Students looking for a new hobby can learn archery or how to eat fire by joining either of two campus performance clubs.
The Society for Creative Anachronism, also known as the College of St. Felix, is a medieval re-enactment group whose activities include dressing in medieval clothes, having medieval feasts, recreating medieval arts and sciences, and participating in full contact medieval combat.
Street Performance and Incendiary Arts is a club that promotes street performance including fire eating, fire spinning, dance, juggling and martial arts.
Although the Society for Creative Anachronism and the Street Performance and Incendiary Arts club are considered separate from each other, they share members and participate in many of the same events.
Katherine Moore, undeclared sophomore and president of SPIA, said the two groups often attend or put on events together because most of their members are friends with each other.
"It's a good way to get events bigger, there's more people, and (SCA) events are usually performance appropriate," she said.
Elizabeth Eason, a senior majoring in English, said there are at least four people who are in both clubs.
"We've found that SCA people love to be an audience for (SPIA) performances," she said.
Moore said SPIA has workshops every week, in which new members learn how to spin and eat fire while old members practice their skills.
Moore said between 10 and 15 people attend the meetings every week.
"We spend the entire time teaching," she said. "A lot of people are drawn because it's very beautiful and fairly easy to learn."
Fire eating can be taught in one night while fire spinning usually takes a month or two to learn, she said.
"It requires a lot of coordination," she said. "They have to feel comfortable and get used to the flames."
SPIA gets involved with different campus groups and tries to be involved in as many performance events as possible, Moore said.
Eason said the UA SCA has about 12 active members in the group. She said each member usually takes a society name and will look into a certain persona, age or culture from medieval times.
She said many of the people who join the group are science fiction or fantasy fans.
"It's a good way to meet other people with similar interests and do something that is different and fun, " Eason said.
Eason said she got involved in the group because she wanted to learn how to fight. The group teaches rapier fighting, which is similar to fencing, as well as archery and hands-on fighting where the contestants wear full armor.
The group also teaches historical dancing, including belly dancing and court dancing.
Eason said UA students participate with the Tucson chapter of SCA whenever possible. The second-largest national SCA event in the country takes place in Tucson in February. Eason said between 7,000 and 8,000 people attend the six-day event each year, which includes a full medieval battlefield.
People who are interested in joining either club can attend the clubs' meetings. SPIA meets Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on the small stage north of the Student Union Memorial Center, near the Second Street Garage. People who attend should wear natural fabric that is non-flammable, Moore said.
The UA SCA meets Wednesdays at 6 p.m. in the Student Union Memorial Center food court.