Known World Players
Encyclopedia
The Known World Players is a small theater troupe based out of Nashville
, Tennessee
. Officially founded in 2001 as an in-house troupe for the Drachenburg Renaissance Festival, the Known World Players (also known as KWP), began performing at other Renaissance Fair
s around the country.
KWP focuses on stage combat
and uses the Society of American Fight Directors style of choreography. Creative costuming and completely tailored shows have been a hallmark of KWP since its inception. Popular productions have included the Pirate/Shakespeare human chess
match, and many iterations of fantasy shows involving a bevy of fairies, trolls, elves, goblins, and sprites
.
In recent years, the troupe has shifted focus from Ren Faires to Science Fiction Convention
s and Anime convention
s.
Some past locations of shows by KWP include:
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. Officially founded in 2001 as an in-house troupe for the Drachenburg Renaissance Festival, the Known World Players (also known as KWP), began performing at other Renaissance Fair
Renaissance Fair
A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire, or Renaissance festival is an outdoor weekend gathering, usually held in the United States, open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which emulates a historic period for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent theme parks, others are...
s around the country.
KWP focuses on stage combat
Stage combat
Stage combat is a specialized technique in theatre designed to create the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. It is employed in live stage plays as well as operatic and ballet productions. The term is also used informally to describe fight choreography for other...
and uses the Society of American Fight Directors style of choreography. Creative costuming and completely tailored shows have been a hallmark of KWP since its inception. Popular productions have included the Pirate/Shakespeare human chess
Human chess
Human chess is a variant of chess, often played at a Renaissance fair, where people each take on the role of a chess piece. Human chess is typically played on an outdoor field, with the squares of the board marked out on the grass. Many Human Combat Chess Matches are choreographed stage shows that...
match, and many iterations of fantasy shows involving a bevy of fairies, trolls, elves, goblins, and sprites
Sprite (creature)
The term sprite is a broad term referring to a number of preternatural legendary creatures. The term is generally used in reference to elf-like creatures, including fairies, and similar beings , but can also signify various spiritual beings, including ghosts. In Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl books,...
.
Science fiction convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...
s and Anime convention
Anime convention
An anime convention is an event or gathering with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Commonly, anime conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activities and panels...
s.
Some past locations of shows by KWP include:
- Drachenburg Renaissance Festival
- Shakespeare and Friends in the Park
- Alabama Renaissance Festival
- Louisiana Renaissance Festival
- Geneseo Shakespearean Festival
- Ravenhearst Medieval Fantasy Faire
- MARCO Faire
- The Nashville Public Library
- Smokey Mountain Renaissance Festival
- Oak Ridge Renaissance Faire
- Rossini Italian Street Fair
- Middle Tennessee Anime ConventionMiddle Tennessee Anime ConventionThe Middle Tennessee Anime Convention is the first anime convention in Tennessee. Based in Nashville, TN, MTAC is also known as Music City's Anime Convention.- Programming :...
- HypericonHypericonHypericon is a speculative fiction convention held yearly in June in Nashville, Tennessee. Hypericon is presented by Frontiers-Nashville, a non-profit organization dedicated to the support of the fannish community and all their myriad interests...
- InConJunctionInConJunctionInConJunction is a fan-run, not-for-profit science fiction convention held every July 4 weekend in Indianapolis, Indiana. Past guests include Catherine Asaro, Michael Z. Williamson, George R.R. Martin, Jerry Pournelle, Glen Cook, Mike Resnick, Timothy Zahn, and David Drake. The convention focuses...
- Frolicon
- Explor-A-Con