The World
is Closer Here
MainStage on the Road
VTA and the SOUTH EAST THEATRE CONFERENCE (SETC)
Each year, high schools who have won state competitions perform at SETC for the regional title. The two winning productions from each of the 10 SETC member states* will compete in the High School Theatre Festival. This year, the event will be held at Greensboro College in Greensboro, NC, during the 67th annual SETC Convention.
* The 10 state region includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
SETC is the strongest and broadest network of theatre practitioners in the United States. It provides extensive resources and year-round opportunities for constituents. Although regional in its founding, the Southeastern Theatre Conference invites a national audience to its mission, namely, "stimulating and organizing...theatre experiences of the highest possible standards and encouraging appreciation and understanding of the same." SETC champions a vision of theatre that expands exponentially from the individual artist-practitioner-educator; it finds its genesis within the five organizational divisions, articulates itself at the state level, comes together in celebration at the regional level, and ultimately extends into the national and international arenas. SETC actively promotes interdisciplinary and multi-cultural participation in theatre and honors the diversity of the members and constituencies it represents.
THE EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL & AHSTF
In 1947, the Edinburgh International Festival was formed as an event to promote peace and unity in the world after World War II. Those invited to participate were meant to represent the best of "high art" culture: opera, ballet, classical theater. Eight uninvited theatre companies traveled to the Festival and participated on its ‘fringes’. These companies attracted so much attention and enthusiasm that a new festival was born: The Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Today, with nearly 3,000 productions, 40,000 performances and thousands of performers from across the globe, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest performance arts festival in the world. Shows range from premieres of new works destined to become classics (like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead) to more recondite "only at the Fringe" experiences like A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla Dressed as an Old Man Sits Rocking in a Rocking Chair for 56 Minutes and then Leaves. And yes, over the years there is occasionally a "Fringe of the Fringe," comprised of companies who think the fees and registration process of the official Fringe are too stringent.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a unique and exciting event. Every year for three weeks, Scotland’s capital is transformed into a magical, unpredictable, and thrilling world. The city bursts at the seams as Edinburgh becomes the largest stage in the world. Every theatre, church, museum, hotel, sports centre and pub plays host to its own array of international performers. AHSTF is one of several "festivals within the festival" allowing high schools to become a part of the excitement.
The American High School Theatre Festival (AHSTF) was developed in 1994 to allow American drama students to showcase their work in an international forum and be exposed to a wider world of professional theater offerings. The program now includes schools from Canada, and in recent years has included school productions from Alaska and Hawaii
(text freely adapted from AHSTF website)
In 1947, the Edinburgh International Festival was formed as an event to promote peace and unity in the world after World War II. Those invited to participate were meant to represent the best of "high art" culture: opera, ballet, classical theater. Eight uninvited theatre companies traveled to the Festival and participated on its ‘fringes’. These companies attracted so much attention and enthusiasm that a new festival was born: The Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Today, with nearly 3,000 productions, 40,000 performances and thousands of performers from across the globe, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest performance arts festival in the world. Shows range from premieres of new works destined to become classics (like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead) to more recondite "only at the Fringe" experiences like A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla Dressed as an Old Man Sits Rocking in a Rocking Chair for 56 Minutes and then Leaves. And yes, over the years there is occasionally a "Fringe of the Fringe," comprised of companies who think the fees and registration process of the official Fringe are too stringent.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a unique and exciting event. Every year for three weeks, Scotland’s capital is transformed into a magical, unpredictable, and thrilling world. The city bursts at the seams as Edinburgh becomes the largest stage in the world. Every theatre, church, museum, hotel, sports centre and pub plays host to its own array of international performers. AHSTF is one of several "festivals within the festival" allowing high schools to become a part of the excitement.
The American High School Theatre Festival (AHSTF) was developed in 1994 to allow American drama students to showcase their work in an international forum and be exposed to a wider world of professional theater offerings. The program now includes schools from Canada, and in recent years has included school productions from Alaska and Hawaii
(text freely adapted from AHSTF website)