Not only will it be the first event to be presented in the new McAfee Performing Arts and Lecture Center at Saratoga High, but it is also the show the department will be taking to Scotland for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival next summer, as one of only 38 schools nationwide invited to perform in the world-renowned event.

The PAL building is not quite finished--the sound system still needs some work and a couple of the restrooms are still out of service--but department head Kathleen Woods and her performing arts students couldn't be happier to be inside its walls. The group began rehearsing its latest production of the musical Working in the new building the week of Nov. 14.

"It's incredible," Woods said, looking around before rehearsal got under way on Nov. 16. "It's like another world. It's remarkable. Even incomplete, it's worth performing in here."

"I'm so excited. I've been waiting for this moment since I was a freshman," says junior Emily Harter, who has a role in Working and is the show's student choreographer.

Working is based on the book of the same name by Studs Terkel, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. For his book, Turkel interviewed thousands of working class Americans--from truck drivers and janitors to food servers and powerful CEOs.

"So it's about the American working experience, but it's also about having something to take pride in; that's the through-line of the whole show," she explains. "Even though everyone does something different, everyone contributes to the world."

Rachel Balma, a senior, plays Grace Clements, a mill worker in a luggage factory.

"I like the message [the show] sends," she says. "It's about something real, not necessarily glamorous. It's based on the lives of real people."

Rachel says she can empathize with her character and others like her--Grace has to perform the same, repetitive motion for eight hours a day in the factory.

In addition to choreographing several musical numbers in the show, Emily plays Amanda McKenny, a project manager in a corporation who has to deal with the day-to-day rise and fall of the American economy.

"I get the feeling she likes her job, even though it's tough," Emily says. "She's resilient to the lay-offs and problems in the industry."

Emily says her role as student choreographer has been a bittersweet experience.

"It's harder than I expected," she says. "But it's a good challenge. It's nice when it all comes together."

Emily has been dancing all her life and is skilled in ballet, tap, jazz, modern and more. She first served as assistant choreographer with fellow student Danielle Coleman for last spring's production of Oklahoma!

Now she's working on Working, a show the high school troupe will perform here before talking it on the road to Scotland.

Ask Woods a question about the upcoming trip to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and she's all smiles.

The Fringe Festival is the largest performing arts festival in the world, inviting performers from more than 36 countries to participate every year. For 2006, the Saratoga High Performing Arts Department was chosen as one of 38 schools nationwide to perform a scaled-down, 70-minute version of Working in the event.

In addition to their performance, the students will get do quite a bit of sightseeing as well, Woods says. They will take a tour of Stratford-on-Avon, where William Shakespeare was born, take a bus tour of London and see shows at the legendary Globe Theater, and see Stirling Castle in Scotland, to name just a few of the excursions already planned.

However, no dream trip comes without a hefty price tag. Therefore, the department is already in full fundraising mode.

"Ideally, we'd like the students to be able to fundraise about half of their trip," Woods says.

The first such fundraiser will take place before the performance of Working on the night of Dec. 2. A gala dessert and reception will be held at 6:30 p.m., featuring a silent auction, and then the performance of Working will begin at 8 p.m. A live auction will follow the show, and the prizes include use of a vacation home in the Trinity Alps and a flight in a private plane.

It seems everything is "working" for the Saratoga performing arts students.

Performances of 'Working' are Dec. 1 at 7 p.m., Dec. 2 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 3 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets to the Dec. 2 gala fundraiser are $37 for students and $40 for adults. To reserve tickets, email Sclavos@comcast.net. For more information on the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, visit edfringe.com.