Bentley acting students shine at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival takes place in Scotland's capital and is the world's largest performing arts event. Drama teacher GG Grilli led the students through the journey and the flow of the performance. “Edinburgh is the only festival of its kind,” said Grilli. “The events take place in tiny back alleys, on lawns and in parks, on streets and in all sorts of other places.”

This year, the students performed as part of the American High School Theatre Festival, an arts organization that hosts students from the United States and Canada. The trip began with a two-day stay in London, where the students saw performances by renowned theater groups.

On the third day, the students took a ten-hour bus trip to Edinburgh, where they were accommodated in the Pollock Hall at the University of Edinburgh and presented their first show.

For four days, students performed 70-minute performances of “On the Flip Side,” a collection of skits that encourage audience participation. Grilli created “On the Flip Side” years ago as director of the theater company BrickaBrack. “During the show, a mailbox is passed around the audience. A postcard is drawn with a clue on it, which we perform,” Grilli said. When the performance ends, the actors call out “Delivered!” before the next card is drawn. Each script was created by a student, with styles ranging from humorous dialogue to sad movement. Because different cards were drawn, each show was unique.

Preparations began months before the big performance. During classes, Bentley Upper School students brainstormed ideas for creative elements to experiment with, including improvisation, lighting and even puppetry. Rehearsals began in February and the first live performance took place in Lafayette in May.

“We worked on this production for about five months,” said rising senior Josslyn Grover. “It was so fulfilling to be on one of the Fringe stages.”

The rapid pace in Edinburgh required the students to think quickly – and act quickly. “The students have to have all the costumes, props and sets ready at the start,” said Grilli. “They only have 15 minutes to get dressed and ready.”

The class arrived at the Central Hall, an auditorium with over 750 seats, where the students finally performed on the international stage.

“My favorite piece was a piece my group created called 'Heads Up,'” said Annika Svahn, a rising senior. “It's a silent movement piece where six of us tell a story with bedsheets and no words. It's a calming piece – almost like a dance.”

Volunteer audience members were also featured in a play called “A Light on the Cabin Door.” “Another actor and I tell a story about love and an alien invasion, and the characters we describe have to be played by two audience members,” Grover said. “It's always fun for everyone involved.”

Off stage, students immersed themselves in Scotland's historic cultural scene. They visited Edinburgh Castle, the 1,000-year-old stone fortress that towers over Castle Rock; walked the Royal Mile, the main street through Edinburgh's Old Town; and woke up at 4 a.m. to hike Arthur's Seat and watch the sunrise. In their free time, they explored restaurants or attended other fringe shows, including those from other high schools in the American High School Theatre Festival.

Grilli hopes the trip will broaden the students' artistic horizons. “This festival attracts top talent from around the world. I'm excited to see how this changes my students' understanding of the possibilities of theater,” Grilli said.

Although the Fringe Festival performance seemed intimidating at first, it was a revelation, especially for the soon-to-be seniors. “It wasn't easy living in a foreign country away from my parents for two weeks, but I made the most of it,” said Svahn. “Scotland showed me that there is more to life than my little world. Every student should do something like this to change their perspective.”

Performing on stage in a foreign place has strengthened the bonds within the Bentley Upper School theater circle. “I'll take with me the friendships I made during the process of creating the show,” Grover said. “There's a special kind of bond that forms when nineteen people perform a show in a random order in a small backstage area. It's chaotic, but so much fun, and trust is built through the many performances of the show.”

“What I love about theater is that it's connected to the fundamental experience of sharing stories and seeking empathy with others,” Grilli said. “All of these things connect us.”