Battle Ground High School group goes to Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland

BATTLE GROUND — This summer, Stephan “Cash” Henry, an English and drama teacher and drama club adviser at Battle Ground High School, led a group of six students to perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland with the help of WorldStrides, a leader in educational travel.

Their journey was Henry’s second visit to the festival, following a previous trip with 14 students.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest performing arts festival. It is celebrated for its diverse and extensive program, encompassing various art forms such as theater, comedy, music, dance, spoken word and more.

Battle Ground’s performance was based on the play “Family Matters” by Sandra Fenichel Asher, a series of vignettes about family issues, including neglect, abuse and sexual orientation.

Henry said, “The key takeaways for me, just like they were during our first visit in 2017, was that it’s such a profoundly positive, life-changing experience for me, my wife, the students, and our fellow chaperone.”

He continued, “I believe that providing them with the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and to witness performances in the arts that they might never have encountered elsewhere will leave a lasting impact on them. It’s a path to becoming a global citizen because of all the connections and friendships they make at Fringe. It’s a transformative experience for them.”

This story was updated Dec. 4 to correct the description of the play’s plot.