Jen Brister's thoughts on the Fringe: keeping up energy levels

Wednesday 1 August 2012

Jen Brister has been a regular performer at Edinburgh since 2006. She's savouring the buzz as this year's Fringe begins.

Jen tries to look unconcerned while frantically checking the listings

I love the first week of the Fringe – I feel buoyant, full of beans, dare I say upbeat.

Yes it won’t last and yes it could be indigestion, but the energy in Edinburgh is electric. There is a buzz in the air and for once it’s not my tinnitus because the Festival has finally begun and I’m raring to go!

My flat mates (also comedians) and I are excited to be in our new flat, not least because we’ve been in the kitchen and discovered a coffee pot and one frying pan that works, which has definitely made that £1000 on rent feel like money well spent. To hell with the expense! We’ve been shopping and our fridge is filled with low fat stuff like savoy cabbage and fennel bulbs (They were an impulse buy ok?) We’re feeling positive and on a mission to stay healthy so this year we’re going to do things differently. We’ve made a pact that there’ll be no hedonistic boozing, late night kebabs or sleepless nights. Video: Jen asks her flatmate Zoe Lyons for advice on surviving the Fringe (and other Edinburgh experiences). Warning - some viewers may find elements of this content offensive. This year the three of us will be doing the right thing by our bodies in order to preserve our mental health. After all my body is a temple, or some other dusty building that is ignored 6 days of the week. So I’ve been told that tomorrow I’m joining a gym – Hooray! What could be more fun than lifting weights and running on machines that move faster than seems absolutely necessary? Apparently I’m also starting Bikram yoga – Hooray! Bending and stretching in a room hotter than a wood fire pizza oven sounds like a good time! Oh and I’ve also been signed up for circuit training in the Meadows. Hooray! Running in the mud while some sadistic bloke shouts at me to “Keep going fatso!” is a dream come true… in literally no way whatsoever…. God who am I kidding? I’ll be honest with you. I find walking round Edinburgh exhausting. After all there are over 300 million performers in the city for the month of August (this is a fact that I made up) and every single one of them is here in this beautiful city to convince you, lovely reader, to come to their show. Of course I’m no different, I may pretend to be writing this blog as a means of demonstrating my ability to…well…write. But actually I’m sending you a subliminal message, it’s very subtle, in fact some of you may miss it entirely, so here it is: COME TO MY SHOW! PLEEEASE! Ahem… as I said, subtle. This first week isn’t about keep fit! No, it’s all about promotion and just like every other performer, I am doing all I can to get bums on seats: 1) Flyering – yes we can’t get enough of shoving pieces of glossy A5 paper into the faces of angry strangers who are just trying to find Arthur’s Seat. 2) Internet Radio – what could be better than taking part in an interview at 6am whilst trying to suppress a raging hang over with the knowledge that literally no one is listening to a single word you’re saying. 3) Late night cabaret gigs – Why not pedal a bit of your show at 3 am at a dodgy cabaret night in front of an audience of inebriated students who appear to have no peripheral vision and spend most of the night trying to roll a cigarette with your flyer. As you can see, I’m incredibly busy! I’ve got circuits to run and flyers to flyer and gigs to perform, thank God I had that fry up this morning. www.jenbrister.co.uk

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Jen Brister's thoughts on the Fringe: keeping up energy levels

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