Picking a Play Can Be Toil and Trouble

November 3, 2025

High school theaters have a plethora of plays to choose from for their student productions. But what if none of those seem to fit? And what if one of those theater students, who had a chance as an actor, now wants to write a script? That is just what happened in fall of 2023 for Ankeny Christian Academy (ACA) junior, now senior, Andrew Cathey.

“I played a role in ACA’s fall production of Death by Dessert, a humorous murder mystery-themed dinner theater. Though I enjoy acting immensely, I found that I derived equal enjoyment from the backstage aspects of the drama department.”

Since then Andrew signed up for the theater classes at ACA and this year advanced to the Master’s Class. Part of this class is for students to take ownership of a longer term project. Before his class schedule was complete, Andrew approached his teacher, Mrs. Mary Lou Herring, to float the idea of co-writing the fall play, another dinner theater. The show, which would have to run 90 minutes at minimum, and include a full dinner for the audience as part of the show, would be a challenge.

Andrew shared, “I had never composed something of this magnitude before, and was excited to challenge myself, while learning from the process.”

Throughout the summer, Andrew and Mrs. Herring met at the school, putting in more than 40 hours on the writing. Andrew is no stranger to hard work and long hours. He is currently the ACA Student Council President, a member of the National Honor Society, a member of the Des Moines Youth Leadership Initiative, and just recently was accepted into The University of Iowa where he plans to study pre-med. Even so, writing a full length dinner theater production was new territory.

While “the plot is largely based upon Shakespeare’s Macbeth,” it is really an amalgamation of many sources including Back to the Future, High School Musical, and The Princess Bride. It is a comedy with tragic elements or maybe a tragedy with comedic elements, depending on how you look at it. Either way, Andrew believes “it has truly been incredible to witness our script come to life through the work of our deeply-talented cast.” And the show is interdisciplinary, as the ACA Select Choir, under the leadership of Mr. Ryan Weathers, will be performing as the on-site players during the planned feast.

Once the writing was done, Andrew also signed up to be the director and, as he has in other productions, run the sound. So if you get a chance to see the play, look for this talented young man in the booth.

The curtain goes up for the world premiere of Toil and Trouble at 6:00pm on Friday, November 14. The play will run once more on Saturday, November 15, also starting at 6:00pm. Tickets include a sumptuous catered meal from Greater Iowa Catering. Attendees are encouraged to come in medieval attire, if they choose. There will be prizes during the meal for best dressed. This current day to medieval romp is rated for the entire family to enjoy. Tickets are still available at https://acaeagles.seatyourself.biz. Seating is limited due to the availability of dinner seating, so purchase your tickets soon and support an aspiring physician with a Renaissance streak.