EdFringe Talk: Guns in Dragonland

Posted in *EdFestivals 2026, *Written Interviews by

“There is something so special about a singular event that brings thousands of artists of many mediums, countries, and stages of their careers together to celebrate what we all love most in the world: performing arts.”

WHO: Kathryn Hansen

WHAT: “Navigating youth is a universal challenge, but with the constant threat of firearms, American students are faced with their own mortality before they stop wearing tutus to school. Fortunately, these kids don’t have to face this horror alone, meet the guardian angels of America’s youth: dragons. Created and presented by students, Guns in Dragonland is a series of vignettes exploring American school society and its shocking overlap with America’s gun culture. Witness as these children and their dragon guardians grapple with the dangers of gun violence with humour, bravery, and compassion. ‘Surprising and extraordinary’ (David Henry Hwang).”

WHERE: Upper Theatre at theSpace @ Niddry St (Venue 9) 

WHEN: 18:05 (55 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my first EdFringe! I am so honored to be a part of such a vibrant community of artists that overtake the city of Edinburgh. There is something so special about a singular event that brings thousands of artists of many mediums, countries, and stages of their careers together to celebrate what we all love most in the world: performing arts.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2025 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

This year, I have had a lot of time to reflect on the role that art plays in my life. I was struggling with my relationship to art, felt burned out, and couldn’t find that creative spark that used to burn so bright. I had the realization that I stopped letting my curiosity take the lead; I wasn’t allowing myself to just explore things that I loved just for the sake of loving them. It’s definitely a difficult balance to find when your career is in a creative field, but I have been trying to more consciously follow my curiosity and allow myself to be inspired again by the world around me. Sometimes, you need to allow yourself to nerd out about the little things, like the way the trees rustle or a really good song!

Tell us about your show.

I am stage managing “Guns in Dragonland” written by Eislinn Gracen, and produced by Los Angeles Theatre Initiative. LATI brings groups from different universities across the US to the Fringe every year, and I am lucky enough to be a part of the incredible team of students from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles who worked on this project! This play premiered last year at the Fringe with another one of LATI’s groups and will continue to develop after this production!

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

After Guns In Dragonland, go see the rest of what LATI is bringing to Fringe this year.

Revelation and It’s A Struggle Coming Out are both making their international debuts following sold-out runs in New York and Los Angeles! Revelation explores the horror and hope of being american through the lens of the four horsemen of the apocalypse and It’s A Struggle brings you everything you could want in the form of campy queer vampires and their thirst for authenticity.

I would also make sure to catch DECKHAND which received 5 stars at Hollywood Fringe and makes its international debut in the last week of the festival, it is a fast paced comedy set aboard a sinking ship that explores the toxic and nuanced relationship between an assistant and their boss.

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