Press release – for immediate
publication
Californian
Theatre Students Enthralled by Highland Heritage
American visitors rehearse for
Edinburgh Fringe world premiere while learning about the history, culture and
languages of the Highlands
A group of theatre students from California are in Glenelg
to learn about Highland culture before heading for the Fringe to stage a world
premiere.
The 18 young men and women from Pepperdine University, in
Malibu, are spending a week with playwright and cultural consultant Eddie
Stiven who is introducing them to everything from history and folklore to
Gaelic language.
They have described
how they have been overwhelmed by their first impressions of the Highlands.
The visit to Scotland is an unparalleled opportunity to learn
about other ways of life, work with superb writers, and take part in one of the
world’s greatest festivals.
Eddie said: “Coming to the Highlands is a
wonderful experience and lets them see a very different side to Scotland than
the one they will get in the Central Belt. It’s a chance to
be immersed in histories and cultures with roots that go back millennia.
“Many young
people from the west coast of America are not used to a landscape where the
names all have meanings, and may have stories attached to them which go back
hundreds or thousands of years and where the people feel so connected with the
landscape.
“Being in a place with no internet or phone signal gives
them a chance to relate directly to the reality of where they are rather than
some kind of virtual reality.
“Some of
them are from families that originally came from Scotland, and for them it’s a
chance to find out something of their origins.”
The students
will go to Sabhal Mor Ostaig College on Skye to get a taste of Gaelic and a masterclass from Gaelic
playwright and actor, Catriona Lexy Campbell. This will give them an insight
into how different languages offer people fresh concepts and allow them to see
the world in new ways.
They will have
a tour of Glenelg’s
renowned Pictish broch towers to learn more about pre-Gaelic culture and the
important role of powerful women in these early societies.
Eddie has written many plays based on mythology and
folklore. He uses the study programme to tell some of these tales to the
students and to demonstrate how the structure of these ancient tales can be
used by playwrights and scriptwriters to construct dramatic plotlines today.
He said: “We are going to Dun Sgiath on Skye to hear about
the legendary boy hero Cuchulainn’s exploits, and how he left there to rescue
his beloved Eimer. This is a classic rescue scene, arguably one of the oldest in
literature, and how it is constructed and timed within a plot is really a
lesson that has been learned by modern dramatists from the old storytellers.”
The students
will also learn about Highland hospitality. A ceilidh will be held at the end
of the week and the students are all expected to invite people they meet to
come along.
Sarah Barney, described her first impressions of the Highlands, saying: “What
keeps hitting me is that everything in Scotland has history and weight –
because of that everything has meaning. It all adds to the legacy that makes
this country so special.”
Katelynn Kutiper added: Everything is so green and
amazing – I just keep stopping and looking at things. There are animals
everywhere and it’s just beautiful. I love it.”
Chris Bozzini said: “The drive in here was something I
wasn’t expecting. I’d never been able to look so far into the distance and see
so much, it was breathtaking.”
And Katy Lavelle added: “I love folklore
and mythology. On our bus ride we stopped and were told stories, and that’s
what this place is to me – an ever-evolving story.”
The time in
Glenelg will also be used to rehearse The
Interference, a play by Fringe First winning Scottish-based playwright
Lynda Radley. The students will then head to Glasgow to carry on rehearsing
before going to the Edinburgh Fringe.
The play looks at what happens when a university sports star
rapes a fellow student and the disturbing attitudes that lie just under the
skin of contemporary society. Realities become distorted, the attacker is
portrayed as a wronged man, his victim’s voice is drowned out and justice is at
risk as vested interests scramble to defend themselves.
While The Interference
is set in an American university, and inspired by events both in the USA and
UK, the questions it raises go far beyond the campus.
The programme, including the commissioning of the play, has
been organised by Pepperdine Scotland. The time in Glenelg helps the students
bond into a theatre group ready to show their skills on the international
stage.
Pepperdine
University first started presenting performances at the Fringe in 1985, because
it gives students the chance to work in a world-class environment. The Interference builds on the success
of previous projects including 2012 Scotsman Fringe First Award winner Why Do You Stand There In The Rain? and
on Pepperdine Scotland’s interest in issues of social justice.
- Ends -
Notes
to Editors
·
The Interference by Lynda Radley is at C Venues 34,
Adam House, Chambers Street, Edinburgh from 3 to 16 August.
·
Tickets: Weekend and weekday prices vary. Full price
£8.50 to £11.50, concessions £7.50 to £9.50, with special prices of £5.50 to
£7.50. See www.ctheFestival.com for the ticket price of each
performance.
·
Time: 15.45
·
Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes
·
Age: 12+
Lynda
Radley
Lynda
Radley is an award-winning playwright and dramaturg who has been working in
professional theatre for over a decade. Her play DORM was recently shortlisted
for The Bruntwood Award - one of the UK’s most prestigious new writing awards.
She is currently developing plays with the Traverse Theatre, Magnetic North and
Stellar Quines. Lynda recently worked as dramaturg for Mark Bruce’s dance
version of Dracula which won a South Bank Sky Arts award. In 2011 Lynda
won a Scotsman Fringe First for her
play Futureproof, a co-production
between Dundee Rep Ensemble and the Traverse Theatre. Her solo show The Art
of Swimming was short-listed for Meyer Whitworth and Total Theatre awards
and toured internationally. Lynda is published by Nick Hern Books. Lynda
frequently works as a dramaturg and creative writing practitioner in
collaborative processes (National Theatre of Scotland, Citizens Theatre, Tricky
Hat, Playgroup, Imaginate, In Cahootz) and adapted Under Milk Wood for
the Tron Theatre's Home Nations Festival, part of The Commonwealth Games
cultural programme, 2014.
Pepperdine
Scotland
Pepperdine
Scotland is the cultural and artistic exchange between Pepperdine University's
Department of Theatre and leading members of the Scottish Theatre Community.
Its first commission, Peter Arnott’s Why Do You Stand There In The Rain? won
a 2012 Scotsman Fringe First Award. Pepperdine has been performing at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe since 1985, and is proud to have expanded its
presence in Scotland since 2012 with this exchange, developed with support from
Playwrights' Studio Scotland and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Pepperdine
University
Pepperdine
University is an independent, medium-sized Christian university enrolling
approximately 7,700 students in five colleges and schools. Seaver College, the
School of Law, the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, the Graziadio
School of Business and Management, and the School of Public Policy are located
on the University's 830-acre campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Malibu.
Courses are taught in Malibu, at four graduate campuses in Southern California,
permanent programme facilities in Washington, D.C., and at international
campuses in Germany, England, Italy, Switzerland, Argentina, and China.
For
further information see www.pepperdinedrama.com @peppscotland
Sex crime on the campus
· Last year around 34% of female
students polled in UK research for The Daily Telegraph indicated that they had experienced
sexual assault or abuse.
·
In
May this year the Wall Street Journal http://on.wsj.com/1WabLT2 said that reports of sexual assaults
on campuses had risen sharply
