The Southwestern College theatre department will present “The Kid Courage Project” Friday and Saturday, April 10 and 11 at 7:30 p.m., and on Sunday, April 12, at 2 p.m.  All performances will be in Messenger Recital Hall in the Darbeth Fine Arts Building.  

The play is a devised play, similar to the 2010 production of Adam Sharp’s “The Pillars Stand,” which was based on historical accounts of the Richardson Auditorium fire and interviews with individuals who experienced the fire.  

As part of its Pillars Project, the college focuses each year on one of the virtues celebrated in its alma mater and represented by the Christy pillars of Knowledge, Hope, Courage, and Freedom. The 2014-15 focus on courage inspired this selection by the theatre department.

The content for “The Kid Courage Project” came from youth from the Winfield Intermediate School and Winfield Middle School.  The students had writing prompts about the theme of courage and the students wrote and contributed their stories.  Those stories were then passed on to Southwestern students in the “Devising Playwriting” class that was developed in the fall semester by Roger Moon, associate professor of theatre at speech at Southwestern.  The SC students then took that content and developed short scripts that then were incorporated into a larger play.  The length of the play is just under one hour and there will be a talkback session with the cast and crew immediately following the production.  

“(‘The Kid Courage Project’) explores what it takes to have courage,” says Allyson Moon, associate professor of theatre and speech at Southwestern College.   “What causes fear, anxiety, and terror in the lives of youth? How do they work through it in order to be able to go on and be whole and sometimes fearless and courageous and who helps them do that? There are many things that youth face. Death is a huge topic of concern, the death of parents, grandparents, death of a pet, and their own death and mortality.  And of course bullying is a huge topic of concern for them.  All of that is in the play.”

Allyson Moon says audience members will feel positive after viewing this production.

“I think people will leave feeling uplifted,” Allyson Moon says.  “I also feel like this show is instructional.  If you want to know what goes on in the collective mind of children in the intermediate and middle school age range, and the things they think about and the things they are concerned about, you will know by the time you leave.  You will also know that these kids are tough and how they plan on coming out on the other side and being stronger.  Some of this show is heartbreaking and so true to life, no matter what age you may be.  I think everyone who attends will be able to relate to the content. There are also parts that are honestly funny.”

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students.  To purchase tickets, call (620) 221-7720 or email performingarts@sckans.edu.