The most recent Out of the Box production is The Popularity Pandemic, co-written by ArtBarn staff members Matthew Kossack and Adam Brooks. The idea for the story arose out of discussions with students about problematic social issues. Cast members contributed their ideas to the show and also helped create the sets.

The Popularity Pandemic tackles the ever-increasing complexities of popularity, peer-pressure, and acceptance. The show tells the story of a harmonious, inclusive group of kids who are suddenly and inexplicably struck with a strange obsession: the need to be popular! As these kids become increasingly concerned with what is cool, with what everybody is doing, and with what will make them fit in, they begin to turn their backs on the things and people they care about. The idea of popularity becomes a disease infecting their school, and it comes down to one girl who tries to stop it from becoming a pandemic that destroys her friends.

Photos and Music from ArtBarn's The Popularity Pandemic