Need some pirates? This crew is for hire

VIRGINIA BEACH -- By day, members of the Overland Crew are regular working professionals, but come the weekend they don their gear and engage in random acts of piracy and all things piratical.

The Overland Crew, based in Virginia Beach, consists of Dr. Jerry “Barnabee Wilde” Hedrick, a chiropractor; Allison “Malyson Haight” Parker Hedrick, a conference and events planner; Jason “Red Jay” Parker; a psychology professor at Old Dominion University; and Stasi “Ginny Tonic” Betts, a restaurant manager.

Sometimes they take Virginia Parker, Allison and Jason’s 75-year-old mother, as their hostage.

All four members of the Overland Crew are veteran actors, comedians, singers and writers – as well as self-professed “history nerds,” who enjoy combining their love of the performing arts with pirates.

The crew has evolved over the years and enables them to not only share their love of history, but also let their own inner child out.

“It’s fun to dress up and get a lot of attention, but the history side of it has become a big part of it for me,” said Jerry Hedrick, who enjoys educating young and old about pirates. “I like watching little kids’ eyes light up.”

“Who doesn’t like a pirate?” Parker Hedrick asked. “Pirates are not some dead thing in a book. We capture the whole feeling of living in a different time and day.”

The Overland Crew is available for parties, events and fundraisers – and like most good pirates, they are willing to go anywhere. Most recently, they were the officially licensed pirates of the 2010 Virginia Renaissance Faire held this past May through June in Spotsylvania, Va.

For five consecutive weekends, the Overland Crew engaged crowds with duels and interactive sketches, enacted a mock “ship boarding” and a “potential privateers program” for pirate hopefuls, sang bold and bawdy sea shanties and “tormented” unwitting patrons with jokes and bits of arcane pirate trivia.

“We were very interested in working with the Overland Crew because their performances parallel our mission of historical education through interactive entertainment,” said Chris Pantazis, production director for the Virginia Renaissance Faire.

“There are dozens, if not hundreds, of pirate-themed performance groups in our genre,” Pantazis said. “What truly sets the Overland Crew a part is their dedication, not just to the crowd, but to the individual.”

Parker Hedrick said the crew mixes education with fun.

“Whether helping people of all ages discover the skills necessary to be a successful pirate, such as raiding an enemy ship, using a hauling line and mastering a pirate’s slang and attitude, or sharing period skills like navigation, clothing or tavern songs and games, we want to be sure they are having as much fun as we are,” Hedrick said.

For more information about the Overland Crew, e-mail overlandcrew@earthlink.net.