Being a fountain of artistic energy is not a necessary prerequisite to becoming a historical re-enactor, but in the case of Douglas Herring, immense skill in photography and expertise at web design and upkeep have made him a definite treasure for the Seattle Knights. Douglas, in turn, has benefited from the challenges of joining the Knights as well as the Pirates of Puget Sound (the swashbucklers arm of the Seattle Knights) by learning to come out from backstage and get in front of the camera.
While being the group’s main photographer has him more often behind a lens than behind a sword, Douglas is proud of being the top scoring archer. He is more used to backstage work, having spent a big chunk of the 80s working as a production assistant/art director at a television station. Now he wishes he could do more acting, tracing his growing enjoyment to a father who also dabbled in the performing arts.
Getting to know Douglas involves a visit to his professional website at www.douglasherring.com. Tearing oneself away from that fascinating display of phantasmagorical artwork is difficult. I couldn’t help wondering how Douglas’s varied interests sprang up in his life, and in what order. 
Douglas:
It is a complicated question. At a very early age I developed an interest in all things historical, from dinosaurs to knights in shining armor to the Second World War. I blame movies and television for a lot of that, but it is all good. I have always loved good period movies, and bad ones too. Ones that made a surprisingly strong impact on me include such films as “One Million BC”, “Ben Hur”, “Cleopatra”, “King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table”, “The Longest Day”. I can go on and on. . . .
Dame Sylvie:
You seem to be part of three separate performance groups.
Douglas:
Yes, you can break the folks I work with into three separate groups: The Seattle Knights, our core fight/jousting troupe; the Seattle Knight Players, our thespian group; and the Pirates of Puget Sound of course do the Swashbuckler thing.
I have not seen a lot of truly historical pirates out there, such groups tend to be a bit more into the hedonistic side of the classic pirate, as opposed to focusing on what life would have been like on a male-only pirate ship raiding other ships and towns. It would be a rough, grueling and very short life. . . .
Dame Sylvie:
Do you wish that the pirate groups were more historically accurate and informative?
Douglas:
Well, there are those in the Medieval and Renaissance communities that go very heavy into historical accuracy, and that is fine, and I think helping the general public understand what life was like in the past is a great thing, but the idea is to have fun, make learning about the past interesting, and at times entertaining, so true accuracy is not always necessary. One of our many mottoes is “Education through Entertainment.” The pirates tend to play up the “Pirates of the Caribbean” aspect, seeking to entertain.
Dame Sylvie:
I noted the ship in the background of one of your photos. Fabulous realistic touch.
Douglas:
The pirate arm of the Seattle Knights, the Pirates of Puget Sound, has been fortunate enough to do a number of events where ships like the Lady Washington, the Lynx, and the Bill of Rights were also present. The crews on those ships have always been helpful and informative.
A tour of a ship like that, seeing how cramped and crowded the living conditions were aboard a ocean going ship like that, speaks to the reality of living on an 17th-18th century vessel far more than any group of land-based pirates can demonstrate. So, we fight with swords a lot . . .
. 
Dame Sylvie:
How do you find time to incorporate both the art and the performing in your life?
Douglas:
The answer to that question is, I don’t! I have a lot of fun with the performance work and with supporting friends and all with art, graphics, costuming, and web work. But it does nick into my time in the studio. . . .
Dame Sylvie:
What about your family time?
Douglas:
The kids are grown and out of the house! Life is about finding your passions and working them all together into something that compliments without taking away from anything, and I do okay with that. I have a lot of interests and a lot of hobbies, to be sure
Dame Sylvie:
What are the next events you are looking forward to?
Douglas:
Our next two upcoming shows are the Portland Pirate Festival, where the Pirates of Puget Sound will be performing both fights and running kids games; and the Penumbra Fantasy Faire in Enumclaw WA in October, which is an event Dameon himself is putting on. A bit of a something for everyone, from both a historical and fantasy and myth point of view. (See www.penumbrafaire.com)
Another event that I enjoy is the Tournament of the Phoenix, put on by the Historic Enterprise folks down near San Diego. I worked as a back stage volunteer and more or less official photographer on their two events last year, and hope to be down there again in October. A very interesting balance, more of a European style Jousting show, though they emphasize it is a modern sport based on the medieval as opposed to role-playing actual historical characters. (See www.worldjoust.com)
Dame Sylvie:
That sounds wonderful. I would like to go to it. Doug, How much training do your fighters and performers have to engage in before performances?
Douglas:
The Seattle Knights has an in-distance fight system, usually called simply the SK system, and our regular fighters/performers attend practices and rehearsals at least twice a week. . . .
(Please come back to www.renaissance-adventures.com in a week’s time to read the end of this interview, in which Douglas goes fight practice and procedures for re-enactment performers.)
Tags: arthur and the knights of the round table, artistic energy, assistant art director, California Renaissance Faires, Douglas Herring, Faire, herring, Jousters, king arthur, king arthur and the knights of the round table, Middle Ages, performance groups, puget sound, reenactment group, Renaissance Costume, Renaissance Faire Photography, Renaissance Jousting, television station
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