It’s not the most unusual thing to hear about a play production in North Platte; what is unusual however, is to hear about a North Platte High School student writing a drama to be produced this summer at the Fox Theater. This is a challenge that senior Michael Richey has taken on.

Every year, NPHS theater teacher Brittany McDaniel puts on a summer acting camp. “She has high school students come in and do a small play,” Richey said.

This is the fourth year that McDaniel has hosted the summer play workshop. The camp’s first year coincided with Richey’s freshman year, “I’ve been going to it since she started it,” Richey said, “I just thought since it’s my senior year, I decided to just start a big project and write one.”

Richey’s play is titled “24 Hours Before Summer,” and focuses on several perspectives of students the day before summer starts. “One of them is about some eighth graders going into high school next year,” Richey said, “[another] is about a foreign exchange student who’s leaving because he’s going back to where he’s from.”

Richey’s motivation came from a play that he had participated in last year. “The part that I was in was really awkward,” Richey said, “I was like, ‘I feel like I can do better than this.’”
If you’re interested in trying out, auditions for “24 Hours Before Summer” will be held May 14 at 7:00 p.m. in McDaniel’s room, 2408; the play will be performed at the Fox Theater on June 8 and 9.