Unfortunately, this is an issue that I (Shannon/Buxey) still feel needs to be addressed, if for no other reason than to be a cautionary tale to other performers out there.  I, and the rest of Willy's Wily Wenches, would hate for anyone else to go through what we have.

After faire ended in April 2007, it became obvious to me that I couldn't continue as a cast member at Four Winds Faire.  I had been having neurologically based health problems for years and they were only getting worse.  While I was finally under the care of an excellent doctor, not much could be done until I received a diagnosis.  Since neurological disorders are notoriously difficult to diagnose, a diagnosis was still far away.  The stress of performing all day in the humid, Texas heat was becoming too much for me. 

I was loathe to stop performing all together, however.  As many who have been bitten by the acting bug can tell you, once it's in your blood, you simply have to perform.  It's like eating and breathing; you need to do it to survive.  So, I came up with the idea to put together an all female acting troupe that specialized in Shakespearean farces and recruited two of the best actresses I knew: Kim (Ima), and Jenny (Anita).  A night spent brainstorming yielded the name Willy's Wenches.  After doing a thorough internet search to make sure no other group was performing under that name or anything similar, a MySpace page was created.  The date of the creation of the MySpace page was April 28, 2007.

A little over one month after the group formed, we performed at the Rendependence Day Joust in Troup, TX.  During the weekend of June 30th and July 1, 2007, we performed to rave reviews under the name Willy's Wenches.  Immediately after, we were booked for Four Winds Faire's 2008 season.  Press kits were also sent out.  All of this was done under the name Willy's Wenches.

It wasn't until March 2008, during our seven week run at Four Winds Faire, that I heard about another group with the name Willie's Wenches.  I was immediately alarmed and concerned.  Jenny, Kim, and I are genuinely good people.  We were horrified and distraught at the thought that, in spite of our thorough internet search that included a search of WhoIs, we might have accidentally taken another group's name.  We were also equally upset at the thought that another group might have stolen ours. 

Needless to say, that night I contacted the group via the contact info on their website to determine who had the name first.  I had already decided that if they had the name first, I would spare no expense to make sure things were set right for them, up to and including sending letters to the faires I had mailed our press kit out to in an attempt to try and clear up any confusion they might have over the similar names.

I didn't have long to wait for a response.  My e-mail was answered by a Mr. Adrian Gilby.  Over the course of the next few days, it was determined through numerous e-mails that not only did we have the name Willy's Wenches first but the other group had yet to be booked much less perform under the name Willie's Wenches. 

Still, Mr. Gilby flat out refused to consider a name change for Willie's Wenches.  They had incurred some expenses mailing out press kits and filming demos.  To change their name would mean they would have to re-incur those costs.  Apparently, Mr. Gilby either didn't consider or simply didn't care about the fact that we had incurred similar expenses in mailing out our press kits and creating our demos.

It was obvious to us that both groups could not go on performing under essentially the same name.  Already videos and reviews for our group were getting attributed to theirs due to fans misspelling our name.  Mr. Gilby's refusal to do the right thing and change his group's name meant the decision was up to us.  We could hire a lawyer and take the issue to court or simply change our name.  In the end, we made the frustrating and heartbreaking decision to change our name to Willy's Wily Wenches.

There are a couple of reasons why we ultimately came to that decision.  However unprofessional it might be, Mr. Gilby was e-mailing me from his work e-mail address instead of the one through their website; an e-mail address that identified him as working for a law firm in Kansas.  A simple internet search confirmed that he was employed by them.   I have to admit, that intimidated me.  Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if that was what he was going for.  Neither Kim, Jenny, nor I had the money to hire a lawyer and pursue a lawsuit, especially when it was possible that Mr. Gilby could defend himself or get a lawyer friend to do the work pro bono for him.  

Also, there was the issue of my health.  At the time, I was having appointments with my neurologist roughly once a month and undergoing several stressful, invasive tests in the pursuit of a diagnosis for the health problems that had been plaguing me.  The added stress surrounding our name being stolen was causing a flare in my symptoms, ultimately making my health even worse than it already was.  The decision to change our name effectively put the situation to rest and allowed me to focus more fully on my health.

Mr. Gilby claimed that Willie's Wenches did a thorough search before settling upon their name.  I have to admit, it's a claim that I doubt to this day.  Our groups are geographically close; we are based in Northeast Texas and they are in Kansas.  With performers and patrons willing to drive 300 miles or more to go to a faire, it's easy to hear about other groups working the 'local' faire circuit.  Also, shortly after our first performance in June/July 2007, video of us was uploaded by well-meaning fans of ours with our name misspelled as Willie's Wenches.  Even a quick Google search would have yielded those videos in the top 10 search results.

In my initial correspondence with Mr. Gilby, he further claimed that Willie's Wenches first formed in November 2007.  Information submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, a government agency, that I recently stumbled across online lists their formation date as January 2008.  This may be a small point however I feel it speaks volumes about Mr. Gilby's credibility.  He either lied to me or he lied to the US government.  Either way, he lied.

In the time since our name change, I have heard from patrons and other performers that the name "Willie's Wenches" isn't the only thing they have acquired from other groups.  The rumors I have heard of Willie's Wenches incorporating material from other groups' shows they have performed with at various faires into their own is really quite sad.

Unfortunately, this sort of behavior is common.  Whenever an excellent performance troupe comes along on the Renaissance Faire circuit, another group takes their ideas in order to make a quick buck or two.  Just imagine how awesome it would be if instead of stealing someone else's ideas, these copycat groups took the time to come up with and perfect their own!

At any rate, I hope our experience serves as a lesson for performers of all kinds out there.  As soon as you form a group or begin performing on your own, trademark your name.  Copyright any material you use.  Don't be intimidated by the copycats out there.  And whatever you do, please don't let them stop you from enjoying yourself and sharing your talents with others!