What Does Performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Mean to These Virginia Based Students?
By: A.A. Cristi Jul. 14, 2017
Award winning Beyond the Page Theatre Company at West Potomac High School hits the Edinburgh Fringe for the second time after selling out their 2015 run of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at SpaceTriplex with the American High School Theatre Festival.
This is the second Edinburgh Fringe show by the Virginia based theatre company run by director/choreographer Peelee Clark. He recently directed the regional premiere of Billy Elliot in Northern Virginia which went on to win The National Capital Area Cappies Award for Best Musical at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and the high school premiere of American Idiot (the regular version). 19 students have been fundraising for over year and half to be able to have this opportunity to perform on the world's biggest stage.
What does performing at the Edinburgh Fringe mean to them?
"Performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is an awesome experience because it allows me as an actor to bring theatrical entertainment and my perspective of it to an entirely new, international audience. Performing internationally brings its own welcome challenges, but the importance of an international theatrical community such as the Edinburgh Fringe is more and more valued and crucial to the modern world we find ourselves in today. An international community of artists is important because it allows for the free sharing of ideas from a variety of backgrounds and can impact people's ideas and lives in ways that cannot be otherwise be achieved without the sharing of other perspectives. The Edinburgh Fringe is more important now than ever before because its ability to change people is greater than ever before, and I am honored to be able to take part in that changing of people's hearts and minds through theatre." Sam Davidson
"Performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the most incredible opportunity that has ever been presented to me. While, yes, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I can't wait to share the experience with the cast, it's about more than that to me. I do theatre because it gives me a unique and beautiful outlet of expression and storytelling. Every musical and play has a message of some kind, whether it is as simple as falling in love with the wrong person or as complex as expressing issues like depression and substance abuse. Being able to perform a show both in the United States and half way across the world in Scotland is a truly special thing. Our performance will be able to reach different people than those we normally see in our area. Maybe we can influence one person in Scotland who will be inspired to continue to spread positivity and change lives. The Fringe Festival is the world's largest gathering of people who all want the same thing - to express themselves and learn about different cultures and art forms. As a high-schooler, to be a part of something so much larger than myself is as special as it gets." Adrianna DeLorenzo
"Getting to travel to a foreign country and perform a show that we have worked so hard on is a once in a lifetime experience that means very much to me. Theatre and travel are both unique things that are fun and exciting, but can also teach us a lot about the world around us and also about ourselves. Combining the exhilarating atmosphere of new foreign culture with thousands of new and different shows from all around the world will make for a trip we will never forget. I just can't wait to share our show with a new and different audience. I'm excited to learn from and connect with experienced actors from all around the world, students from different schools, and my own cast mates." Natalie Edwards
"Going to the Fringe Festival in Scotland to perform is the best opportunity that I have ever received. As someone who wants to pursue performing arts as a career, it means the world to me that I can share a fantastic show with my fellow cast mates and people that I have never met before who will come to see our show. There are other aspects besides performing that make this a once in a lifetime experience, such as seeing the other talent that will be at the Fringe. Seeing a variety of different kinds of performances, whether falling under theatre or not, will allow me to have an expanded education on performance and also influence me as a performer. I feel so lucky to be able to do what I love in front of audiences in another country and to be part of such an amazing program. I can't wait for Scotland!" Tony Lemus
"Being able to perform Rock of Ages at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, is a once in a lifetime opportunity which I never dreamed possible for me. Aside from the chance to perform in an international setting, I see many other rewards, including a deeper learning and involvement in the theatre arts, gaining more personal and professional responsibility, and earning more self awareness as a dancer. It is an honor to be one of the students to be performing with Beyond the Page Theatre Company at West Potomac High School and bringing the show to an international audience at the Fringe Festival. While I get to experience this fantastic opportunity of performing the show, I hope that many, many others, both locally and abroad, will be able to experience the show and benefit from it in that way as well." Sheridan Phalen
"The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest celebration of arts and culture in the world. As someone who greatly enjoys the arts - whether visual, performing, dance, music, or any other genre - being able to participate in the Fringe Festival is nothing less than an experience of a lifetime. Not only do I have the opportunity to share my performance and humor with others, I have the chance to experience art and culture from around the world. This experience gives me the chance to learn about performance and exhibition from a wide diversity of different people. Better yet, I have the opportunity to experience this rich wave of culture firsthand. I know the memories and experiences I bring home with me will last me a lifetime, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival will allow me to grow as an artist, but most importantly, as a person. "Valentina Selnick
"Theatre means so much to me and performing at the Fringe is a dream come true. The reason I've always loved theatre is because of how it enables me to connect with a community of like-minded people. The theatre community is almost a safety net for me. Whenever I struggle, as an artist or even in life, I know that there are a million people just like me who share the same struggles and are, in a sense, there for me through our great art. And being able to perform at the Fringe - the literal pantheon of theatre - makes me feel so close and connected with this community. It makes me feel like I am making a genuine contribution to the theatre world. Performing here makes me feel like I matter." Josh Stein
"Performing overseas is an incredible experience that I would never have if not Fringe Festival. It's a chance to relate to strangers without the safety net of a common national identity. It's a chance to experience another culture and explore new forms of media in a totally different setting. It's a chance to grow into a more worldly person. It's a chance to observe and work among professionals in the largest celebration of my passion. There is truly nowhere else in the world I would rather spend my time and I am very thankful for this opportunity. My family is not active in the theatre community, so I would never have discovered this sanctuary by myself. After reading about the history of the Fringe, I feel even stronger that this is a place to do what you love with others who love it as well. Something absolutely magical happens every summer in Edinburgh, and I feel blessed to be privileged enough to bear witness to this beautiful celebration." McKenna Wirth"
Rock of Ages: High School Edition By American High School Theatre Festival Venue 38 - SpaceTriplex August 4th 13:20 (14:45) August 6th 11:20 (12:45) August 7th 09:20 (10:45) August 8th 13:20 (14:45) 5.00 Westpotomactheatre.org To book tickets visit tickets.edfringe.com or call 0131 226 0000
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