<p>We are mad and horribly sad that D’s HS principal canceled the drama teacher’s plans to put on “Inherit the Wind”, the CLASSIC play about the Scopes trial and a favorite of mine! The administration has backed the principal. The drama dept has had to start with an alternate choice. There have been no written statements, so unfortunately details aren’t as clear as they need to be. But the word is that the play is just too controversial. (But it was made into a great movie with Spencer Tracy!)
It’s true that in our city and in our state there are a fair number of creationists, but I didn’t realize these people had so much sway that they could determine the choice of public high school drama productions. Luckily there’s no hint of an effort to strongarm the teaching of intellegent design in the biology classes. The Catholics here accept evolution as true. The Lutherans are mum but in other states have endorsed "Evolution Weekend"s yearly in February (Darwin’s Birthday) to emphasize that evolution science is perfectly compatible with Christian belief. There are other Christian denominations which agree. There are very few atheists or followers of other religions around here unfortunately. There are many others who belong to a variety of different protestant subgroups who accept everything in the bible as literally true.
I’ve heard some say that if the play is staged that there would be an equal or greater number of parents on the other side who would be upset. But its not like both sides are balanced in justification. Scholarship, respect for fine classic theatre, the value of open discussion in lieu of censorship, and the need to educate students on the biggest issues of our age make our side stronger.
A protest is called for, and we’re at a stage where the upset parents are trying to find who the others are. I already e-mailed a protest to the administration. The editor of the city paper may not pick up on the story, instead inviting concerned citizens to write a letter to the editor. I want a story! Interviews, direct quotes, etc! Facts. Grumble.
Anyone else run into this?</p>
<p>i have not experienced anything like this… BUT YEAH- THEY SHOULD SOOOO ALLOW IT</p>
<p>Our hs once refused to put on “Carousel” because of what it called “the theme of domestic violence.” :rolleyes: It’s surprising that a public school (I presume?) would back away from a play this well-established in the dramatic literature, about something that actually happened. Weird. How about lobbying for something really controversial in its place? 
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<p>I hope your protest pays off. In my experience, our school administration circled the wagons and responded poorly to organized group protests on any issue, but hated receiving individual phone calls from a lot of angry parents, and sometimes reconsidered its actions in response to that approach. More face-saving.</p>
<p>stillwater, I think you will find on CC that there are a huge variety of experiences as far as what schools will allow what productions, so take any advice with a grain of salt. </p>
<p>Since we got a new theatre director about six years ago, he has pushed the envelope on what he will produce. He has done Laramie Project, Chicago and a couple of others that I know no other high school in our area would touch. He has also expressed a desire to do the high school version of Rent sometime in the future. He, himself, is a rather conservative person in his politics, but he believes students can’t really learn and experience the full gamut of what theatre is when you produce the same kind of show over and over again. </p>
<p>Again, this is one perspective, and I have supported all his decisions and choices. Not all parents have, but he has gotten support from our administration, so the shows go on. This is not true for all high schools and I feel bad for the ones who are censored so heavily, but these choices often represent what the community values. </p>
<p>BTW, when we did Laramie Project, we did have some protestors with signs on the sidewalk next to the entrance to the school parking lot (they were not allowed on school property).</p>
<p>I would like to know exactly what they find “controversial” in this play. It smells like political censorship. And because the Principal is afraid of offending a minority who don’t believe in evolution?<br>
I agree with having parents who are upset call and personally object to the Principal. I’d even go so far as complaining to the Superintendent.</p>
<p>So, your kids are not supposed to experience theater unless everyone agrees with every premise within the drama?</p>
<p>Maybe the principal doesn’t believe in evolution. If so, I think your school needs a new principal.</p>
<p>One of my friends moved to another state with her family – after her husband, a tenured physicist at a public university in the South talked to her kids’ public elementary school class, and the principal complained to her husband afterward for stating that evolution was a fact. At that point, the couple decided that the husband needed to look elsewhere for employment, which he quickly found because he was an internationally renowned expert in his field.</p>
<p>S1 and a friend watched Inherit the Wind a couple of years ago, and they were so interested that they got books about the trial from the library. I noticed that much of the movie was taken verbatim from the trial transcripts. I imagine this is true of the play, as well. So this seems like a particularly valuable production for the students to do.</p>
<p>If the principal is vetoing it out to avoid the evolution “controversy,” it is really disgraceful.</p>
<p>It’s amazing what adults will get so wound up about. Students, or young adults, however have a unique capacity to take different subjects and learn for the sake of education, respect if they do not agree, and often have great debate in the process.</p>
<p>Part of my son’s rising Sr summer reading was Genesis, Job, & John. They were spoken to at the end of last year about the historical significance. It’s optional so if anyone objected they were free to skip it. Most of the students believe in intelligent design, but the discussions that they had were entertaining, humorous, and broad. These are students that are catholic, muslim, non-demoninational, methodist, agnostic, really talking about interpretation, and what they thought. They can handle far more than adults give them credit for.</p>
<p>This level of censorship is very regrettable. I read it while at a Catholic HS in the South in the 60’s. It is a shame that the “us against them” mentality has grown so strong that an administrator censors so as to not deal with opposition. Families could use this as a “teachable moment” to reinforce their particular beliefs.</p>
<p>Maybe you can start a facebook page about it. Things can reach a lot of people really fast through facebook.</p>
<p>Can I agree with NSM in part? I don’t think whether the principal believes in evolution or not should determine his employment. In fact, I strongly disagree. It is basically his choice of religion, and I think it would be terribly wrong to fire him based on that. In fact, it is probably very illegal. Further, I think firing him for his choice of religion would be quite ironic in this case, if he wants to censor the play due the religious aspect. Some will argue it’s wrong to censor the play because of the religious pov, but ok to fire a guy for his religious pov? No way.
However, I strongly agree with her conclusion that he may not be the best person for the job. “Inherit” is a highly respected play and movie based on real life events. If this is being denied because the principal doesn’t like the (actual) court’s ruling in the case then he is the wrong person for the job.</p>
<p>I would first make sure, by talking with the drama teacher, that there was not a different reason for cancelling the play than the obvious theme about evolution v. creationism.</p>
<p>The play, as I recall, has 3 strong leads for male actors but no leads or strong support roles for females. Unless they’re ready to cast “gender-blind” by rewriting the reporter as female, there’s not much opportunity if they have a strong female actor or two in the school. The reporter portrayed was historically H.L. Mencken, so even that’s not so easy to flip him to a her). </p>
<p>Meh, I’m stretching it. You know your community, and I’d bet that your instinct is right here: the play was pulled for its themes. Even so, you might want to converse with the drama teacher to make sure from that source that the play was pulled for thematic, not theatrical/staging/technical reasons of some kind.</p>
<p>Censorship, from both the left and the right, has become part of the political game-play not only in our colleges but also in our country’s political life as well. </p>
<p>All good people, of all political persuasions, are required to fight against it.</p>
<p>I’d remind paying3 that the OP told us it the principal deemed it was too controversial. Given that was the premise we are told, I don’t think guessing it was denied because there aren’t enough parts to go around would come under that heading. Surely the drama dept would have known about casting before they selected it.
Of course, there may be some other controversy than the obvious theme.</p>
<p>The principal is a direct descendant of William Jennings Bryan?</p>
<p>Maybe he thinks the word “Wind” has scatalogical connotations.</p>
<p>Before I started an organized protest, I’d think long and hard about what you might be awakening in your community. Do you really want the creationists actively involved in monitoring what goes on at the school, including the contents of the library and the courses? If so, making a stink about this is quite possibly a great way to achieve that. You could be fighting these battles for a long time.</p>
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<p>Seems to me that before any kind of protest is staged, you need to find out what the actual reason for the principal’s decision is. Going by “the word” out there seems unfair. I suppose if he refuses to give a reason, you have more justification.</p>
<p>Go to your local newspaper and/or TV station.</p>
<p>Younghoss, read this OP’s paragraph again with the extreme precision and logic you advocate.</p>
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<p>As I read it, the only certain facts for sure are these: the principal canceled it; the administration backed the principal. As far as the OP knows, nothing’s in writing, so the “why” of the cancellation is mysterious. On that, we know only this: “The word is that the play is just too controversial.” I’ve got to wonder: whose words? other mystified and upset parents? </p>
<p>So my suggestion was, before raising the roof over the cancellation, a wise parent might gather more facts and not just “the talk” around town. For example, she might contact the drama coach to find out (IF he’ll say…) why he believes it was cancelled, or if he received any verbal (if not written) explanation/excuse from the principal. </p>
<p>Or, call in the press (as proposed), have meetings and rallies based on rumors and assumptions, get neighbors very upset at each other. It’s a choice. </p>
<p>The good thing about calling in the press is they are free to ask questions without any stake in the answers or consequences within the school community. They are objective, in that sense. They also tend to define the issue for you. I think it’s smarter to know what your issue is before you take it to the press.</p>