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  • 1.  American High School Theatre Festival to perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

    Posted 15 days ago

    Hi everyone! 

    Have any of you ever brought students to the American High School Theatre Festival to perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe? What can you tell me about your experience, and how did you find the funds to get there? I'd love to know more!

    Thanks for your feedback!



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    Cherie Ducote Firmin
    Kenner Discovery Health Sciences Academy
    Theatre/Speech/Fine Arts Survey Teacher
    La. State Thespian Co-Chapter Director
    Cherie.Firmin@gmail.com
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  • 2.  RE: American High School Theatre Festival to perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

    Posted 14 days ago

    I have never done the American High School Theatre Festival but I have taken students to Edinburgh.

    Here is my 2 cents, the American high school theatre festival is organized by a travel company and I am not convinced the value is there. I also find the "you have been nominated" pitch to be really deceptive, I haven't heard from them since I questioned who had nominated me.  You stay kinda far away from the action and because you are performing, there is little to no time to go experience everything from the weird stand up show under a bridge to the world class performances in other venues.

    When I took students I did it for a third of the cost of American High School Theatre Festival. We didn't perform but if you want to, I would reach out to The Space or C Venues directly and you will probably get a better deal and be more likely to have an audience that isn't just other high schoolers at the festival.

    I have started going to the Fringe annually, I'm using it to scout shows for one act play festivals cause I prefer new works created through devising, and frankly avoid all the shows that are obviously part of the American High School Theatre Festival. 

    If you do decide to do decide to perform at the Fringe, don't do a full 2.5 hour musical. It's really not what fringe is about and besides, shipping your costumes etc will be expensive. Bring something about an hour and NEW even better if devised by the performers. This is the stuff that is exciting at the Fringe. 



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    Joseph Gels
    Theatre Teacher
    Boston Latin School
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: American High School Theatre Festival to perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

    Posted 14 days ago

    Hi!  I took kids 4 years ago and plan to take kids again next summer.  It is a life changing experience for these kids.  Everything is taken care of for you, it is safe but it is also adjustable to your needs.  We had a hard deadline that we had to be home for - school was starting and we had to be back - so they altered the trip for us, giving us more time in London and less time in Scotland, yet we still performed 4 times in Scotland at the Fringe.  My students came home with a much better idea that the world is bigger than just here and learned so much about functioning in the world.  It changed the way that I direct drastically for the better.  Yes it is expensive, but YES it is worth it.  We fundraised for a year so we ended up covering about $2000 per kid and they used the year to make payments on the rest. We took 27 kids and 4 adults.  I am happy to answer any questions you have.



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    Vicki Kirkley
    Director of Theatre
    Prosper High School
    Prosper, Texas
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: American High School Theatre Festival to perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

    Posted 14 days ago

    Also, there is information on my website www.prospertheatre.com - at the top click AHSTF - if you would like to see parent videos and handouts for our trip for next year.  It might help.



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    Vicki Kirkley
    Director of Theatre
    Prosper High School
    Prosper, Texas
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: American High School Theatre Festival to perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

    Posted 14 days ago

    I have taken students twice and I'm gearing up for a third go in 2025. Yes, it IS worth the expense as it is life changing both for my students and for me. Not only is everything taken care of for us (accommodations, travel, insurance, performance venue...), but we also get to give students a taste of what college life might be like by staying in dorms. We are not away from the action; we're PART OF the action. My students had enough time to see an additional 10 shows on their own in addition to the shows we watched as part of the festival. We also went sightseeing AND had professional workshops at the Globe Theatre in London and the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh (the trip begins in London). You can ask any of my students who went and they'll all tell you that they grew as artists both by performing and by seeing performers from other countries, both in a theatrical setting and on the streets.

    Feel free to contact me privately for any specific questions or concerns you might have!



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    Kaila Schwartz
    Theatre Arts, Director
    Milpitas High School
    CA
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: American High School Theatre Festival to perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

    Posted 14 days ago
    I took a group of students to watch, not perform, twice. We stayed 10 days, saw two shows a day, and stayed at a hostel up near the castle. Fabulous time. Well worth it. The Fringe site has information about stage spaces - everything from store fronts to graveyards, with prices, etc.. Keep it simple. Creative sets and costumes, not a lot of realism, unless you can cart it all in from the US! I can't recommend it enough!



    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: American High School Theatre Festival to perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

    Posted 12 days ago

    2025, will be my fourth time traveling with AHSTF to perform at the Fringe. Like others have said, everything is taken care of. You can customize your trip to a degree (additional days, selected workshops, etc). The price is more expensive than booking on your own, but it is not astronomical, and there is no way I would be able to coordinate and plan the details of the trip while still running my program effectively. We hold additional fundraiser events throughout the year that are organized and run by the students traveling - to mixed success - that helps to pay a portion of the trip. But I do prepare the families that they are responsible for their full price tag. Our program goes every three years or so, so interested students and their families have time to start budgeting and planning. It's a bit of a cliche, but it is a life-changing experience. 

    Feel free to reach out with any questions you may have. 



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    Seth Cohen
    Palos Verdes Peninsula High School
    CA
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: American High School Theatre Festival to perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

    Posted 11 days ago

    As a six-time Fringe veteran having premiered some of my plays in Edinburgh and, earlier this year, taken one to the Adelaide Fringe, I've had both good and bad experiences with various venues. Through the years I've crossed paths with the American High School Theatre Festival several times and have always been impressed with the work I've seen there and have only heard good things. I was commissioned by a high school to write "an edgy play" for them to take to the 2015 Fringe (Kissed the Girls and Made Them Cry, published by Playscripts) and got to see the organization from the inside. I was so impressed with AHST. The venue was well run, the tech crew was terrific, the dormitory housing was comfortable, with curfews and really good security, and the AHST staff really knew what they were doing. Yes, it's expensive, but having produced plays on my own I appreciate how much AHST has to offer. It's really, really hard to take a show to Edinburgh on your own, very expensive, and difficult to get audiences. The AHST groups all see each other's shows, so you have a built-in audience.
    My best advice is to keep your production simple. There were blocks and chairs provided and since all the characters were high school students, we put all the props in backpacks, and pulled out props as needed, enabling us to strike the set by the end of the play. The ten students proclaimed the trip life-changing. 
    As a professional in the theatre I'm always impressed when I see a resume that lists AHST. I know that the actor has had a very special and collaborative experience. And, as others have mentioned here, even going to the festival without taking a show is magical. I have to warn you, though: once you go to the Edinburgh Fringe you will want to go again. 



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    Arlene Hutton, playwright
    Letters to Sala
    I Dream Before I Take the Stand
    Kissed the Girls & Made Them Cry
    As It Is In Heaven
    Susie Sits Shiva (EdTA commission)
    According to the Chorus

    faculty, The Barrow Group, NYC
    arlene@barrowgroup.org
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    Original Message


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