Junior Matthew Kischer has been a part of the theatre department at Westside since middle school, but has just recently become more involved in writing and directing. After being introduced to Shelterbelt Theatre, “Omaha’s home for plays,”  Kischer decided to write an original play to eventually be produced and performed.

“My play, ‘The Water that Flows and Drowns’, is about a middle schooler, and he is coming back from being in a coma,” Kischer said. “He has a very dark past that he doesn’t know about, so that’s what he’s trying to figure out.”

Kischer originally began writing his play for a Challenge Based Learning project assigned to him in Honors Literature his sophomore year.

“I talked to several different teachers and they were very interested in helping out,” Kischer said.

It took Kischer over a month to write his two-act play, that involves 14 actors, a stage crew, and a director. Kischer hopes to reach out to his audience in a way that will intrigue and thrill them.

“My play is not like most stories, you have to piece together all of the scenes that show emotional connections,” Kischer said. “Every scene has a purpose and things aren’t always as they seem.”

Kischer is thankful for his opportunity to write an original play, and hopes to someday have a career involved in theatre. Words that are preached within his story are, ‘the truth is always best to know from the beginning.’

“It’s a tragic but entertaining story,” Kischer said. “A message that can be brought to the table is that everyone, no matter how perfect they are, goes through something tragic.”

Kischer’s final stage reading of “The Water that Flows and Drowns” will be held after school on Tuesday, March 8.