Two Kings High School graduates write a new play

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Two Kings High School graduates are walking the halls of their school once again, but this time as professional writers.

Alexandria Taylor and Kira Doebereiner are used to being center stage since seventh grade participating in plays and drama performances.

Last year, Kira came back to the school to see a production - not knowing that she would be called upon to write her own one day.

The duo recently wrote a show called “The Green Light.”

”We took creative writing together and went to separate colleges but we’ve remained friends,” Alexandria told FOX19 NOW.

Kira says she got the push to do it from her former theater director Pete Moore at Kings High School when she attended the play last year.

”Pete Moore actually caught me afterward and was like, ‘Hey there’s not a whole bunch of plays that are really geared towards the current students.’ The current high school crowd is a majority of female cases, and he’s like, ‘Would you have any interest in writing something for us?’ And I laughed it off,” she explained. “I’m like, ‘I can’t write a play, no way.’ But I told Alex about it later and she was kind of like lighting the fire - like we should absolutely write a play. Let’s do it.”

The two friends got to work writing the mystery drama that is based at Gilden Academy, which tells the story of a reporter investigating the disappearance of a wealthy girl at a boarding school.

Kira and Alexandria took about a year to write the story but they say actually watching the students bring the words to life was the most thrilling.

”It’s been such a blessing to see their responses. The first time they’re all reading through the script. It just blew me away. Their excitement and how interested they were in the characters and honestly how funny they thought it was. We weren’t sure the humor would land,” Alexandria said.

Alexandria studied film and media, graduating from Georgia State University in 2021 with the hopes of becoming a screenwriter, while Kira graduated from Miami University in 2020 with a creative writing degree and plans to write a book.

Now both are ecstatic that their first major project will debut on the stage where they got their first start.

”One of our biggest hopes is because there’s such a lack of plays written for high schoolers in mind, even when we were in high school. There is just a lack of material written and not a lot of guys are in theatre programs,” explained Alexandria. “We’ve written the show to fit the needs specifically of drama programs. And one of our goals is we want to get directors from local theaters and around the community to see it so we can get it in the hands of other people and get them to license and perform the show.”

Both women say they are now considering turning the story into a book series or a pilot.

“The Green Light” will premier at Kings High School on Nov. 16, 17, and 18 and is open to the public.

Tickets are on sale now: $10 for adults and $8 for students.

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