DES MOINES, Iowa — It’s a scene you might recall: a bunch of college kids with very college hair, rolling into your elementary school. Turning a familiar room into something foreign, and an hour of class day into a special treat.

“I love the young audiences,” says playwright Emmitt Phillips, Jr. “I love how responsive they are.”

What you didn’t know was that the performers might have been even more entertained by you.

“They always tell the truth,” laughs Kristin Larson, who runs the theater department at Grand View University. “They always give you an honest reaction and it’s usually pretty vivid.”

“I kind of prefer being in the schools because that’s my work,” says Phillips, “that’s my comfort zone, you know?”

Grand View’s traveling production is special this year. Larry Lackson and the Law of Attraction was written by Phillips, a former GV student, and it’s about a kid who moves to Des Moines.

“He has a teacher that sees him as a young man who’s going through some struggles,” Phillips explains, “and gives him tools and techniques to cope with his pain. And it ends up working out for Larry.”

It’s worked out for Grand View, too. Phillips’ homegrown play helped the theater department win a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The university matched the grant, dollar for dollar.

“Emmitt had crafted a story in his mind and it just was perfect for that audience,” Larson says, “he knows that audience so well…” 

When he’s not working on plays, Phillips is working with Des Moines kids in schools and outreach programs. His work helps his writing.

“I spent a lot of time on the dialogue to make sure it’s written in a way that will land on this new generation of kids,” Phillips says.

The show will play to nine city schools this week. So far, exit polls are good.

“Well, at every school we have performed at,” Phillips smiles, “I’ve had at least one child that comes up to me and says ‘when’s that sequel coming?’”

Good reviews are nice, but Grand View is counting on something even more special yet to come — the moment when the gravity of a light-hearted hour sets in.

“I think it’s the most important thing that we do,” Larson says. “Every year. I’m not sure that the college students realize that, and I think they will maybe ten years down the road, they’ll think ‘Oh, this was the most important thing I did in college was reaching children where they are.’”

Grand View will end the week of shows at elementary schools with four performances at the university’s Viking Theatre on campus. There will be two shows on Saturday and two on Sunday. Admission to all is free. For more information click here.

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