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Got comedy?
It all began when Mid America Festivals – a
Minnesota based corporation that puts on a number of
Renaissance festivals across the United States – acquired the
rights to produce the Sarasota Medieval Faire and decided to
move it to one weekend earlier. In doing so it removed the
scheduling conflict that the Faire had with the Bay Area
Renaissance Festival and gave fans the ability to attend both
events. This also enabled Mid America Festivals to draw upon
their cache of necessary equipment, workers, scenery,
costumes, props, and entertainers for use at both events.
For the first time performers from the Largo
festival were asked to interact with those from Sarasota . Jef Hall and
Riki Robinson jumped at the chance. For years
they had both been playing
non-speaking characters, with Jef entertaining as the mime and
Riki portraying the Elf, but now they had the opportunity to
dig a little deeper and see what they might pull from their untapped actor arsenal. It was at
one of the performer workshops in Sarasota that the duo
began kicking around ideas for their new Renaissance
characters.
They would become a pair of gypsy brothers in
search of their lost princess. Twins even, since at the time
many people confused them for each other. And the name – made
up from something sounding both ethnic and easy on the ears.
The pun “ Tortuga ” was taken from an
underground comic book named Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with
Jef taking the cartoon hero's name of Donatello – a name he
would later change to D'Angelo – and Riki choosing Raphael for
himself. Little did they know the hell they would go through
when the comic book became a world-wide sensation. With the
crux of their short skit being written at a fast-food
restaurant near festival grounds, the two as yet untried
entertainers were ready to go.
It was a bright and sunny Thursday when the two
unveiled their creation to the world. The faire's parade was
winding to a close when a cry went out and two twin brothers
proclaimed that they had at last found their long, lost
princess. In truth, the Renaissance festival world had just
found something that it did not even know it had been missing.
By the time the skit had played out, the crowd of happy
onlookers that had stopped to watch and stayed to applaud
astounded both Jef and Riki. They were a surrounded, they were
a success, and they were drunk with the thrill of it. But,
most importantly, they were at the beginning of the rest of
their lives.
Largo followed Sarasota and festival season
followed festival season. New were the names D'Angelo and
Raphael and Tortuga , and they were spoken breathlessly on the
lips of everyone who saw them. The after-parade skit grew,
first into a lane act and then into a full-fledged stage show.
It was an amazing time for the young Tortugas, and things were
about to get exponentially better.
Ronn Bauman had been visiting
the Bay Area Renaissance Festival since the early 1980's, but
it wasn't until the close of that decade that he turned his
fantasy fascination into a performing renaissance character
named Scaramouche. His new juggling act showed a smattering of
success to the point where his took it “on the road” in the
summer of ‘89.
In January of 1990, tragedy struck the Hall
house when Jef's mother developed a severe illness. He had to
forego the Tortugas' first foray into an “away show” in the
Florida Keys , and would remain predominantly rooted at home
for many years to come. Because of Ronn's developing
friendship with both Riki and Jef, and his growing proficiency
with his own show, he was invited to stand in for Jef in the
Keys. The adventure, although not quite the professional
success that the boys had hoped, did give credence to an idea
that had been growing in young Bauman's brain.
 April Fool's Day of that same year, at the Bay Area
Renaissance Festival, Ronn Bauman stood on the chessboard of
the Human Chess Match with his costume hidden beneath a cloak
and waited to seize destiny with his impudent, yet ingenious
plan. His chess piece was called to fight, and he boldly
stepped to the center of the grassy square. He then threw off
his cloak to reveal that he was no longer wearing his usual
Scaramouche attire, but a Tortuga costume beneath. When
questioned by the king as to what he thought he was doing, he
loudly proclaimed, “…I'm a Tortuga now!” Both Robinson, who
was then directing the stunt show, and Hall stood staring with
their jaws agape at their friend's audacity – as did everyone
else watching the spectacle. He had done it, he had duped them
all, but the question remained as to how his April Fool's Day
joke would be received. At last the crowd released the breath
that it had been holding in anticipation when the Tortugas
smiled their delight and, more importantly, their approval of
the obvious compliment. Later that day Jef and Riki called
Ronn, who had been watching the final Tortuga Twins show from
the audience, up on stage with them. Together for the first
time, they performed an impromptu three-man set – much to the
obvious enchantment of those fans in attendance.
It was soon after that Ronn approached Riki
about taking the Tortuga Twins show on the road with him. They
would use Ronn's Scaramouche show contracts to open the doors
for their two-man Tortuga show, and Jef, ever the dutiful son,
would remain home with his ailing mother.
The first stop was the Bristol Renaissance Faire
in Kenosha , Wisconsin with the Tortuga Twins securing a
coveted stage spot by the third weekend. A call from Riki to
Mid America Festivals garnered them another show, and soon
they were off to the Kansas City Renaissance Festival located
in Bonner Springs , Kansas . By the end of the season, the
Tortugas had officially affixed two festivals to their on the
road repertoire with a plethora more to be added in the
seasons to come.
Over the coming years there were quite a few
steps taken in our Tortuga evolution. Many festivals were
added while others were let go. Costumes changed, with the
substitution of tights for the baggy pants receiving the most
adulation. Jef became a “full-time, on the road” Twin in 1999.
We were always changing, always growing, and getting bigger
and better than before. We laughed, we cried, we lived, we
loved, and now….
We are here, celebrating almost 20 years of
making the world just a touch more enjoyable. On Thursday,
March 5th, 1987 , a phenomenon caught fire and has since
burned ever brighter. We want to thank all of you, our fans,
for taking the ride with us and for allowing us the
opportunity to live life on such a grand scale.
With the addition of two, wildly successful
TortugaPalooza shows, a broadway style event, and now five
DVDs released they have proven to be an entertainment
powerhouse.
And Yes they do "do" weddings, birthdays and Bar
mitzvahs if the price is right!
As if that wasn't enough...
Bryan Ragon (Salvador)
Missing the bicentennial by only twenty days, Bryan's birth fulfilled prophecy on July 24, 1976. He spent the first twenty years of his life in the tiny town of East Dubuque, Illinois . While most little boys were either playing t-ball, joining little league, or playing cowboys and indians--this was before the day of guitar hero, mind you--Bryan and his friends busied themselves playing hobbits and orcs. One could say his uber geek status was won at an early age--a title he has never relinquished.
While his older sisters, Jennifer and Michelle, were content to go for the sports route in high school, Bryan followed in the footsteps of his cousin, Carissa. Perhaps this was due to one too many incidents of "No one can beat up my little brother but me! Here, let me show you!" (Don't worry, he now has a wonderful, loving, and abuse free relationship with both of his sisters.) His cousin, however, was a musician and actress. When one is unable to hit a baseball, at least they can make you smiling by playing the fool on-stage.
Bryan's theatre career started as many do, with high school plays. Things got serious once college came around. At the height of his college years, he was performing in seven to eight shows a year. In his life he has worked with 15 different companies and performed in approximately 75 shows. It was during this time that he lost all shame, gaining the ability to strip for medieval audiences everywhere--don't let the glare blind you.
His first step toward tortugahood wasn't even recognizable as such. In 2000 he left the quaint, corn-loving mid-west, and traveled to Charlotte, NC. He spent the next seven years there, by day a mild mannered computer administrator, by night a man of steel, er, the theatre. In his early years in Charlotte, he met a follow actor, Brian Holloway. The next step towards velvet tights.
In 2007, Brian and Bryan--I swear that could be the title of a musical dance number--were performing together in Into the Woods. Brian is the local cart-god for the Twins in Carolina. He told Bryan that the twins were looking for new members, and thought that Bryan might be a good fit. He had been a patron for several years, but never considered being a renaissance performer.
After careful consideration of 12.3 seconds--okay a week--Bryan took the plunge and threw his feather plumed hat onto the stage. The original triumvirate decided to give him a shot, and he started training with them at Carolina in 2008. The final path, leading through the woods to a yellow shirt.
Since then Bryan has counted himself lucky, to work with, and befriend guys as great--most of the time--as Jef, Rikki, Ronn, and Jeff (the other new guy.)
Jeff Schiltgen (Calviotto)
Jeff (with two “F's”) began his love affair with performing and Renaissance Festivals back in 1990, when he spent several years studying in Germany . Fascinated by the medieval history, he began attending theatrical and historical events. When he returned to Minnesota for College, Jeff joined the theater department to act in the Shakespearean comedy "Taming of the Shrew".
He realized he was hopelessly addicted to the Renaissance Period when he looked in his wardrobe one day and saw that he owned more pairs of tights than he did jeans.
In 1994, Jeff broke into the Renaissance Festival scene wearing a kilt. An ill-fitting, K-Mart plaid kilt. After several encounters with a cold breeze he decided that tights may indeed be more appropriate.
After years of performing with the comedy troupe "Ten Seconds of Harmony", “Commedia Dell'Arte” and several other stints onstage, he decided that he wanted something a bit more yellow. He met with the Twins, and soon after became a “TIT”, or “ Tortuga in Training”. Now, after months of intense beer drinki…training…Calviatto has been born.
In "Real life" Jeff enjoys racquetball, loves to travel, and plays the glorious game of Warhammer. In the "Grand Tournament" for Warhammer, he won the award for "Best Overall Gamer"…a distinction of truly epic nerd proportions…
Current projects:
• The Tortuga Twins
• Domination of the Warhammer Universe
• The German Brothers |
