I need to take you on a brief tangent. I couldn't tell you how many times Mirf has been called Murphy, but not as many that call me Captain instead of Cap'n. As Mirf has no "E" sound in it, Cap'n has no "T" sound in it.
You may ask yourself, "Self, what does it matter?" It only matters when details really matter.
For example… I served in the United States Navy, Captain is an official rank that I never held. Cap'n is a 
slang term referring to a ships commander regardless of rank. Not wanting anyone to accidentally confuse my "Stage Name" and my "rank" when I served in the US Navy I use Cap'n instead of Captain… Does it matter? Only to those whom it matters or those navigating to my website www.capnsean.com. Adding the "tai" to the Cap'n takes you to a completely different website. The other nuanced mispronunciation is Mirf sounds like the shortened Irish endearment for Murphy, which leads people to assume Mirf's name is Murphy, just like hearing Cap'n and thinking it's spelled with a T. Does it matter, only on his legal paperwork but here's why it's Mirf, not Murphy.
As I mentioned earlier in the article "How it started" I never intended to work with livestock, ever. I was progressing well with my act gaining interest from other venues in other states. It was a combination of events that happened during the 2022 season that would change the course of my life and my show. The 2020 season was cancelled due to Covid and the 2021 season was not like the seasons before Covid. Things were opening up but people were still scared and some were hesitant to attend large gatherings and the Michigan Renaissance Festival is quite the large gathering. Frankly, the festival lacked the enthusiastic engagement with the patrons I had come to love while performing at outdoor festivals. A pall still hung over the entire festival as everyone hadn't quite moved on from the pandemic. Things still felt fairly stagnant. I was happy to be performing but happy when the season ended.
The 2022 Michigan Renaissance Festival turned out to be electric. Nothing like the previous year. People were excited to be at the festival, life was returning and they had money to spend. The season started out great, the crowds were large and continued to get better each week. Tragedy struck between weeks two and three. My fuzzy friend at home that spent all his time with me and waited at the window for my return whenever it left. Bill the cat died of heart failure in his sleep, I found him early Thursday morning. I was devastated, I had never had a closer bond with a cat. I decided that I was going to get another cat, a kitten so that I could train him to travel with me as a companion. Bill was a big long haired domestic cat with a dash of Main Coon and Norwegian Forest Cat mixed in their. He was a big beautiful stray mut that I rescued from starvation near my mother-in-law's house. Bill's size and demeanor I was told was like a Maine Coon so I decided I wanted a Maine Coon kitten and sought out a breeder. After finding one that I was comfortable with and tendering a deposit I was officially on the waiting list for a male Maine Coon kitten.
If you have already read "How it started" you will remember my friend Blake started harassing me about breaking the rules of circus. "No Pet's on the road" is the rule. Some of the other taunts Blake would hit me with were "everyone loves fuzzy animals" or "you can't go wrong with an animal in the show". One of my favorites was "pet's are a liability, livestock's an asset who's care is tax deductible". Blake did have a point, women and children openly love cat's. Wherever women and children are, men will follow. Adding a cat to my show would be a huge draw for my show. After a couple weeks of Blake blathering on and on about traveling with anything that's not part of the show is against the rules of circus and the rules of circus apply because its all circus my resolve began to erode. I started seriously thinking about the possibility of adding a cat to my show. I wanted a kitten so that I could raise him to travel with me so that when I'm by myself on the road I would have a companion. Blake argued that wasn’t the problem, earning it's keep was the problem. The rule of circus as Blake puts it is "If it costs you money it must make you money". Adding a cat to my show is no small feat. I would have to change the show I spent the last 5 years developing, it was a good show and changing it is a risk.
It was week five I decided to ask my audience their opinion. My audience is the reason the festival keeps having me back. Near the end of my show when I do my hat line, I ask the audience to put their discarded playing card pieces in either the basket or my hat along with any gratuities that they have to offer. I paused the show momentarily and said, "As my audience I need your opinion. Earlier during the festival my cat Bill died of a heart attack." (The audience would collectively awe sorrowfully in empathy) I would pause and smile until it would go quiet again. Then I would continue, "working on the road alone can be lonely so I have decided to get a Maine Coon kitten. Now I'm told that having an animal on the road that's not in your show is against the rules of circus. By an affirmative of AYE! How many of you think I should add a Maine Coon to my show?" The response that I got from every audience was the same, a loud resounding "AYE!" I would follow up by saying "This is what I do for living and Maine Coons are not cheap so vote with your tips!"
My audience voted with their tips resoundingly YES! I decided since the…
- Michigan Renaissance Festival is how I started performing stage shows outdoors.
- Michigan Renaissance Festival performers and patrons encouraged me to add the kitten to my show.
- Michigan Renaissance Festival audience members paid for the kitten.
… since the acronym for the Michigan Renaissance Festival is MIRF and is often referred to as "mirf" I decided to name him Mirf the Magnificent in honor of the place and people that made it possible.
So, that's how Mirf got his name.
However, MIRF management was skeptical of Mirf the Magnificent. There were changes in management, cuts in staffing. The old entertainment director departed, the person picking up the slack had another job so nobody really noticed the changes in my contract that I was working with a live animal until I showed up with a live animal Friday evening before opening day. Opening day at the morning meeting. Mirf was very well behaved and it was a good thing. It was his final test. A guy I will call Evaluator saw Mirf and I in the front row of the seating of the stage the meeting is held at. The cast, crew and entertainment meet every morning to sign in and find out any relevant and irrelevant information to be dispensed. Its also a catch up with everyone since last year kind of busy meeting. Lots of noise, lots of people moving around. Laughing, yelling, and applause. Mirf was sitting on the bench near me wearing his harness and leashed to me. Evaluator guy is the guy that evaluates talent on an ongoing basis. You'll see him at your show at least once a year, he doesn’t stay for the whole show because he has his own show to do, but he reports to management and I'm pretty sure they follow his recommendations. Evaluator guy walks up to me and says with his arms crossed "So, You're thinking of adding a cat to your show?". I turn and look at him and say "No, I've added a cat to my show." It was just at that moment someone did or said something the crowd (of about 100) liked and they jumped up in shouts of jubilee and raucous applause. As Mirf is just sat there steadfast while everyone around him was pounding on benches and applauding. As the crowd began to quiet down I watched the expression of extreme skepticism fade into utter awe on the visage of Evaluator guy. When the crowd quieted down he looked at me and said in an awestruck voice "How do you train a cat?".
That was the question Mirf and I spent a whole year working on and continue to do so…
Next time, The first show.
Thank you for reading,
Cap'n Sean
