In a story that sounds all too reminiscent of what happened at Granby High School in 2007, a high school play in Newport Beach has been killed because - God forbid - there were gay characters in the story line. One can only hope that something akin to what happened with Pet Sounds here in Norfolk may occur - namely another venue will come forward to host the performance (Pet Sounds went on to win awards and did a return engagement the following summer). It is a sad state of affairs when school administrators who are bigoted - or gutless and afraid to tell Christianist parents to go to Hell - kill plays with gay characters as if that will somehow make their own LGBT students (and gays in the larger society) magically disappear. We are here through out society and try as some might, we are NOT going away. Therefore, a true education for students ought to recognize our existence as a reality. Here are some highlights from the Orange County Register on this latest censorship effort:*
NEWPORT BEACH - A high school principal is denying accusations that she refused to let a performing arts class musical depict gay characters, effectively killing the production. A drama instructor made that charge Friday, and a lengthy account of the episode, penned by an unidentified Corona del Mar High School student, has been circulating in e-mails and was posted Friday at queerty.com, a gay-oriented blog and news forum.
*
Asrani is “firmly against the portrayal of homosexual characters in RENT,” the letter says, “despite the fact that all displays of affection have already been edited out of our script.” The drama department planned to use a less-risqué “high school edition” of the flamboyant musical, according to the department’s Web site.
*
In an interview, Asrani said the accusations were entirely inaccurate, and that drama teacher Ron Martin canceled the production after she asked to review the script for objectionable material, a common practice at schools. . . . Martin, in an interview, told a much different version of events. Rehearsals hadn’t begun and scripts hadn’t been ordered, so getting a script for the principal would take almost two weeks, he said, and Asrani decided that would not leave enough time for revision and changes. Regardless, “she had already told me that she would not let it proceed because of the homosexuality in it,” Martin said. “That is the case,” he said. “I will stand by that regardless of what (school) representatives say.”
*
Martin said a recent production of “No Reservations” that included kissing and the word “ass” elicited a single complaint from an audience member, leading to Asrani’s move to oversee performing arts productions. “We've never had to have script approval before,” Martin said.
2 comments:
Pardon my French here, but that is complete bullshit.
If anything, this play could have been a GOOD thing. For one, adolescence is usually when young LGBT people discover their true sexuality. A play like this could have been a way to tell these poor students that what you're feeling right now is completely normal, and maybe enlightening the ignorant heteros in the audience. But I guess that won't happen in Corona del Mar High School. OH WELL.
Also, I'm just not a fan of censorship. Not just censoring homosexual concepts, but censorship in general (i.e. covering nudity or foul language on TV, etc.). I remember there being a very important paper somewhere in the U.S. capital that states that we all, as U.S. citizens, have the "right to free speech." If they wanted gay characters in the play, I say more power to them (hell, I may want to join the cast!). But NOOOOOO, some people are trying to "protect the innocent." Again, total bullshit.
...my apologies for the rant. Censorship is just one of my "buttons." X(
Unfortunately, that's exactly what the conservative community doesn't want. Remember that among the central beliefs of the homophobic/religious mindset is the idea that homosexuality is a choice. They think that by including gay characters, the play will be encouraging young people to explore "gay lifestyles."
Post a Comment