(Edinburgh, SCT—September 24, 2014) The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the famous and largest theatre festival in the world, has once again invited High Tech Musical Theatre to tour and perform in Auld Reekie, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech High School.
As part of the organizational forum known as the American High School Theatre Festival (AHSTF), which recently celebrated its twentieth anniversary, High Tech Musical Theatre joins only nineteen other secondary schools in the entire United States being represented at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Students will spend a fortnight in Great Britain next August, partaking in special workshops at London’s famous Globe Theatre, sightseeing in beautiful Scotland, and, finally, the pièces de résistance, putting on four performances of their adaptation of Rent—which premieres at High Tech next spring—at Church Hill Theatre in Edinburgh.
Celebrating its fifteenth year, High Tech Musical Theatre, under the direction of Alex Perez and support from Musical Director Rod Shepard, has been widely recognized state-wide, nationally, and internationally. Since 2000, the program has earned forty-five nominations and thirteen Papermill Playhouse Awards, including honors for Best Overall Production, Best Director, Best Costumes, Best Makeup, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Featured Performers, and Best Educational Impact. Other accomplishments include an Off-Off-Broadway, six-week run of the 2003 production Oz, A Twisted Musical, representing the country at the Oberhavel Germany Arts Festival in 2001, and recognition by the Metro-North Cappies Awards, which honors excellence in New Jersey Theatre, with fifteen nominations and six wins in a span of two years.
High Tech Musical Theatre offers master classes instructed by industry professionals, such as Broadway’s Kerry Butler, Rob McClure, Kenita Miller, Colin Hanlon, and James Rado, and partnerships with Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) and Papermill Playhouse. Many graduates continue in the arts and attend such prestigious institutions as Tisch School of the Arts, Carnegie Mellon, Stella Adler, Yale Drama, American Musical and Dramatic Academy, The Atlantic Theatre Company, and Rutgers Mason Gross School. Alumni have even appeared on Broadway, regional productions, national tours, and in films and television.
“Raising money is half the battle, the other half is staying committed to putting on a great production,” says Perez. “We’re up for the challenge, but we need support from our community to give these students the chance of a lifetime. It will forever be a moment in their lives that nothing else can replace.”
High Tech Musical Theatre needs to raise $130,000 to cover airline flights, room & board, rights, set & costume rentals, workshops, and travel needs. Please contribute at http://www.gofundme.com/elcavc.
