Today, no scooter talk

Today is the day that I write about something other than my scooter.

It is Fringe time again, and the posters in the Annex are in full bloom. If you step foot in the beer tent, you'll be accosted by actors furtively trying to push flyers into your hands. They won't make eye contact, however. They're too busy doing the Beer Tent Head Swivel. You know the one - the swivel that says "who else is here, and are they cooler than the person I'm currently talking to?" - it's also evident at industry parties.

I haven't done a show in the Fringe in years. I keep forgetting when the application process begins and ends. So I just go and watch the shows in the various theatres, and compare them to the anthropological shows I can see for free in the beer tent. It's usually a draw. Last year we saw a show that ended with a woman taking her clothes off in some sort of demonstration against the ravages of AIDS among our community. Alright. Wasn't crazy about the show, but it provided something the Fringe club didn't. Or at least as far as I saw.

And there's really nothing like watching actors and artists dance. They dance really hard! They have such abandon! They are FEELING the music. They are such free spirits! They are "dancing like no-body's watching"!

Of course, they hope that someone is watching. And that they'll get to tap that someone a little later.

Ah Fringe. How romantic.

Now I leave you with a tip, and this has served me well in Fringes gone by. I hate getting flyered. I hate filling up my purse and pockets with flyers. I have a fringe program, and an idea of what I'm going to see already. Your postcard isn't going to change my mind. I've tried declining the actual flyer, but asking them to tell me the title of their play, and I'd make a note of it in my program.

Blank stares. I can see their little actor brains working

"But.. but... the flyer is in colour. On cardstock. And it's two sided. It clearly reflects the quality of the show we've produced."

Very nice. I don't want it.

So here's my most recent trick, to appease the ego of the actor involved. I take the flyer, and I give it to the next person I see.

"Check out the show, it's great".

I call it, "Flyering it forward". Give it a try, and save a tree.