Arts & Culture

UK Theatre to Settle 'The Dispute' at Edinburgh Festival Fringe

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 27, 2015)  To cheat or not to cheat? That is the question 14 University of Kentucky Department of Theatre and Dance students and faculty will try to answer as they take the stage next month at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to present "The Dispute."

 

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world and takes place every August for three weeks in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital city. Every year thousands of performers take to hundreds of stages all over Edinburgh to present shows for every taste. From big names in the world of entertainment to unknown artists looking to build their careers, the festival caters to everyone and includes theatre, comedy, dance, physical theatre, circus, cabaret, children's shows, musicals, opera, music, spoken word, exhibitions and events.

"We're so excited to be a part of this. The festival is open to lots of different types of theatre from professional to amateur, drama to comedy, solo artists to large ensembles. This year we'll be getting our feet wet in hopes to come back again," said Kaitlyn Noble, who is both performing as part of the cast and serving as a marketing intern for the production.

UK Theatre has given an old story new life in its debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Their adaptation of Pierre de Marivaux’s "La Dispute" places the story on the wedding day of a runaway bride.

In this limited engagement performance, two scientists attempt to uncover the truth about fidelity — can a person truly be faithful in love? In this comical adventure, four children raised in total isolation are introduced to each other to prove that cheating is not a default human instinct. Told through the magic of a future technology, a worried bride and her wedding party watch the story unfold and learn what it really takes to love another person.

Bringing "The Dispute" to life is a cast and crew of UK 12 students under the guidance of UK Theatre Chair Nancy Jones, who is serving as director of the production, and Associate Professor Tony Hardin, who is serving as the production designer. The group held a week of long rehearsals in May to get the cast familiar with the piece. They now will have about two more weeks of rehearsals before heading to Edinburgh and then only one day in the space to run it before they open Aug. 11. The cast and crew of students featured in "The Dispute" include:

· theatre sophomore Nicolás Acosta, from Bogotá, Colombia;

· theatre and arts administration junior Jessica Agro, from Bowling Green, Kentucky;

· theatre senior Shalisha Brace, from Hazard, Kentucky;

· theatre sophomore Emily Cole, from Chicago, Illinois;

· theatre and arts administration senior Liz Ellis, from College Station, Texas;

· theatre senior Shermaine Johns-Dorsey, from Louisville, Kentucky;

· theatre senior Peter LaPrade, from Marietta, Georgia;

· theatre and elementary education junior Hannah Nall, from Louisville;

· theatre and integrated strategic communication senior Kaitlyn Noble, from Corbin, Kentucky;

· integrated strategic communication and English senior Kelsie Potter, from Worthington, Kentucky; 

· theatre senior Daylin Tone, from Burbank, California; and

· theatre junior Madeline Williamson, from Coronado, California.

"The Dispute" will be staged four days, Aug. 11-14, at Greenside @ Royal Terrace, as part of the festival. After Edinburgh, UK Theatre hopes to tour the show in the U.S. To follow the cast and crew's Edinburgh experience, check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/thedispute and Twitter page at http://twitter.com/DisputeUKY.

Noble, who is excited for the experience to be part of a production on such a popular international stage, believes the trip is a great opportunity to build skills for her career. "It's a great resume builder for after college. It shows that we've had several opportunities in our training."

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe story dates back to 1947, when eight theatre groups turned up uninvited to perform at the (then newly formed) Edinburgh International Festival, an initiative created to celebrate and enrich European cultural life in the wake of the World War II. Not being part of the official program of the International Festival didn’t stop the performers – they just went ahead and staged their shows on the "fringe of the festival" anyway – coining the phrase and the festival's name Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Year after year, more and more performers followed the early troupes' example and in 1958 the Festival Fringe Society was created in response to the success of this growing trend. Almost 70 years later, the festival has grown tremendously. In 2014 there were 49,497 performances of 3,193 shows in 299 venues, making it the largest ever arts festival in the world.

The UK Department of Theatre at the College of Fine Arts has played an active role in the performance scene in Central Kentucky for more than 100 years. Students in the program get hands-on training and one-on-one mentorship from a renowned professional theatre faculty. The liberal arts focus of their bachelor's degree program is coupled with ongoing career counseling to ensure a successful transition from campus to professional life.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu