Torrey Pines Players invited to perform on international stage

By: Sandra Kraisirideja - North County Times | Sunday, December 4, 2005 8:56 PM PST ∞

With a reputation for being one of the best high school theater groups in North County, the Torrey Pines Players of Torrey Pines High School are hoping to showcase their talent on an international stage.

The group is well on its way, having secured an invitation to the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. The last high school from San Diego that was invited to participate in the festival was La Jolla High School in 1997.

For those who may not know, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is just one part of the Edinburgh International Festival, a six-week arts extravaganza that promotes all manner of creative expression. At the 2005 Fringe Festival there were 26,995 performances from 1,799 shows in almost 250 venues. If there was a spot of land to perform in the city, you can bet it was used during the event.

The Torrey Pines Players was nominated to attend the festival (performing as part of the American High School Theatre Festival) by Marilyn Zeheljnic, president of the Educational Theatre Association. After receiving the nomination, they filled out a 10-page application and submitted a DVD representing their work over the last four years. The contents of the DVD can be viewed online at www.tpplayers.com.

For their performance, the Torrey Pines Players have chosen "Pippin." The musical was selected for its "vibrancy and extreme portability," said Marinee Payne, who has been the theater director for 14 years and drama teacher for 13 years.

"We will not know the venue until mid-April and will not physically inspect it until the day before we actually perform. We all get a two-hour tech rehearsal and then we must be ready," said Payne, who lives in Encinitas.

The training students receive at Torrey Pines High School is very hands-on, which should prepare them well for the pressure of the Fringe Festival. After all, these are some of the some students who helped construct a 20 -by-4-by-8-foot pond for a staging of "Metamorphoses."

Payne's favorite part of her job is the "magic that the students weave here in the Little Black Box," she said, referring to the 130-seat black box theater where all of the productions are staged.

Payne has a degree in both English and speech from Cal State Fullerton and was a Ph.D. candidate in theater at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before she realized she loved doing theater more than writing about it. Her professional theater experience spans 37 years.

For the 22 students who will be going to Edinburgh, the opportunity presents a chance to demonstrate what they've learned and experience performing in front of a global audience. Before they can learn a note of "Pippin," however, the students must raise $100,000 to fully underwrite the production and travel expenses for the trip.

To date, they have raised $26,000 and are planning a series of fundraising events leading up to the time they will depart for Edinburgh in August 2006. The theater program does not receive any financial support from the school district and relies solely on ticket sales and the generosity of the TPHS Foundation.

For more information on the Torrey Pines Players' performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, visit www.tpplayers.com.

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