A couple of weeks ago, there was some talk on meeting Poser members in the real world, and I'm sure some people will eventually meet somewhere in the USA. As for Europe, I'll be in Scotland this summer for another Fringe season, and if anyone plans to see the festival as well, it'll be a great chance to meet and have a bit of a chat... The Fringe 2001 runs from August 5th - 27th, I'll be in town myself from/until 15th - 22nd. Detailed information about the festival is available from the official FRINGE SITE. I'm especially pleased to repeat the news that this year one of the Poser artists will perform in a comedy play - Aurelio Locsin (azl) in THE HAPPY HOUR (click for details). He will offer reduced tickets for Poser members if you contact him in advance :-) For those who never heard about it - the Edinburgh Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world, founded 1948 in protest against the traditional International Festival, and it became the greatest, biggest and most adventurous underground performance spectacular of the planet. Today, the Fringe hosts 200 venues (anything from new/old theatres down to attics, vaults and living rooms...), 700 companies & performers, 1500 different shows and more than 10000 individual performances. If your school teachers were as successful as mine to prove that theatre is the most boring thing in the whole universe, then... fasten your seat belts: 5 of the oddest shows I've ever seen in previous years: - The story of the Victorian mass murderers Hare & Burke, first half performed in the theatre, second half across the road at midnight at an old churchyard all around the old tombstones. - The complete Star Wars trilogy in 30 minutes. Episodes 4-6, pre-director's cut, virtually unabridged. The Killer play. Back this year. Read my impromptu REVIEW from last year, and then get a ticket. - A Marilyn Monroe look-alike model poses for amateur photographers, actually you were encouraged to bring your camera and to take her pictures. Some of the photographers discussed the various murder conspiracy theories on her death. Some of the photographers were the actors and the talking about the conspiracy was the play. Even some of the non-camera folks in the audience were actually actors too... Confused? Well, you asked for conspiracies... - A melodramatic sea ballad, performed entirely on ropes and trapezes without touching any part of the floor. Made "The Perfect Storm" look like a spring rain... - "Modern Problems in Science" - In the first 30 seconds, the audience had to shout a nonsensical scientific theory the like of "sea otters control the flow of time", "crouton is the smallest particle" or "spoons are sentient beings", followed by three different suitable scientific disciplines like "Egyptology", "Nautical Engineering" or "French". The next 60 minutes the theory was proved by three ex-university teachers in an improvised public lecture. Even without the slightest clue of their individual subjects, they did prove it every night. Expert manifestoes will never be the same again... 5 of the oddest shows I've carefully avoided: - Traditional Shakespeare on a flat rock in the middle of the Firth of Forth. You needed a rowing boat to get there. - The Jim Rose Circus Sideshow (appeared on the X-Files, I've been told). One of the more decent things they did was juggling burning chainsaws and eating light bulbs (or was it the other way round?). Don't try this at home. - People got blindfolded and placed at a dinner table opposite someone else (they didn't know) in complete darkness. For one hour they did small talk and tried to eat without spoiling their clothes. Suddenly (without forewarning) the light went on. Better book your psychiatrist afterwards. - A bus with masked windows and a couple of comedians driving across the town. You waved it down, entered, and enjoyed the show as long as you liked. You left it whenever you wanted. If you were unlucky, it dropped you off at the backside of nowhere... - The Puppetry of the P****. No, I can't tell what they are doing - this is a family orientated board. Just this: The Poser Dork can't do that Origami, no matter how much morphs you will load. If you really need to find out, they are back this year. Did I mention they are from Australia? Of course, the majority of plays are less frightening at first sight. You might see a brilliant traditional performance of "The Beggar's Opera" by a truly skilful company. If you're less lucky you might be trapped in the backyard of some outside community place with a terrible performance of "The Beggar's Opera" performed by a completely unqualified cast. However, most of the time you will see plays like "A Chorus Of Disapproval", which is a very funny play about a completely unqualified cast of amateurs trying to stage "The Beggar's Opera"... If you still don't know what to do this summer - go there, enjoy the show, and never have doubts again what to do in August for the rest of your life... ;-) If you come, drop me a note by this thread, and maybe we can meet with a couple of people. Hope to see some of you soon, MartinC

I think you'll enjoy it immensely, Martin. A number of us did get togethere here one evening, and it was an extremely enjoyable experience. Kudos and good luck.

OK, I'm off for my trip tomorrow and will take a little rest from coding and troubleshooting... As said above, if any fellow Poser user will join to see the big show in Scotland, please drop me a note in this thread, I'll try to check it a couple of times. PS: I know there was at least one (Mac) Poser user on the Fringe last year - the PFO logo was already in the cache of an iMac in the Internet Cafe at Tollcross... :-)