The show is over, but not the party!!

Yes, it's true. U'town is now a thing of the past : (

I have to say, I shed a few tears during our last, most excellent performance.

Where did I leave off last? Last night...we saw another AHSTF performance and it was a challenging one...then it was back to the dorm for an hour of free time before 11pm curfew. The kids were tired and luckily, we got to sleep in this morning, which did us all a world of good! Our call was 11am for final warm up, notes, cheers, tears and then off to the theater. We again had over 100 in attendance, which was fantastic. We've seen 3 other AHSTF pieces in Churchill, and no other school has come close to having as many people in the audience as we've had. And today we only had 15 people from another school - all other audience members were just visitors to The Fringe. I met a couple from NY who had missed the show when it played there and decided to come - another director from Scotland and another one from England who also just showed up. And lots more of course. People really were so complimentary afterwards and lingered to find me to offer congrats. It was very cool. At lunch, the chaperones were reflecting on our performances and those we've seen and we toasted to the kids and ourselves for our work at The Fringe. We know it's not a competition, but there is an element of competitiveness here with all the other high schools. And, well, we won. But enough about us...

We came back to the dorm, found lunch and a shower and then headed back on the city bus for another show: The End of the World. I had read a review about it in The Scotsman a few days ago and they called it "the epitome of a Fringe show" and gave it four stars. It was performed in a 25 x 25 foot space with about 75 in the audience, which was in the round, about 15 in the cast. It was indescribable. Wonderful story, incredible use of music and technology...we were all so moved, in different ways. I really have been unbelievably lucky with my choices. Whew! It was such a beautiful afternoon that I snuck my group away from the bus and we walked home...stopping by my favorite chocolate shop on the way ; ) We girls do love our special treats now and then.

Now, we are back at the dorm for dinner and then off to our last AHSTF show at another venue, which should be nice for a change of pace. I'm not sure I'll be able to post tomorrow as we have a really full and fun day. The SUN has now really come out (it was a joke in my earlier email - it went away quickly) and tomorrow it should be - gasp - 70 degrees!!

We have a closing ceremony with the other schools at 10am and the director of the program asked me to pick two of our kids to speak about their experience. Then, we voted to skip lunch at Pollack in favor of getting to town faster for the last day. It works out financially since we had all 3 meals via AHSTF yesterday with the bus trip (we are supposed to get 2). And a stuffed baked potato is only 2 pounds and is a cast favorite! Thanks to Mrs. Mihai for the email - we've done many of those things already in small groups but it's fun to have the whole list again with pictures so that kids can pick what they want to do more carefully. The Giles Cathedral has been a favorite, as well as the ruins at the end of Princes street. We will likely be out from 11am-midnight, shopping, touring, seeing 2 shows, a performance event (secret!) and having our Fringe Fund b-day dinner. At midnight, we will pass out only to awake at 4:30am for our return. That should be fun!

NOTE: ALL COSTUMES/PROPS MUST BE RETURNED TO THE BLACKFORD THEATER MONDAY BETWEEN 3:30-5:30PM. Please contact Mr. Larsen directly with any questions.

I'll try to post again in London on our layover. Thanks to all the parents for their support and nurturing of their kids on this huge adventure. A special hello to my Mom, Pauline and a HUGE thank you to my family - Arne, Cecilia, Madeline and Ellie for making major sacrifices so that I could be here with my 'other' kids. You guys are the best and I can’t wait to see you!

See you all soon!
Laura