The students of Alpha Psi Omega (APO), Northwest Missouri State University’s honorary theatre fraternity, are hitting the road again this winter with an original children’s play – and this time, the story is out of this world.
The play’s runtime is about 30 minutes and is open to the public.
“A good way to describe it is a fun, anti-bullying outer space campaign,” Redman said of the play. “There’s a rumbling in space and space cadets, Carson and Callie, want to figure out what’s going on, so they talk to the planets. It turns out they’ve been bullying Pluto because Pluto’s not a real planet.”
Kailyn Peterson, a junior speech and theatre education major from Liberty, Missouri, wrote the play, drawing inspiration on her childhood interest in space. Peterson recalled her disappointment when the International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto from a planet to a dwarf planet in 2006 and spun her story of “Space Cadet Callie” with children in mind.
“I really like the idea of building a show from the ground up, and kids are the best audience,” Peterson said. “If it’s funny, they’ll laugh so hard. If it’s not, they’ll let you know. They’re very honest.”
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