MAKING NEWS
The Fringe by John Bishop
This past summer, for a fourth time under the direction of Brian Feigenbaum, LA’s Dance program was invited to send students to the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival. “Twelve Lawrence Academy students who have demonstrated consistent motivation, maturity, discipline, and talent in the performing arts went to Scotland,” said Feigenbaum, who led the troupe composed of 2013 graduates Patrick Burns, Joe Casper, Holly Moniz, and James Lawrence, rising seniors Salyna Anza, Kalyn Lai, Jonny Mangini, Jane MeLampy, Jasmine Reed, and Sara Rosenberg, as well as the Class of ’15’s Gabriella DiVincenzo and Connor Melvin. Director of Theatre Joel Sugerman, NGP chair Dina Mordeno, and former LA technical director Adam Mendelson joined Feigenbaum for the festival that gave many members of the community a chance to take their work to a new level. “It affords our best performing arts students exposure to the work of both international artists and other American high school theatre programs,” said Feigenbaum prior to departure. “It also allows us to show our modern dance theatre work to an international audience. “The response to the three prior Fringe journeys has been overwhelmingly positive .... [And] virtually every student who has participated has found this experience to be positively transformative and life-changing.” By all accounts, the 2013 trip was a similar success. “Through sweat and grace, great imagination, and superb adult leadership, these were not just LA dancers, but LA students in the finest sense of the phrase,” said Head of School Dan Scheibe in his Head’s Blog on lacademy.edu. “Young people forcefully shaping and claiming their own education and thus their own lives— and not incidentally, profoundly influencing the lives of each and others.” “We’ve continued to make friends with students all around the world, as well as with fellow Fringe performers," said Melvin, who traveled with the group as technical support, in an online diary he also penned for LA.
30 I FALL 2013
