Of his own creation

MONTROSE  — It’s not your usual school Christmas production.

Rocky Mountain International Academy music students have taken a different route this year with their holiday play — using a script, music and lyrics written by one of their senior students.

“A Tale of Two Pities” is written by senior student Michael Barrow. Two of the play’s songs, “Abner’s Song” and “I’m Just Me” were also created by Barrow, along with additional verses to “What Child is This.”

With a cast of 29 students, the play is a battle between two male students, Abner Schwarz, played by Barrow, and Franklin White, played by Dustin Cooper. Both males are very competitive with each other and things are no different when the two students fight for the lead in a school play.

“It’s a play within a play,” explains Barrow. Both boys want the lead part so they can act alongside the lead female, Sumatra King, who is played by Andrea Leverett.

Abner and Franklin are in a jealous feud until the end of this comic production, where both characters realize life is about forgiving.

“I like to put an underlining theme in my stuff,” Barrow said, adding that much of his material is taken from his life as a teenager and school circumstances.

Barrow enjoys writing and also plays the guitar. He approached his music teacher, Allyson Crosby, to see if he could write the school play.

“I was curious to see if I could do it,” Barrow said. “I’ve always liked music. ... But music is hard to write. I haven’t played long, but I wanted to take on a challenge. I don’t know how it came, it just did.”

Crosby describes the music in the play as “pop ballad.” Because Barrow plays guitar, he wrote all the music in chords. Crosby transcribed the material for the piano, but the guitar part is not lost. In “Abner’s Song,” Barrow sings an upbeat tune about his dislike for Franklin while stringing on his guitar.

His other song, “I’m Just Me,” is sung by Leverett and accompanied by Crosby on piano. Leverett, 15, said the lyrics are an accurate narration of a teenage girl’s struggles.

“A lot of girls out there feel like they can’t be themselves — they have to put on a show and guys can be so stupid. ... It talks about how hard it is to be just yourself.”

Barrow said he had many of the scenes for the play in his head, but had to sit for several hours with friends at Starbucks before he worked out a whole story line.

He started writing in June while on a six-week mission in Hong Kong. Some of the characters names were sparked by his trip, such as Sumatra, which is an international coffee in a Hong Kong coffee shop — an occasional writing place.

Finishing about half the play in Hong Kong, he returned to Montrose and concluded the play by August. He then presented it to Crosby, who made a few changes and added a few songs, he said.

Though Barrow is not sure where his play writing will go from here, he said he plans to continue to write and produce. He is currently in the process of creating a movie that he and friends will film in their free time.

“I’m going to keep writing because it’s loads of fun,” he said. “I like using it as a tool for my faith.”

“A Tale of Two Pities” will premiere Friday, Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 1840 E. Niagara Rd., in Montrose. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children. There will also be a performance Saturday, Dec. 15 at 7:30 p.m., with a soup supper starting at 5:30 p.m. Tickets for dinner and the show are $5 for adults and $3 for children.

 Contact Kati O’Hare via e-mail at katio@montrosepress.com