Rick Carver is a professional idiot and he’s darn proud of it.
‘Being an idiot I can do anything,? said the 1979 Oxford High School graduate now living in Pontiac. ‘I like to play around with the trash, jump through the mud. I get to have all sorts of fun like that.?
Carver, who’s act is known as ‘Ric Roc Zoo,? will be making his 21st appearance as a performer at the 28th annual Michigan Renaissance Festival, which runs Aug. 18 through Sept. 30 on weekends and Labor Day at the village of Hollygrove in Holly/Groveland townships.
‘One of the things that I love about the Renaissance Festival is it’s a very free, open market to try anything,? said Carver, who’s been part of the festival ever since he auditioned for it as a student at Oakland University.
‘I’ve always had an interest in performance,? said Carver, who studied mime and theater at Western Michigan University. ‘I auditioned (for the festival) and found myself with a career.?
During his two shows ? the ‘Dumb Show? and the ‘Stupid Show? ? Carver does everything from juggling (clubs, umbrellas, bowling balls, torches, knives, axes, etc.) to performing comedy in homemade masks to balancing extremely large objects on his face.
In one of his routines, Carver manages to balance an 8-foot long 4×4 wooden beam on top of another 8-foot long 4×4 beam, forming a giant T-shape.
‘I balance that whole thing on my chin,? he said. ‘That’s a fun thing to do.?
When he’s not performing one of his shows, Carver, who’s billed as ‘a bombastic beguiler of bumbling buffoonery,? can be found wandering around the 15-acre village of Hollygrove doing what he loves most ? improvisation.
‘That’s kind of the core of what holds this entire festival together ? improvising with people,? he said.
Carver enjoys interacting with the festival’s large and diverse crowd, which encompasses people from ‘all walks of life? and religions from families and bikers to Christians and pagans.
Unlike other fairs where people are too busy looking at merchandise and ‘not talking to each other very much,? the Renaissance Festival offers people the opportunity to participate by interacting with the performers and each other, according to Carver.
‘It’s a wild time for people to break down the barriers and just say, ‘Hey, let’s have fun,?? he said. ‘Here anything could happen at any moment anywhere.?
Carver performs at other Renaissance festivals around the state in Battle Creek, Muskegon, Charlevoix and Marshall. He’s also performed at Detroit’s Winter Blast and the Dearborn Arab International Festival.
He’s currently working as the artistic director for Delirio Del’Arte, a five-person ‘mayhem juggling troupe? based in metro Detroit and also performing at the Renaissance Festival.
When he’s not juggling or balancing, Carver does magic shows, miming and dancing on stilts.
‘I just try and dabble in a little bit of this, a little bit of that,? he said.
If all goes well, Carver will be teaching a class in miming at Oakland University in January. He’s taught miming there before as well as introduction to theater.
For more information about Carver’s act call (248) 225-3574.