Student Play, The Edge Effect, at Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival

by Jimmy Sicord ’16

A few of Gordon’s most intrepid theatre students brought their very own play to the international stage at Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival this summer. Written and directed by Hannah Pentico ’16 and Jessica Richmond ’16, The Edge Effect is a piece about the fulcrum of life choices, human transitions, turning points and “Catch 22s.” 

Along with their dedicated cast of actors—Kari Mayne ’16, Austin Schroeter ’17, Kaylah Dixon ’17, Drew Cleveland ’17, Haylie Petre ’16—and crew, Hannah and Jessica spent a week in Scotland, taking the stage each night with a slew of world-class international theatre troupes.

The Fringe Festival is no hidden, dimly lit underground coffeehouse where black-clad performers bring dud acts for a few snapping fingers. It is the world’s largest international coming-together of arts and theatre. This year, the festival sold 2.3 million tickets. Over the course of 25 days, more than 3,300 shows were performed at 313 local venues, and a total of 49 countries were represented. 

Dubbed “Pentmond Co.,” this group is the first from Gordon’s Department of Theatre Arts to perform at the famous festival. “Many college productions make their way to ‘the Fringe’ but few are written, directed, acted and produced independently by the artists themselves—let alone artists who are also full-time students,” says Jeff Miller, professor of theatre arts.

The Edge Effect is a play about in-betweenness. “This finding of life in the worst places ties back into my faith, showing that the most poignant redemptions often come through struggle,” says Jessica.

“The idea of the ‘the edge effect’ comes from compositional ecology where the boundaries of two biomes overlap and create crossover space. It’s called an edge effect because there’s a humongous growth in biodiversity in that area,” Hannah explains.  

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