Alpha Psi Omega to present annual children’s show Dec. 13

The students of Alpha Psi Omega (APO), Northwest Missouri State University’s theatre honor society, are traveling again this holiday season to stage an original children’s play.

The play written by Grace Garrigan, a senior speech and theatre education major from Council Bluffs, Iowa, “Plot Twisters,” is about a young girl struggling to find others with similar interests in reading and writing.

Northwest students are pictured performing in last year's Alpha Psi Omega children's production. The theatre group will debut this year's play on Dec. 13. (Photo by Todd Weddle/Northwest Missouri State University)

“I hope it inspires people to be imaginative and reignite their love for literature,” said Paige Waddingham, the play’s director who is a senior speech and theatre education major from Creston, Iowa.

APO will perform the play for the public at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13, in the Studio Theater at the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts. Admission is free, and APO will accept donations of canned food for local food pantries.

The ensemble also will tour Dec. 16-20 to elementary schools near Maryville, as well as in St. Joseph, Missouri; Council Bluffs, Iowa; and Omaha. Nebraska.

“APO is about bringing theatre to others and keeping the art alive,” Waddingham said. “What APO tries to do a lot of the time is relieve some of that stress that others might have about theatre.”

APO is a national honor society for students majoring in theatre. Membership is based on production activities and academic excellence. In addition to producing its annual touring children’s show, the group sponsors events throughout the year and supports charitable causes.