Fringe Fringe Fringe

Darragh did a great post about the Absolut Fringe Fest a couple of weeks ago with a brilliant break down of what’s on and what he’s thinking of going to. Check it out here.

One thing that did catch my eye was the Festival Clubs. The idea is that rather than sit back and watch the goings on, regular punters can learn a thing or two and take part in the arts. There’s five different clubs with specialists in their field running each one. I’m particularly looking forward the Debate Club and possible the cheery sounding Glee Club.

Debate Club:

No longer the bastion of the angrily elite and irrevocably nerdtacular. Join Irish Times debate champion John Gallagher in the clubhouse as he shares his oratorical knowledge with you. Learn how to use big words to win an argument, like oratorical. The club will culminate in a presentation at the Fringe awards where you can delight and dazzle the audience with your new found mastery of persuasive language. Point of Information: This will be awesome. This club includes a field trip to the Value of Art talk on Thu 10th at 7pm.

Glee Club:

The first Glee Club was founded in London in 1787, but the best Glee Club ever is this one right here. It’s got singing! It’s got… well mostly just singing really, with Neil O’Connor of Somadrone and Redneck Manifesto fame. But you’ll compose a song with him to perform at the ABSOLUT FRINGE awards too. According to Yale Glee Club, its members are drawn together by a common understanding that raising one’s voice with others to create something beautiful is one of the noblest human pursuits. Er… for this, just think choir, but with a bit more pizzazz. Come along, take a deep breath, open your mouth and spew forth glee. This club includes a field trip to the Fringe 2 in 1: F.L.O.W and ESSAIS EMISSION on Mon 14th at 8pm.

There’s also the Dance Club, which I have no hope of attending as I not only have two left feet, but one of them seems to be turned backwards too. If you think you have what it takes to be the next Banksy (or if you just like drawing on walls), check out the Street Art Club.

Dance Club:

Having difficulty expressing yourself with words alone? Ready to unleash your inner Nureyev or Pina Bausch? Well step away from the wall onto the dance floor. This is your opportunity to work with one of Ireland’s leading contemporary choreographers, Artistic Director of CoisCéim, David Bolger. No experience necessary! All you need is a healthy dose of enthusiasm, a hunger to express yourself and a willingness to sweat. This club includes a field trip to Aerowaves Double Bill on Sun 13th at 8.30pm.

Street Art Club:

Will St Leger is going to take you on a street art super journey covering spray painting to stencils to paste ups. You could think of it as a series of dates, but that might make the whole thing a little uncomfortable. What’s not uncomfortable is becoming the next Banksy while getting to street artify a whole wall at the Bernard Shaw. There will be paint and glue everywhere. But not unless you snap up one of only 20 places for this super cool, super hot, totally unsupercilious club. This club includes a field trip to Mind The Gap on Thu 17th at 7.30pm.

And then there’s the dubious Science Club. Apparently nerds are cool these days? Really? The last time I tried to talk about the density of clouds I was completely snubbed. That’s the last time I’ll go to the aftershow of the Meteors. This does sound pretty interesting though -

Science Club:

Geek is chic and no more so that at ABSOLUT FRINGE’s Science Club, with Science Gallery. The Science Club will explore the science of taste and aroma, creating some kitchen chemistry and whipping up a feast of food foams to link in with the ongoing BUBBLE exhibition at Science Gallery. These hands-on workshops will be led by leading food scientist David Jackson, who will guide the gastro-geeks through an exploration of taste, smell, physiology and psychology of taste and molecular gastronomy. Make like Heston and sign up to this Science Club with something for all the senses. This club includes a field trip to Apocalypse When? on Fri 18th at 6pm.

As far as I can see each club consists of about five sessions across the two week run of the Fringe Fest. It costs only €30 and must be booked beforehand from the Festival Office in Filmbase Templebar or by phone on 1850 374 643 (1850 FRINGE). You can also check out their overwhelming website - www.fringefest.com.