 GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COMJames Howe plays the monkey Sun Woo Kong in the Mid-Pacific Institute production of the Chinese opera "Jia de Houzi: The False Monkey." The student group is taking the opera on the road -- far on the road -- to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival next month. CLICK FOR LARGE |
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Mid-Pac students Edinburgh bound
Mid-Pacific Institute students prepare to take a Chinese opera to Scotland's Fringe Festival
The young performers in the Mid-Pacific Institute School of Arts are headed for the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. They'll put on four performances of the Chinese opera "Jia de Houzi: The False Monkey," plus take an acting workshop at London's famed Globe Theatre.
But you'll forgive them if they have Harry Potter on their minds.
'JIA DE HOUZI: THE FALSE MONKEY'
» Onstage: 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sunday
» Tickets: $25
» Also: A fundraising gala at 7:30 p.m. Saturday will raise funds for travel expenses to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Tickets are $75.
» Call: 973-5066 or visit www.midpac.edu
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Edinburgh is the home of J.K. Rowling, author of the phenomenal series that wrapped up with last weekend's release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."
"I'm a Harry Potter nerd," said Cate Browning. She hopes to visit Nicolson's Cafe and Elephant House Cafe, where Rowling wrote the early books in the series.
Others in the cast compare next month's London-Scotland train trip to the Hogwarts Express. "The train ride should be very Harry Potter-esque," said Tucker Haworth.
"I'm looking forward to all the things we can't experience here, like castles."
About 600 schools are nominated and only 50 are chosen to participate in the American High School Theatre Festival at the Fringe, according to John Wat, a Mid-Pac faculty member and the tour director.
Wat took another Mid-Pac group to Edinburgh a few years ago, and both Hawaii Preparatory Academy and Saint Louis School have also participated.
 GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COMKarissa Samples, center, plays the pig Zhu Bajie. Part of the "Jia de Houzi" story involves the love of a pig for his supper. Behind Karissa are Tucker Haworth, left, and Ethan Makuakane as the sand demon Xia Wu Jing. CLICK FOR LARGE |
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Director R. Kevin Doyle now has the opportunity to take his cast and crew of 35.
"The experience is kind of life-changing for some of them," said Wat. "It's wild ... with about 250 venues featuring music, theater and dance from all over the world. They convert churches, schools, garages and tunnels."
Doyle added, "We keep moving the rehearsals so they can get used to performing in different venues."
The high school festival was developed in 1994 to give U.S. drama students a chance to showcase their skills in an international forum. Nominations are solicited from top high school theater programs.
"It changes their perspective on everything," said Wat. "Some returned and decided to study to become professional actors. They have heightened expectations of what they can do in theater."
The students will spend two days in London, then 10 in Edinburgh to watch shows and perform "Jia de Houzi" on four stages.
Some of the cast members have been training for nearly a year in Chinese opera acting, music, makeup and acrobatic-style martial arts in order to prepare for the rigorous performance.
"I'm interested in seeing where we measure up compared to the other high school groups," said cast member Stephanie Farnum, "to see where our work has taken us."
