Palatine Native Fights Alongside Robin Hood at Renfaire

A 23-year-old Palatine woman regularly engages in street fighting – at the Bristol Renaissance Faire near Kenosha, Wis. Every weekend at Renfaire, Nicole Zare is Much the Miller’s Daughter one of Robin Hood’s crew at the historically based theme park.

The scenario is that pirates are after Lord Burghley, of Queen Elizabeth’s court, while Robin Hood, his Merry Men and the Yeomen of Sherwood work to stop the pirates from getting near the lord.

“We have several fights that are part of the program and quite a few we pull out during the day that are not part of the program. It’s pretty loud and boisterous with lots of yelling and metal,” Zare said.

Zare got her start in acting at the age of 6, when her father signed her up for a theater class with the Palatine Park District. She continued to participate in theater at Palatine High School, and then graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in directing.

One of her passions as an actor is fighting and she is a member of the Society of American Fight Directors, which holds workshops throughout the country.

“It’s all about creating the illusion of violence and telling a story. People think we just learn to fake fight, but it’s about creating a character while fighting and telling a story,” Zare said.

This is Zare’s first year performing at Bristol Renaissance Faire. She learned about the opportunity through friends in the Society for American Fight Directors.

“I’ve met a wonderful group of people and you get into the character more than in a theater show,” Zare said.

“When I first signed up as a fight-cast character I was told the character is an amped-up version of you. I play Much the Miller’s Daughter, who is Much the Miller’s Son in stories. He can be everything from a child to a killer to a thief  … An amped-up version of me is like a brat. We like to throw jokes and make fun of each other, but at the end of the day we’re all friends.”

All first-year performers are required to complete 45 hours of classes at the Bristol Academy of Performing Arts before the start of the season, which began July 9.

“The academy is really interesting. A lot of people who do Renfaire are not people who do theater, but love doing this. It’s a great opportunity to learn about dialect; you see people grow from little to no knowledge of what it’s like to be on stage into amazing character. It is fantastic,” Zare said. She added that she didn’t find any of the Renaissance history lectures boring.

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