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Solaris Khalid was focused on preparing for a national debate competition when her coach asked if she was interested in auditioning for Stage West Theatre’s production of “What the Constitution Means to Me.” The high school senior, who plans to study biology after graduating from Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD’s Trinity High School, decided to give it a try.The quirky, heartfelt play — a Pulitzer Prize-finalist — follows Heidi Schreck, played by Megan Noble, as she reflects on the high school debate career that allowed her to attend college and her personal connections to the constitutional amendments that have shaped the United States.Each performance ends with a debate, and Khalid is one of two high school students who alternate laying out their arguments with the show’s star.After a coin toss, one side argues in favor of keeping the constitution and the other argues for its abolition.The question is simple, but the answer is not straightforward, Khalid said, noting that the constitution makes some rights explicit and leaves others implicit.If you go

What: “What the Constitution Means to Me”When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31-Nov. 2; 2 p.m. Nov. 2-3Where: Stage West Theatre, 821 W. Vickery Blvd., Fort WorthAdmission: $44-$48“Seeing the progression of just the Constitution isn’t a black-and-white type of issue. It’s a gray area,” she said. “(The framers) weren’t thinking about, like, different gender issues. They weren’t thinking about sexuality issues. They weren’t thinking about racism.” Ellen Reid, a high school junior from Austin who alternates with Khalid to debate on stage, agreed.“I definitely come at it with a real gratitude that I’m able to bring some of these issues that I think about often — and grew up grappling with — to light,” she said. With early voting ongoing and Election Day drawing near, the story could not be more timely.“It’s not just a play,” Reid continued. “It’s very relevant where we are right now in our history and our future, too.”Pocket Constitutions are taped to the back of every seat in the theater, giving audience members the ability to fact-check the debaters in real time.After closing arguments, one audience member will be selected to declare a victor.Dana Schultes, Stage West’s executive producer, said that she selected this play out of concern for the country and the tenor of current political discussions.“You can make an actual debate happen, and it’s joyous,” she said. “That’s exactly the kind of thing we should be able to be doing in our country instead of getting lost in these weird fabrications of reality.”Schultes, who has a 16-year-old daughter, thinks that there is a lot adults can learn from youth like the high school students featured in the play.“It sounds so cheesy, but they are the future. And so instead of not believing them or blowing them off or suggesting that they don’t have the capability to formulate interesting and meaningful thoughts,” Schultes said, “I would rather invest in them and let them know … that what they are thinking is worthy of being heard.”Marcheta Fornoff covers the arts for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at marcheta.fornoff@fortworthreport.org.At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.