By Ariane Lange
The Edinburgh Project was downsized and will take 70 students to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in July.
The program will produce 10 smaller shows instead of the 13 produced in summer 2005. The program runs from July 9 to Aug. 18, with students leaving for Scotland July 31.
The Edinburgh Project was cancelled in September and resurrected in November. When he restarted the trip, Program Director and English teacher Schrode originally planned to downsize it significantly, but the modifications have not been as drastic as predicted.
âItâs smaller, but not enormously so,â Schrode said. âThe biggest change is that each of the last three times we did the program there was one âtier-oneâ show that every single kid and every single adult worked on, and then it broke down into [smaller shows].â
This summer, there will be no shows of that magnitude.
The number of students is down from 80 in previous years. Schrode planned to have more selective casting, but the idea was discarded.
Schrode has adapted two Shakespearean plays into rock musicals for the trip and wrote a play, âThe English Teacher,â which will be performed. English teacher Adam Howard, who will be an instructor on the trip, wrote a version of âAntigoneâ called âAine.â
In previous years, student-written one-acts were performed. Because the program was down for two months in autumn, there was no real opportunity to solicit student-written plays.
âIt wasnât anything to do with [student-written plays] not working,â Schrode said.
âIt was more just the logistics. I created the One-Act play festival here. Iâm a strong advocate of student writing. The hope would be to do more student work.â
There were two student-written musicals seriously considered, and Leon Moskatelâs â08 musical was chosen for production.
Eight more employees will join the trip, bringing the total to 24.
âWeâve got eight more people doing stuff with 10 fewer kids,â Schrode said. âEach kid gets more attention and the shows should be smoother.â
About half of the employees on the trip work at school, while the other half is made up of outsiders. Seven college students, some of whom are alumni, will attend.
