OakTechRep at the Fringe


Tech’s Advanced Drama Department Rocked the Edinburgh Fringe Festival!

tetset

“I wanted to say how honored I am and happy that you’re directing HAMLET BLOOD IN THE BRAIN, and that it’s been a good process. I wish I could see it and meet everyone in person to thank and congratulate them. In the meantime, please know that I’m sending good thoughts to you and everyone working on the production.”

- Naomi Iizuka, playwright, Hamlet: Blood in the Brain

It was a life-changing trip, a once-in-a-lifetime experience – and great theater, too.  Oakland Tech’s Advanced Drama students pulled off an amazing Cinderella story, coming in as an upstart to win a coveted spot at the American High School Theater Festival, giving them the right to perform at the world-famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland.  But that was just the beginning of the story: the students then had to raise over $80,000 to fund their travel, room, board, production costs, and all the extras, including theater tickets in London and Edinburgh.

Impossible?  Not for the OakTechRep.  They did it, and they were the stars of the Festival, performing acclaimed playwright Naomi Iizuka’s “Hamlet: Blood in the Brain,” a powerful and moving retelling of Shakespeare’s drama set in Oakland in the 1980′s. You can read about their successes and their experiences in Edinburgh and London.  You can also read students’ blog posts on the California Shakespeare Theater website, thanks to CalShakes’ wonderful collaboration with Tech’s drama department: Go to http://calshakes.blogspot.com/search?q=oaktechrep, or go to http://calshakes.blogspot.com and enter “oaktechrep” in the search box.group-in-front-of-big-ben

How we got there: In 2009, Tech’s Advanced Drama Department was nominated to compete against some 2,000 high school drama departments nationwide in the American High School Theatre Festival (AHSTF). Against all odds, Tech – which didn’t even have an Advanced Drama Department until a few years ago – was selected as one of the 50 best in the United States.

The students and their families rehearsed, performed, and fundraised practically nonstop.  Some of the students had never even been on a plane before – let alone performed before international audiences. We are all hugely grateful to everyone who has helped make this happen!

Please explore the links and posts here and on the Advanced Drama and Kudos pages to see more of this extraordinary journey.

See “Oakland: Inside Out”, Tech’s award-winning video submitted to the 2009 American High School Theatre Festival.

Watch KTVU video about Tech and the Fringe Festival.

Read the review of Tech’s performance of “Hamlet: Blood in the Brain” in Oaklandnorth.net.


Comments Closed

Comments are closed. You will not be able to post a comment in this post.

OakTechRep at the Fringe Posts

OakTechRep Memories From the Fringe

naomi-and-krystal-at-signpostOakTechRep’s cast and crew continue to write about their experience at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival:

This has been the best two weeks of my life. Ms. J had us running around Edinburgh to see shows we never thought of seeing before. It was crazy and hectic, especially tech rehearsal. I got only about two hours to make up lighting design and hoped for the best because I couldn’t and wouldn’t see the result of my hard work until the first day of our show; but the first hour of the rehearsal was just me getting to the know the lighting board. And heck I had a ton of fun doing that.

Read the rest of this entry »

OakTechRep is a Hit at the Fringe!

OakTechRep at their performance venue, the Church Hill Theater

OakTechRep at their performance venue, the Church Hill Theater

The public has spoken, and the critics have spoken, and OakTechRep is a big hit at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival!

Three Weeks, the Fringe Festival’s main publication, says “Come feel the love at the Church Hill Theatre as this dynamic, awardwinning troupe of high school students presents Hamlet: Blood in the Brain,” in a feature article (type Oakland into the search box in the middle of the top of the page).

The students were interviewed – and rapped – on a Scottish radio show.  Unfortunately, we don’t have audio for you …

And they’re packing the house.  The tradition at the Fringe is for the actors to stand on street corners handing out flyers for their plays, and the students and teachers report that everyone wants to come, from fellow American High School Theater Festival winners (who could get in free but are paying to make sure they get seats!) to drag queen passersby who think the show sounds amazing.  Which it is!  People are asking the students for their autographs and photos … they are stars!

OakTechRep Students Write From the Fringe

group-in-front-of-big-benOn August 23, 2010, the students in OakTechRep sent this description of their travels in England and Scotland as winners of the American High School Theater Festival.   Each student describes a slightly different aspect of their trip; read the whole piece to get a flavor of what these extraordinary young men and women have seen, done, and achieved:

Hey everyone, it’s Naomi Zingman-Daniels (Fate; Funeral Home Attendant). I’m typing this from Pollock Halls all the way over in Edinburgh, Scotland. It’s been amazing! It feels like we’ve been here three weeks, not six days, and pretty much everyone wants to stay for a long time more. We’ve seen so much good theatre and we’ve started our run of Hamlet: Blood in the Brain off fantastically. When we got in, it was hectic –

Read the rest of this entry »

OakTechRep at the Fringe!

Tech’s Advanced Drama students leave for London on August 14, on their way to performing in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  They’ll spend a couple of days in and around London, including seeing a play and rehearsing their own play at Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, and then it’s off to Edinburgh, Scotland!  In addition to performing at the Fringe Festival, they’ll see as many plays at the Fringe as they can possibly fit in, and sightsee in Scotland (ancient castles, but probably not the Loch Ness Monster).

You can follow the students’ adventures on the California Shakespeare Theater’s blog!  just go to http://calshakes.blogspot.com/search?q=oaktechrep, or go to http://calshakes.blogspot.com and enter “oaktechrep” in the search box.

Follow OakTechRep on the CalShakes Blog!

Now you can follow the Advanced Drama students as they prepare for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival … and, even better, follow them while they’re in Scotland at the Fringe! You can read OakTechRep member Naomi Zingman-Daniels and other students on the CalShakes blog: just go to http://calshakes.blogspot.com/search?q=oaktechrep, or go to http://calshakes.blogspot.com and enter “oaktechrep” in the search box.

Advanced Drama Performs Stunning “Hamlet” at CalShakes

h-aims-gun-at-c

The cold and wind took nothing away from the magic as Oakland Tech’s Advanced Drama class performed “Hamlet: Blood in the Brain” at the California Shakespeare Theater’s fabulous Bruns Amphitheater on July 26, 2010 – their first performance on a professional stage, before a public audience, and their last performance in California before taking the show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Every seat was full, with an audience of mostly CalShakes subscribers.  One such subscriber wrote afterward that the evening was a “jewelled moment”: “The cold and wind did not matter. We were totally focussed on the superlative actors who dominated the stage …”

“Hamlet: Blood in the Brain” was the inaugural project of CalShakes’ New Works/New Communities program in the 1980s.  Tech’s drama department has been tremendously fortunate to be able to work with CalShakes during the 2009-2010 school year; among other things, the “Hamlet” cast has had the amazing opportunity to receive coaching from the director and major actors from the original production.  Donations from the July 26 performance will support CalShakes residencies at Tech during the 2010-2011 school year.

P.S. You can keep up with the Tech students while they’re at the Fringe Festival by reading their posts on the CalShakes blog!  Check it out!

all-point-guns-at-hO and L1g-at-the-funeral-home

KTVU Covers Advanced Drama Department’s Fringe Festival Plans

Who says there’s no good news in Oakland?  KTVU-TV (Channel 2) presented a fantastic, upbeat story about the Advanced Drama Department’s production of “Hamlet: Blood in the Brain” and the students’ plans to present the play at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2010.

See the KTVU video

Find out more about the Advanced Drama Department’s plans to go to the Fringe Festival

Oakland Tribune Promotes Tech Production of “Hamlet”

The Oakland Tribune featured the Tech Advanced Drama Department’s production of “Hamlet: Blood in the Brain” in a terrific online article by Sean Maher on March 30.  The article discusses the performance at Piedmont High School, Tech’s triumph at the American High School Theater Festival, and the efforts to bring the performance, and the Advanced Drama students, to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2010.

Advanced Drama Class performs Hamlet: Blood in the Brain at Piedmont High, 3/31

h-foreground-g-background1

On March 31, 2010, the drama department and the Diversity Committee of Piedmont High School sponsored a performance of the Advanced Drama Department’s “Hamlet: Blood in the Brain.”

It was a fabulous evening all around.  The Piedmont drama department and parents were extraordinarily warm and generous hosts, providing their beautiful theater, excellent publicity and generous donations, and encouraging their community to donate to the students’ trip to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  A particular highlight was the appeal for donations by the members of the Piedmont Middle School Shakespeare Club – in Shakespearean language!

Tech’s students rose to the occasion, giving the full house a superb performance which the audience received with extended shouts and cheers.  The cast stayed after the play for a “talk-back” with audience members, including Piedmont High drama students.

Tech is grateful to Piedmont High for its generosity and thrilled to have established this new collaboration with our neighbors.  We look forward to more joint efforts in the future!

Cal Shakes at Oakland Tech

Oakland Technical High School’s Advanced Drama Department and the California Shakespeare Theater announce a very special collaboration!

2010_eflash_header_hbib

Read the rest of this entry »

Hamlet: Blood in the Brain

tetset

Hamlet: Blood in the Brain

“Hamlet: Blood in the Brain,” by local acclaimed playwright Naomi Iizuka, is a unique re-telling of Shakespeare’s classic tale of murder, scandal, and intrigue. Set in Oakland in 1989, the play features modern language and contemporary settings that are still vibrant today.

We have rated this production “PG-13″ for violence, mild language, and drug references. (Shakespeare’s original works are equally mature in content). This show is intended for high-school aged students and older.

Thank you for Donating to Performing Arts’ Fringe Festival Trip

img_15311

From "Hamlet: Blood in the Brain"

We did it!  Oakland Tech’s Advanced Drama students have raised the money to perform at the 2010 Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.  We are so very grateful to everyone who contributed in any way – we could not have completed this enormous fundraising effort without you.

Preparing for the Fringe Festival has already begun to open up new worlds for these young performers. Some will be going to college next year to study theater; some have taken after-school jobs to raise money for this trip; some are looking forward to their first-ever airplane ride. For all of them, performing in the Fringe Festival will be once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Tech’s students are looking forward to bringing Oakland pride to the Fringe Festival: to telling the world that Oakland is a place where the arts flourish and where kids can grow up to learn, perform, grow and follow their dreams.

During the course of the 2009-2010 school year, we have met so many generous people who decided to help make these students’ dreams come true.  Some of you donated money, others time, others skills or emotional support.  We cannot thank you enough.

Please follow our students as they prepare for and perform at at the Fringe Festival.  They’ll be reporting on the California Shakespeare Theater’s blog, http://calshakes.blogspot.com/