ABOUT HIMName: Christopher Kyles.Age: 12.School: Fifth-grader at Barger Academy of Fine Arts.Favorite subject: Social studies.Least favorite subject: Math.Heroes: His family, God, Jackie Robinson and Rosa Parks.Favorite actors: Johnny Depp and Harrison Ford.Dream job: Playwright/illustrator or funeral director.CLAIM TO FAMEWhile recovering from two rounds of brain surgery last November, Christopher Kyles, 12, wrote a play about Rosa Parks, which will be performed this month by his school’s drama club.SEE ITChristopher Kyles’ play, “The Rosa Parks Story,” will be performed by the Barger Academy Players at Barger Academy, 4808 Brainerd Road, at 7 p.m. Friday and 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
In 1955, Rosa Parks’ act of civil disobedience in refusing to move to the back of a Montgomery, Ala., bus inspired an entire generation to take up the cause of civil rights. Almost 60 years later, her defiance encouraged 12-year-old Christopher Kyles to take up a pen.
In November, while sitting in a bed at Erlanger hospital recovering from brain surgery, Christopher put the finishing touches on “The Rosa Parks Story,” a play inspired by a made-for-TV movie by the same name. The play will be performed Friday and Saturday by the Barger Players, the drama club at Barger Academy of Fine Arts, where Christopher is in the fifth grade.
“At first, I thought she [Parks] was a little person who got on the bus and said, ‘I don’t want to get off,’ ” Christopher said. “Then I started learning more about her. I realized she was more than that; she was a hero.
“Heroes to other people are Superman and stuff, but heroes to me are amazing political figures like John F. Kennedy. So I decided to write about one of my heroes.”