With hard work, unstoppable determination, and many sacrifices, five theater students from Montezuma-Cortez High School performed in front of an enthusiastic crowd at The Fringe Festival in Scotland this month.
The trip went well and the challenging performances of the adult contemporary drama by John Olive called Standing On My Knees were carried out on the Royal Mile in the center of the festival.
All the (peers) that saw our show loved it, former Stage Dweller Productions director Bennie Palko-Herrera, said. They said it was truly challenging and that we pulled it off well.
Besides other schools, some tourists from other parts of the world who were visiting the festival stopped and recorded their performance on video cameras.
Students Bryan Tripp, Kaytlyn Alexander, Miranda Warren, Mariah Kingery and Lecil James made the trip across the pond out of 12 students who originally planned to go. Because of increasing costs due to extra taxes in the U.K., the other students had to cancel the trip. All the students worked exceptionally hard to fund their trip by wrapping gifts at Christmas, holding yard sales, and running concessions at M-CHS sports games. They also raked leaves, mowed lawns and cleaned gutters for the community. And they even visited businesses and residents with live, smelly goats as a practical joke on April Fools Day.
Montezuma-Cortez High School and Re-1 district administrators, after hearing the high cost of the trip $6,500 per student, decided not to sponsor the theater trip, but that didnt stop the five students from going. Families had to come up with $2,000 for their student to go, some by selling things and using family vacation money they saved, along with borrowing money from extended family members
Students left the United States on Aug. 2, and along with the honor of performing at the worlds largest performing arts festival, spent 12 days taking in the sights abroad. They visited London and saw the Tony award winning musical Wicked, they toured castles and went to museums. For Kaytlyn Alexander, one experience she will never forget was watching the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo where military bands from all over the world come and play.
That was probably one of the most awesome, gorgeous, beautiful things that Ive ever seen in my life, she said.
Alexander said they soaked in the architecture, cultural differences and history.
Walking down the street you look at all the stones and you think about how they are older than our whole country.
Alexander graduated this spring from M-CHS and said the trip made her think of opening a cupcake and tea shop in Cortez, like the one they visited in Edinburgh.
For another student, the trip inspired her to continue her dream of being an actress. According to Palko-Herrera, Mariah Kingery told her that she now has more hope for her future.
She told me, I didnt have hope that I could make it. Now that Ive seen what professional theater is, Ive got hope that Im going to make it. This is what Im going to do forever, Palko-Herrera said.
While all the tourist events were fun to see, as an educator, Palko-Herrera was concerned about what the students learned.
My biggest thing coming out of this, is for kids to appreciate theater and appreciate that if they set their minds to something, its going to be hard, its going to be difficult, but you know what, its going to happen. Thats not something that I think happens a lot (in Cortez) that Ive seen, she said. That perseverance to achieve the impossible and to think that youll make it. It will happen.
Palko-Herreras teaching contract was not renewed this year. She is now living in Denver with her husband.
The M-CHS drama program is still in place with a different teacher.
Palko-Herrera said she hopes Re-1 administration and the community in general will see that when kids have an outlet, like the arts, they will make good decisions and do amazing things.
I hope now the school board and administration actually sees, (that) kids arent stupid, kids arent dumb, kids can do stuff and they can do stuff without breaking things, they can do stuff without being a burden to the community and that just because it comes out of a teenagers mouth doesnt mean its wrong, that just means we have to listen more.
Palko-Herrera, while frustrated at lack of school support for the trip, did say she had a great time during her tenure at M-CHS and also learned a lot.
I learned that kids love theater and kids are going to do whatever they need to do to make it happen. Its pretty inspiring.
Reach Paula Bostrom at [email protected].
