From Burbank High School to one of the world’s largest performing arts festivals, 18 BHS Drama students took their talents across the globe this summer to perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland.
Led by Burbank High School drama teacher Donovan Glover, the students became the first group from the Burbank Unified School District to attend and perform at the prestigious festival. During their two-week trip from Aug. 1-14, the group presented its Greek tragedy, “Hippolytus,” four times between Aug. 7 and 12.
Each performance drew a larger crowd as positive reviews, word of mouth and the students’ creative promotional efforts helped spread the word. “As a theatre lover, even just seeing the Edinburgh Fringe Festival has long been on my bucket list,” Glover said. “And of course, it’s a no-brainer when considering what an amazing experience it is for a group of high school Burbankians to actually perform in it.”
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe began in 1947, when eight theatre groups arrived uninvited to perform outside the official Edinburgh International Festival. It has since grown into the world’s largest performing arts festival, transforming theaters, churches, restaurants, meeting rooms and other spaces throughout the city into performance venues each August.
Glover had considered taking students to the festival many years ago, but the process of finding a venue, arranging international travel and securing lodging felt overwhelming. His interest was renewed in the spring of 2025 when his daughter Gwyneth, who is also a BHS Drama student, expressed a desire to attend.
That search led Glover to the American High School Theatre Festival, or AHSTF. Established in 1994, the organization helps high school performing arts programs participate in the Fringe by coordinating theater space, transportation, lodging, meals, technical support and sightseeing opportunities.“They are the hand-holding entity that I’d needed,” Glover said.
According to Glover, BHS Drama’s application was the first to receive a perfect five-out-of-five rating from AHSTF during its selection process.
The trip came with a significant price tag, but the BHS Drama program and its families worked together to make it possible. Using funds earned through the success of recent productions of “Grease” and “Hamlet,” the department contributed $1,000 toward the cost for each participating student.
Students and families also raised money through a large multi-family yard sale at Burbank High School, an improv night at LA Connection Comedy Theatre, lobby sales during school productions and a preview performance of “Hippolytus” before the group left for Scotland. Families contributed the remaining costs needed for the trip.
Once in Edinburgh, the students performed inside the Great Hall at Nicolson Square Venues. With no way to transport traditional scenery overseas, the company relied on black boxes, movement, masks, music and the audience’s imagination. The 67-minute production was based on Euripides’ tragedy, poetically adapted by Anne Carson and further adjusted by Glover and his wife, BHS Drama acting coach Maria McCann, to fit the festival’s requirements.
Every actor designed and created a Greek mask that was worn through nearly the entire production. The full cast remained onstage throughout the play, creating a live soundscape with hand drums, sticks, maracas, clackers, wine glasses, sandpaper blocks and even the sound of a kitchen knife scraping.
The actors also used singing, chanting, whispers, rhythmic breathing and other vocal sounds to build the world of the play. Movement and rhythm were woven throughout the production, with the Greek chorus playing an active role in each scene.
“The entire work was ritualistic, powerful in its soundscape and truly theatrical,” Glover said. “Though the story was dark, and the performances incredibly sad, I am so deeply proud of all the students who came together to co-create something truly beautiful.”
McCann helped develop and strengthen the individual performances, while fellow theater teacher Steven Baxter assisted Glover in creating the production’s soundscape. Brittany Woodford served as costume and prop designer, and BHS Drama parent Katie Abbey Mitchell worked as the group’s production assistant.
While thousands of shows compete for attention during the Fringe, the Burbank students found creative ways to stand out. The ensemble took to Edinburgh’s famous Royal Mile to busk, using movement and theatrical performance to spark curiosity about the show.
Their hard work paid off. Glover said each performance drew a full audience, including the group’s early-morning time slot. Before the experience was over, the students also received an award from the AHSTF technical team recognizing their work on the production. “Those teens are all now award-winning, international performers,” Glover said.
For the students, the experience went far beyond performing their own show. “Performing in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival was a fantastic experience,” senior Alyssa Arriaga said. “Getting to know other actors from around the world and watch them showcase their skill onstage left me in awe. I learned that there are so many ways that theater can be explored and how it influences fellow actors.”
Senior Gabriela Gooding described the trip as an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “I learned how much variety can be brought to life on a stage, as this is where ‘just thoughts’ can become world-renowned shows,” Gooding said.
Sophomore Cassidy Landrum said the production also taught her the importance of working as one ensemble. “We were all constantly onstage most of the time, which made us all grow closer as a result,” Landrum said. “I was able to perform and see so many great shows and meet so many inspirational performers.”
The students’ international experience also included a tour and acting workshop at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, a West End performance of “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” a visit to Stirling Castle, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and an encounter with Scotland’s famously furry Highland cows.
For Glover and his students, the journey was more than a school trip. It was an opportunity to create, collaborate and represent Burbank on an international stage, while showing audiences thousands of miles from home just how powerful high school theater can be.
