CORNWALL, PA. Renaissance fair doth please many people

Elizabethan dialect, jousting and sword fights attract about 180,000 visitors a year.
CORNWALL, Pa. (AP) -- On a bright sunny day, two young girls wearing T-shirts advertising a dance studio caught the attention of Queen Elizabeth I, who asked for a brief lesson and got one.
Her regal bearing never wilted underneath roughly 40 pounds of clothing -- including bloomers, a hoop skirt, and a gown adorned with pearls and 200 pieces of gold filigree -- as she copied a move that required her to rise up onto her tip-toes.
"Oh! That is most excellent for our calves!" she exclaimed as members of her royal court looked on.
Amused and amusing
Welcome to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, where the queen -- portrayed by 26-year-old actress Meg Wozniak -- is not only amused, but willing to be the object of amusement as she circulates among festivities ranging from jesting to jousting in the "Shire" of Mount Hope.
The interactive production, staged weekends through the end of October, is entering its 23rd season on the grounds of the Mount Hope Estate and Winery in northern Lancaster County, just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
The 35 acres of "faire" grounds behind the Victorian mansion provide the backdrop for 13 stages, a jousting arena and a Tudor-style village where concessions and souvenirs are sold.
It all began modestly in 1981 with a one-day festival in the parking lot, one in a series of events designed to promote the winery.
Over the years, other Renaissance-style events and permanent buildings were added -- a dungeon museum housed in a four-story wooden-frame castle is new this year. The fair now attracts about 180,000 visitors annually, said Chuck Romito, president and producer of Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire Productions.
"It had a life of its own ... It was our most popular event out of all of our activities," Romito said. "What was once 150 tents is now 150 Tudor structures and a handful of tents."
Scripts change
Each season, a different script frames the action among a blend of historical and fictional characters. This season's plot -- set in 1562, four years into Queen Elizabeth's reign -- involves a love triangle in which Sir William Howard, Viscount of Fairfax, and the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo di Medici, vie for the affections of Caterina della Strozzi, one of the queen's court maidens.
Amid the scripted events, such as a human chess match and a final joust that ultimately determines Caterina's fate, the actors must be ready to react to and interact with visitors while staying in character.
To prepare, the 35 full-time actors who play key roles in the $1.5 million production spent five weeks in rehearsal, learning the script and Elizabethan dialect, among other things.
"It doth to be very different," said Wozniak of the medieval way of speaking. "We practice every day, every single week we rehearse, and even after rehearsal. We'll sit as actors at dinner and speak in dialect."
Jousting scenes
A separate troupe, Impact Productions of Wilkes-Barre, handles the jousting scenes. Rehearsals require the "knights" to spend five to six hours a day working with their horses, plus a rigorous regimen of weight training and exercise, company founders Eric Michael and John Lukas said.
"When you put 110 pounds of armor on and do a half-hour show in 90-degree weather, it's like being a football player," said Lukas, whose face was glazed with sweat as he rested in the shade after competing as Sir Robert Dudley. "We're falling off horses, taking real hits."
The final product seemed to be working its magic on fairgoers like 11-year-old Brandon Boyd. Watching intently as a sword fight broke out in the middle of the human chess match, he was astounded to learn that the actors were using real swords.
"A lot of people should come here," he said. "You can learn a lot."