Nanakuli High Performing Arts Center troupe members head to Scotland for the prestigious Fringe Festival at the end of the month for a journey they’ve spent more than a year preparing for.

The troupe, through grants, donations and performances, has raised about $120,000 since May 2010 to cover airfare, lodging and other expenses. Ten students and eight NPAC alumni, along with chaperones, will travel to Scotland and England for the 15-day trip.

Before they depart, the center’s students will give three performances to showcase their newest dramatic production, "Under the Influence."

The play, which the students will also put on in Scotland, will be performed July 19 in Honolulu and July 22 and 23 in Nanakuli.

The group will leave July 31 for Europe.

NPAC students on the trip range from freshmen to seniors. They’ll spend four days in London before traveling to Edinburgh.

Nanakuli was one of 62 high schools selected (out of 2,200 nominated) to perform in the American High School Theatre Festival at the Edinburgh event.

Robin Kitsu, NPAC director and a teacher at Nanakuli High and Intermediate School, said students are growing more excited each day.

"It’s finally hitting everybody," Kitsu said. "I don’t think the kids really understood what this means until now."