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Have you met The Ladies of the Salty Kiss?

Laughing, the Captain scans the audience, searching for a couple of likely looking candidates for her next escapade. If any of the crowd expected singing wenches, they’ll soon find out that they have come to the wrong place, for here there be pirates. Cross the Carol Burnett Show with a vaudeville act, toss in the Grimm Brothers’ Fairy Tales, add Captain Emerald Shaunassey’s own special touches, and you have a unique blend. Let me introduce you to The Ladies of the Salty Kiss.

Background

Kittye Williams, aka Captain Emerald Shaunassey, is the creator, owner, and manager of the group. Born and raised in Oklahoma, Kittye still lives within 10 miles of her hometown. In the mundane world, she is a registered nurse who thrives on the night shift because, she told me with a chuckle, “I hate mornings.” Growing up, she was involved in various music programs, singing with choirs and playing the recorder, trombone, and piano. She attended her first faire in 1998 on a dare and, like so many of us, felt immediately at home. The next year, she worked for a sword merchant and then began volunteering at the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival at Muskogee Castle. A couple of years later, she was selected for cast and has been developing her own characters ever since. While developing her Scottish lady-in-waiting character for ORF, Emerald sprang forth unexpectedly and took on a life of her own. The pirate Captain did not fit in with the theme of the faire, so Kittye never used the character on cast. Instead, Emerald was the character she portrayed when attending faires as a playtron.

Diane Voegeli, aka Ruby Rose, is originally from Central Missouri. An Army vet, she lived in Texas before moving to Oklahoma 28 years ago. She has sewn since high school, cooks for pleasure, and is currently sewing in a factory. She’s been with the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival at the Muskogee Castle, in some capacity, most years since its founding, first helping outfit the Castle with linens, then working for a merchant, and as a member of the Garrison—a group who runs the jail and bail and cooks for the cast and crew. She joined the cast of ORF shortly before Kittye did and was a street character for several years. When the demands of a mundane job prevented her attendance on the necessary consecutive weekends, Diane left the cast but continued attending as a playtron when she was able.

Jackie Reavis, aka Garnet, lives in Houston, Texas, where she is a schoolteacher. Her husband introduced her to faires about ten years ago and she began working on cast and with stage shows about five years later. She first met Kittye when The Ladies of the Salty Kiss performed at the Four Winds Renaissance Faire. Jackie, portraying the Queen, was kidnapped by the Ladies and held for ransom. While she was a hostage, the Ladies recast her as a Pirate Queen.

Joanne Bednarck, aka Pearl, is originally from California but now lives in Oklahoma with her husband and children. She’s been performing off and on since the age of ten and enjoys acting, singing, and dancing. While actively pursuing her dream of traveling with the Renaissance circuit, she takes college courses and works as a bookkeeper in a small business. She and Kittye met on Pyracy Pub, an online community for pirates around the world, where they discovered they were both located in Oklahoma.

Kiri Martin, aka Amethyst, originally from Iowa and living in Claremore, Oklahoma, now, is a college student preparing for a degree in Communication Arts. She has performed in both school productions and local theatres since junior high. Kiri learned quickly that quick thinking and a willingness to interact could be dangerous around Captain Shaunassey. She was in the audience one windy day when the Captain was trying to hang a flag. Emerald wondered aloud where the rigging monkey was and Kiri promptly replied, “They’re probably on a banana break.” Emerald liked it enough to pull Kiri on stage for one of the skits and encourage her to stick around after the show.

Pamala Williams (no relation to Kittye), aka Diamond, a native of Tulsa, began performing when she was a child. She works during the week as a data processor at a photo lab. She joined the cast of the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival in 2000 where she met Kittye and Diane.

Faire History

Kittye developed a back-story for Emerald that included a ship of thirteen female pirates. One of the tag lines for the act is Gems of the Seas, which is wholly appropriate as she named the crewmembers for gemstones and each wears the color associated with her stone. She included the Non-Playing Characters (NPCs) in her role-playing on an AOL chat room and on Piracy Pub. When not on cast at a faire, she attended as Emerald and lived the story, talking about the NPCs as if they were real people. As her friends learned about the members of the pirate crew, some expressed an interest in becoming the NPCs. Kittye thought about it and decided that the back-story would make an interesting stage show and The Ladies of the Salty Kiss moved from storytelling to real life.

Knowing that there would be times when the crew would be short handed, Kittye developed the skits in a way that allows any three crewmembers to handle the entire performance. She, Diane, and Pam have been performing in the fulltime roles of Captain Emerald Shaunassey, Diamond the Gaoler (jailer), and Ruby Rose the Stitchwitch (maker of sails and clothes for the crew) for the last three years. The other three women—Jackie, Joanne, and Kiri—perform as often as their mundane lives allow in the roles of Garnet, Mistress Gunner; Pearl, the Quartermaster; and Amethyst, the Armorer. The six are a solid core group that works well together. Kittye told me that while she would love to have a full cast, she has learned that the right person for the right part will come along if she keeps her eyes open.

The Ladies of the Salty Kiss, being a comedy stage act with no singing, is unique on the Renaissance circuit. Kittye does historical research as she develops the skits and educational bits are included in each show along with a good measure of fun. An example is the Pirate Boot Camp where volunteers learn what it took to be a pirate. Based on a modern military boot camp, volunteers are assigned new names, new clothes, and a task list. With a few twists and some friendly competition, they learn to handle their weapons and perform their duties. Kittye includes a salute to veterans as part of that set, which led to one of her most memorable moments.

The Ladies were performing at the Midwest Renaissance Faire in Omaha, Nebraska, this past Memorial Day weekend. Kittye asked for and received permission from faire management to include a non-period American flag in the Pirate Boot Camp skit. When the call for veterans went out, she asked them to stand, and then thanked them for their sacrifice and for allowing us the freedom to “do our crazy stuff at faire.” The Ladies then marched out with the flag. After the show, many of the vets approached the crew with thanks for the acknowledgement and hugs. Kittye told me that she is not ashamed to admit that she was in tears while they talked and that their reactions made all the preparation worth it. The moment is still powerful for her as evidenced by the catch in her throat. Hearing her tell the story had the same effect on me.

A Ladies of the Salty Kiss show involves lots of movement, audience participation, and props. That combination has led to some humorous moments. Kittye told me of the time a prop burst and sprayed the audience with birdseed just as the volunteer was fitted with it. On another occasion, the mascots at the end of a boot camp sword flew off. If it’s raining, the stages become slick. Kittye has slipped and fallen and Pamala has fallen off the stage. Since it is a comedy, the Ladies use quick thinking and improvisation to turn the problems into even more laughs. Even forgetting the skeleton key to the period padlock on the prop box doesn’t slow them down. Out comes a blade and a hair pin from one of the pirates and, amid jokes and misdirection, the lock is soon picked and the show goes on.

These Days

Each of the crew has a full time job, so The Ladies of the Salty Kiss only perform at Faires in the Midwest at this time. So far this year, they have appeared at Scarlet’s Mid-Winter Festival, the Four Winds Renaissance Faire, Bowie Faire Day, the Midwest Renaissance Festival, the Lawton Renaissance Festival, the Missouri River Regional Library Renaissance Festival, and King’s Champion Medieval Faire. The remainder of the year will see the Ladies in Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas as they bring their special brand of humor to the Messina Italian Renaissance Festival Day, Middlefaire, and the Northwest Arkansas Renaissance Faire

Final Thoughts

The Ladies of the Salty Kiss, led by Captain Shaunassey, provide a bit of history and lots of laughter. They hope that you will join them and forget your cares for a while. Kittye says that she sees the truth of the old adage every day in her mundane job. “Laughing is what we’re all about. It’s very good medicine and none of us laugh enough these days.” Having a patron come to the crew after a show and thank them for the laugh, saying that they had really needed it, is what keeps them going.

Websites for The Ladies of the Salty Kiss

The Ladies of the Salty Kiss
The Ladies of the Salty Kiss on MySpace
The Ladies of the Salty Kiss on Renspace.com
The Ladies of the Salty Kiss at Cafe’ Press

August 20th, 2008 Posted by Escarlata | Have You Met? | 8 comments