Hanlon-Lees Action Theater is an American entertainment company credited with the development of

theatrical jousting Coined in the late 20th century by American stunt performer Kent Shelton, the term theatrical jousting refers to a form of live entertainment in which a medieval jousting tournament is recreated in conjunction with a scripted performance. Altern ...

. The company was formed in 1979 by partners Kent Shelton, Robin Wood, Richard "Dikki" Ellis, R. Vincent Park, Taso N. Stavrakis, and Stephen "Omms" Ommerle. Inspired by the 19th century

Hanlon-Lees {{Refimprove, date=March 2008 A group of pre-Vaudevillian acrobats founded in the early 1840s, the Hanlon-Lees were world-renowned practitioners of "entortillation" (an invented word based upon the French term '' entortillage'', which translates t ...

—a troupe of pre-Vaudevillian acrobatic performers—the young partners conducted thorough research into the background of their Victorian counterparts and recreated many of their stunts and patented theatrical apparatus (for example, a device capable of simulating an onstage decapitation) for modern usage. Vince Park managed to locate the final surviving descendant of the original Hanlons and received her blessing to continue using the moniker "Hanlon-Lees"; Omms is generally credited with the invention of the addendum "Action Theater." Early off-Broadway theatrical performances by the new Hanlon-Lees included an original

Three Musketeers 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * ''Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 n ...

show entitled ''The Queen's Diamonds'' (featuring another friend from North Carolina,

Terrence Mann Terrence Vaughan Mann (born July 1, 1951) is an American theatre, film and television actor. He is best known for his appearances on the Broadway stage, which include Chester Lyman in ''Barnum'', Rum Tum Tugger in '' Cats'', Javert in '' Les ...

who would shortly afterwards be prominently cast in ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

'') and a comedic free-for-all, ''Etched In Stone''. The group alternated these infrequent stage productions with appearances at the

New York Renaissance Faire The New York Renaissance Faire is a Renaissance faire located in Tuxedo, New York off New York State Route 17A. In 2022, the faire celebrated its 45th season. The faire comprises permanent structures and has twenty stages and more than 100 shops. ...

, where their primary attraction was a tournament of knightly skills culminating in a mounted

jousting Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament (medieval), tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying t ...

match. These early shows centered upon the training of a

squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a " ...

who would, over the course of a three-act program, be challenged to a joust and win his knighthood from the King. While other medieval festivals featured historically authentic jousting re-enactments (usually featuring combatants chosen at random and separated by a tilt rail), the Hanlon-Lees were the first performers to incorporate a choreographed joust and ground battle into a scripted dramatic performance. Horses were purchased and trained to become acclimated to the crashing of weapons and shields, as well as to the cheering of thousands of patrons; durable swords had to be crafted from spring steel because lightweight aluminum props would not withstand the heavy combat required in the ground fights. The result, eventually termed "theatrical jousting" by Kent Shelton, was co-opted by dozens of rival companies in the years to follow. In the early 1990s, the company also began performing a

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

event based upon the legendary extravaganzas of

Buffalo Bill Cody William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years in ...

. These performances typically include demonstrations of trick-shooting, lasso-twirling, and whip-cracking, among other such spectacles. Originally based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and later

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, the company is today headquartered at a private ranch (dubbed the "Wild West Knights' Rest") in Luther, Oklahoma.

External links

Official company website

{{authority control Theatre companies in Oklahoma