Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Student concerns over racist content in Point Park University’s fall show have led to the cancellation of “Adding Machine: A Musical.”
On Thursday, Steven Breese, artistic director of the university’s Pittsburgh Playhouse and dean of the Conservatory of Performing Arts, convened a town hall in the Playhouse’s Highmark Theater, where “Adding Machine” was to have opened Dec. 5. More than 200 students, faculty and staff aired their concerns for nearly three hours.
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I honestly wasn't sure how I felt about this. I think I'm just confused and don't fully understand the situation regarding the production. Is it a musical rooted in racism? Or is it a musical that handles the topic of racism and shows what it does to society? Reading this article in its entirety didn't really clear that up for me, but I think it may just be me and not the situation itself. Either way, what I found most interesting about this was the comments under the article! Man, this has a whole lot of old people mad!! There are 60+ comments, and most of them are calling these "kids" "weak," and I think one says something like, "Everyone run to your safe spaces!" It's just interesting to me how everyone is so divided on it? The students and faculty of PPU are all on the same page it seems, but the general public seems upset by it. I don't think I exactly have an opinion (again, because I'm confused and can't make a fully-developed one), but feel like if the show made these students uncomfortable, no matter whether they were being "weak" or "sensitive," it wasn't the right fit for their school and they wouldn't be able to put their heart into their artistry which is not fair.
Yesterday I was forwarded an article from a friend about the outcry over Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and how it was coming under fire for disturbing themes. I’ve read this article too, about Point Park canceling a show because of outcry from the students. If we take every offensive piece or work of art and hide it away because it offends someone, we would have no art, or music, or dance, or theatre. I fully understand that society is changing but does that mean that because it is deemed offensive that performing the piece is not allowed? What happened to dialogue? What happened to breaking down the story bit by bit and talking through it to understand and be aware of what is happening? I do not agree that the show should have been cancelled. I do not agree with how the students responded. Because I do not agree that art, deemed offensive should not be performed, especially so to allow conversation about the time in which the art was created versus today and if we could change the art, what would those changes look like? Instead of saying, No, we won’t do this play or musical, say instead, let’s do this and talk about it with our audience so that they see under the surface of what is really happening in this story. Use this as an opportunity to tell a deeper, more powerful, more meaningful story instead of just sitting there, calling it offensive and doing nothing to change the narrative that the story currently has.
I think that even if many people don't agree with the cancellation of the musical, it is important that it was cancelled because it was making the people involved uncomfortable. Reading the comments about this article on the article's website (not here), people think it is weak or stupid for them to have cancelled it. I think that internally, it was an issue for the students because of the way it was being directed, or at least that's what this article led me to believe. They said it wasn't clear enough that it was mocking people who were racist, and honestly that's totally valid. I also think that a sarcastic or mocking depiction of something that is a genuine problem in society, especially when done flippantly, is never a good idea. The bottom line is, no performance at a college is important enough to make the people involved, the actors and the creative team, uncomfortable enough to stage a walk out, and bring their concerns to administration. PPU made the right choice.
I’m glad to see the students of Point Park took the initiative to prevent a show from promoting a message they themselves do not support. Using their voices early on teaches them the importance of standing up for their beliefs, even when they feel scared to do so. It is interesting to me that the Point Park staff chose the show in the first place. I don’t think theatre schools should not tackle controversial shows, but there is a responsibility to think of the bigger picture and to take students feelings into account when selecting a show. I am glad the students were able to prevent a disaster before it occurred. Maybe the show’s message could have been presented in a way that avoids sensitive topics, but the students and staff realized it did not and stomped it out before it could hurt anyone else. The students actions should stand as an example for others to stand up for what they feel is right.
I have a friend at Point Park who was in the cast for this show and he said that this cancellation was long overdue. I think that as profound as we all want to be sometimes, its best to admit and take responsibility when a show or some part of your program shouldn't have been chosen in the first place. I personally like the Adding Machine, I think its a pretty cool show and has some really cool moments and something really unique about it, that being said, its probably best that it was cancelled. With a season like what Point Park has, with shows like Parade and The Wolves, more controversy would just be the straw the that broke the camels back. If the show offends students, makes them feel like they aren't welcome at their school, its probably for the best that its cancelled. There is an argument to be said about being able to approach uncomfortable pieces in a controlled educational environment, but in todays day and age, you have to listen to your students.
This is a very interesting topic of conversation. The fact that Point Park University cancelled one of their musicals seems like a very big deal coming from a Carnegie Mellon University student. I believe if all those people stood up for this musical, "Adding Machine: The Musical", to be taken down or cancelled as this years musical it should be and it was right to do so. I do find it terrible that a whole musical will be cancelled and the production experience all the students would get from it is thrown away based off of someone's selection of this racist musical. I hope this musical gets to be replaced by one that the students and the rest of the community is excited to be a part of and help promote to their audience members. I also got to speak to some of the Point Park theater students about this issue. They didn't seem terribly upset about their musical being cancelled but did hope something to replace it so they would still have a show during this time period.
-Pablo Anton
I understand why some people are concerned regarding this musical being cancelled due to concerns. If we are to cancel any show which makes people uncomfortable than what would be the point of art This being said, I believe there are some instances where not proceeding with a show due to concerns such as this one is the right decision. When it comes to racial conversation, productions that make PoC, or the minority uncomfortable is much different than making white people/ the majority uncomfortable. It is one thing to make social commentary on racism through shows like "N*****, digress", and it is another to make audience members wear stars of david or swastikas bases on if they chose to pay or not. I don't think there is a clear line that is to be drawn. Furthermore, we should not be telling students they are being too "sensitive"; they should be able and feel like they can stand up for what they believe in,
I can see how this would be a tough call, and I respect the dean’s ability to listen and respond to the concerns of his constituents. I am not at all familiar with the musical or play, but the article explains clearly that the content is challenging, to say the least. The discussion presented by the author reminds me of a discussion I had a couple of years ago about season selection with the dean of a small college that mostly revolved around training for careers in the sports industry. Many of the students at the college were not particularly strong readers, and the audiences for the shows were not particularly advanced audiences. The dean felt that these were limiting factors in the plays he chose; he needed to put on shows that were appropriate and accessible. The Point Park community seems to have stepped up and said that this musical was not a good fit for them.
Even though I am not familiar with either the play or the musical, I still think this is a great precedent set forth when looking at productions that tackle race, sexuality, and other identities. There are many, many shows out there that have 'not aged well' as some might say, however they remain in the cannon of American musical theatre. Musicals such as "Carousel" with running themes of domestic violence and "The Fantasticks" with the "Rape Ballet" and portrayal of Native Americans exemplify this, and I don't find it hard to believe that "The Adding Machine" does the same. It is important for people to raise their concerns in the production and even more important for people to listen. I will also be curious to see if similar issues arise during their upcoming production of "Parade", which has been criticized in the past for its cavalier use of the n-word. Again, I am happy to see a community step up for what they believe and even happier to see the school listen.
This was an article I actually read right around its publishing date because my sister is a junior stage manager at Point Park and she has been updating me on this entire situation as it has unfolded, and let’s just say it has not been pretty. Ever since entering into production for this show, concerns have arisen. The content of the show is very, very intense, and I think there is an approach to this show that can work and make sense, one that can teach rather than offend. From what I know, this show was not being taken in that direction. I have spoken to both designers and actors working on this piece, and every single one of them was disturbed by the direction being taken by the production team, and the lack of response to the outcry from students. This show was cancelled at the beginning of tech week. That is how long it took for the university to listen to the outcry from students and take action. But I am very glad they did.
Well I am not completely surprised that Point Park has canceled their fall musical as I have heard that there were some problems with the shows racist content it is still pretty shocking. From what I can understand of the situation it sounds like the show has a very racist character and calls for a mostly white cast, but point park did not have an entirely white cast which made the situation very difficult. This is a very sticky situation and I think it’s for the best that they canceled the show so that no one was made uncomfortable by this production. I hope that point parks director will take this situation into account when thinking about what future shows they will produce.
From the article I can see the main conflict about the show being staged is that the production team was not able to clear the intention of the playwright. It is clear that when the time the play was written, rising people's attention to the issue of racist is included. And I found it really brave and resolve of the Dean to take the action. We have seen too many times that after a controversial play being staged, the production team is struggling to put out the fire with unease announcements. I am really happy to see some one is being responsible to predict the outcome and making the right call. Also the awareness of the voices coming from the students should be highly praised. We all know how hard it is to balance between showing authority and being nice. Beyond the solution part, I feel the main reason of the play being cancelled still lies in how the show is directed and staged, which we as theater people can address that.
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