LIHU‘E — Eight high school students from Island School hit the streets of downtown Honolulu, passed out flyers to strangers and performed impromptu concerts in city parks to promote their participation in the inaugural O‘ahu Fringe Festival. In the spirit
LIHU‘E — Eight high school students from Island School hit the streets of downtown Honolulu, passed out flyers to strangers and performed impromptu concerts in city parks to promote their participation in the inaugural O‘ahu Fringe Festival.
In the spirit of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (established in Scotland in 1947), the Island School Drama Troupe performed three performances over a span of two days Nov. 11 and 12 at The ARTS at Marks Garage located in Chinatown.
“I was hoping the fringe festivals had other high schools, but there were none,” said Peggy Ellenburg, who directed the troupe and is a founder of Island School. “We were the only high school group, and there were about 15 groups performing.”
The troupe comprises freshmen Kyle Riddle and Jacob Dysinger, sophomores Quinn Hannah-White and Christy Jo Williams, juniors Griffin Lord and Kim McDonough and seniors, Jasmine Libert and Teddy Rose.
The troupe performed took three short comedies by David Ives on the road, including “Captive Audience,” “Arabian Nights” and “Variations on the Death of Trotsky.”
The productions were tied together by original musical arrangements by student musicians Teddy Rose, Jasmine Libert and Kimberly McDonough, who played the cello, bassoon and violin, respectively.
Fringe festivals have gained popularity worldwide, providing an alternative arena to showcase theater that is uncensored or not mainstream.
“The performances are not that traditional,” said Rose, a senior at Island School. “They’re independent, so it’s cool to see things that are (all) over the spectrum.”
The students decided as a group which plays they wanted to perform and watched YouTube videos to see how other performance troupes staged the productions.
The students, who are enrolled in a theater class at Island School, said they learned many skills during their performance at the festival, including how to keep a small audience engaged, project your voice, bury embarrassment and to improvise — which was what Rose did when his cello took a spill. Instead of sidelining himself, he tapped his cello in rhythm to accompany the other musicians, said a proud Ellenburg.
As the youngest troupe to perform in the festival, the students were found it both exhilarating and intimidating to perform in front of a off-island audience.
“When you perform here, the atmosphere is a lot friendlier. In O‘ahu, nobody knows what to expect out of you,” said sophomore Christy Jo Williams. “We only had a few hours to practice before we performed.”
While the students had no idea what to expect, the group agreed on a whole that it was a great learning experience that instilled confidence and taught them how to carry themselves in public.
All the performers recommended the class to future Island School high school students.
“It’s ridiculously fun,” said junior Griffin Lord. “You get to dress up for Halloween every day.”
In 2012, Island School will be hosting a high school festival titled “It’s About Time.” For more information, visit www.ischool.org or call 246-0233 ext. 262.
• Andrea Frainier, lifestyle writer, can be reached at 245-3681, ext. 257 or afrainier@ thegardenisland.com.
