Hopkins at the Fringe Festival

The Hopkins Drama Department, under the direction of Hope Hartup and Michael Calderone, has been selected to perform this August in the world’s largest and most prestigious arts festival as part of the American High School Theatre Festival (AHSTF).

 

On Aug. 2, the delegation of 9 students and their drama teachers from Hopkins departed New Haven headed for Edinburgh, Scotland to perform "Hamlet and Other Theatrical Nightmares” in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. This is the first time Hopkins has been selected for the prestigious festival.

 

Hope Hartup, Hopkins Drama Instructor, said “The Fringe Festival is similar to New Haven's Festival of Arts and Ideas but on an enormous scale. Every nook and cranny of the city is given over to theatre, dance and comedy performances. To see a community embrace the arts this way and to see so many young people participating in it speaks to the positive power of the arts. We're thrilled beyond words to be part of it and are looking forward to an amazing experience.

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is widely considered one of the largest festivals of its kind in the world. The entire city becomes a stage and visitors can view performances from playgrounds to conference rooms to city parks. The Fringe Festival includes over 1,800 different performances of music, theatre, dance and comedy during its three week run.

 

Hopkins, long recognized for arts excellence as well as academic rigor, was selected by the AHSTF Board of Advisors to represent the United States as part of the 2012 AHSTF program. The Board reviews all completed applications and identifies the top high schools based on their most recent bodies of work, awards, community involvement, philosophies and recommendations. AHSTF has a professional team that will ensure that the Hopkins troupe’s lighting, sound and property needs are addressed before the theatre troupe’s performance. However, once the performance starts, it is completely in the hands of the students.

 

Students and teachers attending the trip are:

Tyler Clark ‘15

Evan DeCarlo ‘12

James Dobbyn ‘13

Uma Dieffenbach ‘13

Alex Dillon ’13 – Stage Manager

Michael Howland-Dewar ‘13

John Josephson ‘15

Varsha Krish ’13- Sound Technician

Athena Mayor ‘15

Hope Hartup

Michael Calderone

 

Along with performing, the Hopkins’ delegation will have a chance to sight-see, visit Edinburgh’s historical castles and take in professional theatre productions, including a performance of "Appointment With The Wicker Man" by the National Theater of Scotland. They will reside at the University of Edinburgh dorms during their 10-day stay.

 

The Hopkins Drama Department offers courses in acting for the classical and modern stage, improvisation, comedy, theater studies, public speaking, set building, lighting, and stage management. Under the direction of Michael Calderone and Hope Hartup, the Drama Department produces five major shows each year – fall and spring dramatic plays, a musical, a series of one-act plays, and a junior school production in the spring. All productions take place in Townshend Auditorium in Lovell Hall and are open to the public.

Click here to read the New Haven Register's article about the group's trip

Read a review of "Hamlet and Other Theatrical Nightmares" here