It is a silly place...

Well, that was a bit of an extended hiatus from blogging, but I swear I have a good excuse. Ready? Ok, on Wednesday I saw Spamalot (AWESOME!) with Sister 1, Teddy, and his brother, who I shall invent a fun name for.  Thursday was my Mama’s birthday, so being the wonderful daughter I am,
I was making a cake practically from scratch and a surprise dinner. On Friday, I was sick and working on a surprise gift for Teddy’s sister’s surprise wedding shower. Saturday I was back at work and hosting training seminars. Sunday was the aforementioned surprise wedding shower. So, that’s like six very good excuses if you ask me.

Anyhoo, I have actually had a subject for a blog since Wednesday and it is all thanks to Spamalot. In case you have never heard of Spamalot, and you have my sincere pity if you haven’t, it is the musical based off of Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail. Now, I had my first Broadway experience last winter when Teddy, aka best boyfriend EVER, surprised me with tickets to see Mary Poppins. I wouldn’t call myself a musical crazed person (you know who you are), but I do enjoy a world where people break into song spontaneously. Mary Poppins was outstanding and we saw it in Amsterdam Theater full of gorgeous architecture and history galore. Going to historic theaters, houses, what have you always ups the awe factor in Teddy’s and my nerdy history eyes.  Spamalot we saw at NJPAC, a relatively new theater. Again, being a wonderful, to say the least boyfriend, Teddy bought floor seats for Mary Poppins…we were about ten rows from the stage. Spamalot, we were lucky to be upgraded to the second row of the second tier, but the view was still great. One perk NJPAC had over Amsterdam was a lot more leg room which made the show much more comfortable for Teddy and his brother, who are both over six foot.

Sigh, here I am trying not to ramble in my blogs and I’m essentially writing a theater comparison. In a nutshell, both theaters are lovely and both shows were fabulous. The point that I wanted to get at is the love of Monty Python in the reenacting community. There is a chance I never would have gotten to that point if I kept going the way I was.

I started reenacting when I was a teenager and had not seen Monty Python prior. I can’t honestly recall how old I was when I first saw it, but I remember it was with Sister 1 pretty much the first time we ever hung out just the two of us. (Sister 1 and I may have gotten along like cats and dogs until I went to college.) Monty Python is one of those things that I love for it’s own sake and for the happy memories I have with Sister 1 because of it. In fact, she even bought me my own deluxe copy for Christmas a few years ago.  

The first time I saw Monty Python, most of the funniest and well known scenes were lost on me because I had seen them reenacted at reenactments so many times. I actually had to see the movie again before I could appreciate the humor. Couple that will college-level education on the middle ages and you have quite possibly the funniest movie ever made for history buffs.

Maybe its because reenactors are a zany crew of people that Monty Python’s zany style of humor strikes such a cord with them. I know plenty of people who have seen Monty Python and had a good laugh over it, but once or twice is enough. I have yet to meet a person who adores Monty Python the way a reenactor or nerd does. To be fair, in my book all reenactors are nerds. Not all nerds are reenactors. Take Teddy’s brother, not a reenactor (yet! I will convert him. Stay tuned.), but most definitely a nerd. Again, so as not to hurt anyone’s feelings, I don’t find nerd to be an insult in anyway. To me, a nerd is someone who is always smart and has a passion for something others deem boring. A true nerd ought to embrace his or her nerdiness. There should be no shame in being a nerd. I am a nerd through and through. As I have mentioned in my About Me section, I don’t really have interests. I have passions. And I will yank out my soapbox and preach about said passions long past the point anyone wants to listen. I do not apologize.

Back to reenactors though, I have yet to meet a reenactor who is unaware, let alone not a fan, of Monty Python. At one of my first events, I saw two men “ride” up to our camp looking for one of our generals. The officer, in front, skipped along, holding imaginary reins. The private “galloped” behind clacking coconuts. Behind them lay the rest of the Union Army guffawing and pointing. It doesn’t stay at the reenactments either. Many a reenactor will exclaim, “Tis but a scratch!” when receiving a paper cut, or, when posed a problem to solve in a work environment, the respond with “Burn ‘er!”

Seeing Spamalot was surprise for Sister 1’s birthday, so, to help her guess what we were doing after dinner, we decided to start with the most obscure quotes from the film possible. Teddy’s brother started, and I can’t remember what he used. Teddy offered, “Roger,” mine was “wood?” The three of us were close to hysterics. Poor Sister 1 was utterly stumped. I thought how ridiculous it was that knowing the context; “wood?” could cause such unity and belly-shaking laughs. In the end, I think that is was makes Monty Python mean so much to me and maybe all reenactors. It is something that we “all” (I’m sure there is some reenactors who aren’t fans) have it common. The comedy bridges generation gaps. It is really wonderful to share laughs and smiles with other people that you might not have any other similarities with. Maybe I’m a romantic, but I think I will always have a special place in my heart for Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail for the bonds it builds between reenactors, sisters, and strangers.

So, my reenactor followers, what does the reenacting love affair with Monty Python mean to you? And those of you non-reenactors, are you a part of any hobby or community that has a movie that unifies you? I’m really interested to know!