Embrace Arts Works with Students to Cheer Up Leicester

Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival will be hitting Leicester again in February, providing a vibrant and diverse set of events to meet the varied tastes of our community. 

‘Cheer Up Leicester@Embrace Arts’ strives to bring the festival to the doorstep of the student audience. Leicester’s most talented and dynamic students have collaborated for the first time, alongside ‘From Dusk 2 Dawn’ and Embrace Arts, to support the festival and encourage the student community to enjoy the wealth of events available.

With the ethos of ‘Cheering Up Leicester’ the group have developed an exciting and multi-faceted promotional campaign ranging from sock-puppet sketches to flash-mobs, endorsing the various performances and events at Embrace Arts, the University of Leicester’s arts centre, between 9 and 19 February.

These range from the ‘hyperactive one-man psychological comedy’ theatre show The Life and Times of Albert Limes, and Brian Lobel’s personal drama of BALL and Other Funny Stories About Cancer, to the family friendly and ‘outstanding’ Suitcase Circus following a sock puppet and friends in their adventures.

Meanwhile, Worbey and Farrell: Well Strung! encompasses entertainment within the music domain, as two sets of hands take to the piano for hilarious consequences. Philippa and Will Are Now in A Relationship and Fakebook offer an insightful and honest look into the ever-expanding world of social media.

If a more hands-on approach is for you, don’t forget the Speed Drawing event on 11 February; you can take an alternative spin on the traditional speed dating, and see what effect your artistic skills can have on potential love interests just in time for Valentines Day. While you’re at Embrace Arts, don’t forget to take a look at The Funny Side free exhibition, showcasing the work of six Midlands artists as they combine their artistic flair with their love of comedy.

Ultimately, ‘comedy is more than just stand up’ and you’ll be missing out if you don’t try some of the alternative events Embrace Arts can offer. Starting at just a fiver for students who join the venue’s unique promotional student ticket scheme, there’s really no excuse not to get involved.

Visit www.embracearts.co.uk to buy tickets online or contact the box office on 01162522455. Alternatively drop in and see us on Lancaster Road, next to Leicester Fire Station.

Students say ‘Cheer Up Leicester @ Embrace Arts’

Embrace Arts enabled creative Leicester University students, alongside counterparts from De Montfort University to create a diverse and dynamic marketing campaign to promote the nine events put on by the University’s arts centre in conjunction this year’s Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival.

The ‘Cheer Up Leicester’ campaign, devised by the group of 12 volunteers, under the guidance of From Dusk 2 Dawn magazine professionals, ranged from videos and flash mobs to a specially-written ‘Cheer Up Leicester’ song and a You Tube joke competition, to promote the nine events that will be taking place this February.

The students have both come up with the ideas and executed them completely independently. Capitalising on the skills and interests of the varied group, some have taken to writing scripts, drawing up logos, making puppets and writing music, while others are working  on press releases, interviewing performers and filming spoofs of the upcoming shows to generate interest in the Embrace Arts festival programme.

Hayley Symington, a 3^rd year English student at Leicester, said:

“Working on this project has been one of the highlights of my University career; having such detailed input into a project like this, and developing it from start to finish, has both given me a fantastic opportunity to explore my own skills, but also grow in confidence and develop a network in media and marketing in preparation for moving on with my career when I graduate this year.”

Gillian Garratt, Embrace’s marketing manager, added: “We were really pleased that we could give the students this opportunity.  Not just because it brought some great new creativity to our marketing, but also they got some real-life experience which is bound to enhance their employment prospects.”

You can find out more and see the students’ work on:

Facebook www.facebook.com/CheerUpLeicester

Twitter www.twitter.com/CheerUpLeic

You Tube search for Cheer Up Leicester

www.embracearts.co.uk

Search for Embrace Arts

www.twitter.com/embracearts

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