Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Lawrenceville students will travel to the United Kingdom, both England and Scotland, as a participating theatre ensemble in the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival held in August, exploring and performing in beautiful, historic Edinburgh, Scotland. We will be producing our own play, taking on all theatrical elements, including acting, directing, and technical components, as part of the American High School Theatre Festival (AHSTF).
AHSTF is a celebrated organization that brings theatre students from all over the United States together, providing a place on the international stage to showcase their talent and gain valuable performance experience. Only fifty schools are given this opportunity per year and Lawrenceville was selected to return and participate in 2022! Our group will gather for meetings and rehearsals in the spring term, and, prior to our program departure, reconvene at Lawrenceville at the end of July for final rehearsals and preparations, one week ahead of our departure. We then embark for our two-week journey to the UK and the world-renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Our journey begins with a three-day stay in London, England, to visit Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and London’s National Theatre, explore the Queen’s Walk, and see a production in London’s historic theatre district, the West End. We will also see the sites of London proper, including London Tower, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace. On day four, we venture north to Edinburgh, Scotland, and take in the historic sites of Scotland, seeing the countryside, enjoying a guided tour of the city, visiting the Royal Mile, Holyrood Palace (1128 AD), Edinburgh Castle (850 BC) and the famous Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, an annual tradition since 1950. In both London and Edinburgh, we will be staying in dormitory lodgings, with meals, guides, and transportation all provided through AHSTF.
Our focus for this Harkness Travel Program will be our very own staged production at the Edinburgh Fringe, performing before live, paying audiences four times alongside other high schools from across the United States. We will also experience a number of other performances as audience members, taking in the spirit and enormity of the Edinburgh Fringe as the “world’s largest arts festival.” Therein, students will engage in the collaborative process of theatre, working as a team to create, busk, and perform all aspects of our production. This includes designing and executing scenic, lighting, sound, and costume elements, as well as forging through the rehearsal process, working as a tight ensemble to produce stageworthy work on a semi-professional level, investing in the process and each other. Students will engage in several weeks of genuine artistic exploration, leadership, and development, growing individually as performers and technicians, navigating our new-found urban environments with supervision, all while experiencing a cultural festival as a group. Leading up to and during the trip we will foster leadership within the group, dig into the history of theatre and its development as an artform, live in the moment, and journal throughout our rehearsals and performance schedules while in Scotland.
Our program will demand strong support from each student participant, working as a team, as well as a healthy amount of time for rehearsal and preparation, both in the spring term prior and during our mandatory, pre-trip brushup week when students are required to return to Lawrenceville in late July prior to leaving for the UK (see below). There will be regular meetings during the spring term to prepare for the program, as well as regular evening rehearsals. Students who are cast as actors will be responsible for memorization and assisting in the carrying, setup, and strike of production elements. Students who are cast as technicians will be responsible for technical components, including some design and running of production elements during the technical rehearsals and performances. In addition, this trip will involve a moderate amount of walking as we trek the hilly, cobbled-stone streets of old Edinburgh and London. If this type of adventure sounds exciting, then this is the trip for you!
Sign-Up Instructions
Participation for all Lawrenceville Harkness Travel Programs is dependent upon a review of student applications, Head of House/Advisor recommendations, medical fitness for participation, and financial and disciplinary standing. Seniority and gender balance is also considered in the selection process.
Application to this program is not considered complete until both of the following items have been submitted:
Head of House/Day Advisor Recommendation must be completed and submitted to Louise Wright by Monday, November 1, 2021.
Application Survey must be completed by Monday, November 1, 2021.
Dates
Pre-Trip Rehearsal Week (Required)
At Lawrenceville Campus
July 25 - 28, 2022
Travel
July 29 - August 13, 2022
Cost
$6,000*
*Does not include the cost of vaccines. The current cost is based on the price of flights posted at the time of trip planning. There is the potential for this to change. Participants will be alerted to any changes at the time of trip sign-up.
A list of required vaccinations for this trip will be sent home to all families. All travelers must be up-to-date on routine vaccines; if routine vaccines are administered on campus families will be charged. If students do not provide records of having these vaccinations by their return to campus after spring break, arrangements will be made for the vaccinations to be administered on campus.
Program Leaders
Matthew Campbell
Director of Theatre
Karla Guido
Associate Director of Athletics
James Cuthrell
Technical Director
Target Student Population
This trip is open to the school community, though is capped at fifteen students. However, maturity, fitness, and commitment to the performing arts and travel will be used in the selection process to create the best possible artistic team, filling both performing and technical roles.
Students must be able to undertake considerable walking up the cobble-stoned and hilly streets of Edinburgh, work as a team to execute a full production, which entails commitment to line memorization, hauling, setting up and striking scenery / props / costumes, and be a functional and collaborative member of the team. All participants will attend regular spring term preparation meetings, including mandatory spring term rehearsals and the pre-trip brushup week.
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