Northern Kentucky school trades textbooks for life lessons during ‘play week’

COVINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — Since 2002, Calvary Christian School in Covington has paused regular classes for one week. This unique experience is known as play week. Leads up to a special performance built by students from the ground up.

This year’s musical is Newsies. Director Jamie Martin said each year the school’s production is unlike anything you’ll find anywhere else in Kentucky.

“Generally, at a bigger high school, you would have like a drama club, and there’s two the same, ten or 20 kids that are doing all of the productions. Here we have a whole new crew of kids that comes out every single year. It’s like they surprise as they come out of the woodwork,” Martin said.

Students become artists, costume designers, actors, and stagehands. Antonio Muniz is playing this year’s lead role.

“Everybody comes here, whether you’re an athlete, whether you’re a mathlete, like whether you’re in the theater, whether you’re not; play week is that moment where you can join the crew or join the cast and be a part of something that you wouldn’t normally be a part of and stepping out of your comfort zone,” Muniz said.

All of them are trading textbooks for life lessons they won’t get in the classroom.

“Hands-on things that really schools don’t offer anymore, like home economics and shop and they’re building; they’re showing they’re, you know, doing everything pretty much from the ground up,” Martin said.

Whether your in the cast or crew, it’s all about their school coming together for something that’s bigger than themselves.

“From the smallest job that seems insignificant to them. You know, the kids that are painting sets in the back or, building stairs for people to walk up or just cleaning up behind everybody—they are a part of this big, beautiful thing that we get to put on,” Martin said.

Tickets for this weekend’s production of Newsies are available here.