest of them would be lost, and their props in total disarray. You can feed me cheese, beer, wine, more cheese and beer. Bread and sausage are good too. I am not picky. I am from Regensburg, Deutschland. The most important day of the year to me is April 23rd. This is the day that the German Beer Purity Act was passed. How could you not know that?   To email any of us...click on our stage names.   And Who We Really Are   Christine Christine Wade helped form The Lord Mayor's Company years ago. Her acting experience includes some two whole plays in grade school and three years frightening the innocent at Dr. Deadly's Haunted Hospital in Kansas City, MO. In 1995 she got a job at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival at a jewelry shop; after two years watching the performers instead of the counters, she auditioned for a themed weekend role. Performing part time for two years, she felt called to a full time role when she saw that a Shrewish Wife of a Hen Pecked Husband was needed. She achieved that role and had the good fortune to be paired with Doug Cadmus, one of the founders of Commedia Sans Arte. The following two years added to her character repertoire; Katarina Svoboda the Queen of Gypsies (fun loving and all knowing) and her daughter The Baroness Appasnionata VonCleavage' a Flirtatious Swashbuckling Bandit. During this time she became brave enough to attempt open mike night at Stanford's Comedy Club. She performed Mondays there for two months, but then Commedia was born and she focused on that. She was with Commedia Sans Arte an improv troupe for 3 years, and then she and other members formed The Lord Mayor's Company. Like a spin off from a great sitcom, but more Laverne and Shirley than Joanie Loves Chachie, talk about "jumping the shark" I digress.  She has been in several shows at Just Off Broadway, with Commedia Sans Arte, Played Queen Eleanor in a Royal Christmas, an annual event to benefit YMCA youth camps, and was Annie May Chardonnay for Murder by Merlot, an interactive murder mystery event. The mystery being, how she could say her character's name with a straight face.  Christine Wade resides in Overland Park, KS, for the moment.   Dean Dean Kinsey is a Kansas boy born and bred. At an early age he developed a fascination with the magic and mystery of theatre. He has performed with Kansas City based Gorilla Theatre and the Olathe Community Theatre. He has been part of the Kansas City Renaissance Festival for over 20 years in one capacity or another. In 2004 with the formation of the Lord Mayor’s Company he took to the stage at KCRF and in 2005 was seen at both the Hamlet of Mid-Missouri Faire, in Sedalia, and KCRF. Since then he has traveled with the troupe to the faires in Muskogee Oklahoma and Hartville Missouri. Dean resides in Merriam with his wife Catherine and two cats.   Kent Kent Plumb was first drafted into performing at a young age when he was cast as the male lead in a church production of "The Gift of the Magi." Little did he know that he would be coerced in a similar manner to perform in many of his fulfilling acting experiences. These included being cast in the high school play of the small Kansas town where he graduated. Kent's festival experience began as a street character in 1988 at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival, where he started off as a simple thiefly sidekick to the highwayman Captain Arturus Quire. This role as a less-than-reputable rogue led to Kent joining the guards (as one of their adversaries), helping to provide impetus to the street interactions, scenes and hijinks during the festival day. As a member the Archers of the Royal Guard (ARG), he trained in stuntfighting, tumbling, and weapons combat for fighting presentations that were improvised and/or choreographed in nature. After narrowly escaping his own execution by the Archers, Kent retired from the Archers to explore other street characters, eventually become a founding member of the short-lived comedic group, Willie's Shorts. Later, he shifted many of his responsibilities at KCRF to that of a supporting role as a stage manager, then eventually to safety services for several years. In mid 2006, he joined the Lord Mayor's Company in preparation for the inaugural year of the White Hart Renaissance Festival as a replacement player, thereafter to named a full member of the group. With his recruitment into the Lord Mayor's Company, he has a renewed inspiration for performing, both in the festival lanes and on the stage. Kent lives in Olathe and has a remarkable daughter attending the University of Kansas. When he is not performing or rehearsing with the LMC, he spends much of his spare time painting and modeling miniatures for tabletop wargames, for which he has won several awards. Jana   Eastern Group   Terry