Since the early 2000s, it’s been a rite of passage for theatre and stagecraft students at Denver School of the Arts (DSA) to travel to Edinburgh every four years and put on a show at the Festival Fringe. 

In the fall of 2019, students began preparing for their next trip — but then, thanks to Covid-19, everything fell apart. Because of travel restrictions, the project was postponed indefinitely. Remote learning made in-person rehearsals impossible. And traditional fundraising options for the trip, such as volunteering at Broncos games and hosting a charity gala, became impossible.

PHOTO Thor Cloninger

Now, two and a half years later, the students are ready to perform at the Festival Fringe this summer — where they will be performing a sweeping new musical shaped by their experiences during the past few tumultuous years: re:ACTION.

Based — with official approval — on three time Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown’s celebrated solo album, How We React and How We Recover, re:ACTION explores Covid-19, lockdowns, loss of small businesses, mass shootings, Black Lives Matter, George Floyd’s death, losing someone to Covid, homelessness, sexuality, and more through the eyes of high school students. The resulting production, created by and starring students under the direction of DSA Theatre Director Shawn Hann, delves deeply into love, loss, and grief — and explores how we react to upheaval and how we recover. 

re:ACTION will be part of the C ARTS programme at C venues. 

Dates: August 3-7 and 9-14

Time: 14:10 (1hr00)

Location Edinburgh Fringe venue 21

Roman Eagle Lodge, 2 Johnston Terrace

EH1 2PW

+44 (0)131 581 5555

Click here to purchase tickets.

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