NPR: Caitlyn Fox put on a show - just not the one she proposed. Caitlyn Fox, a senior in the honors program at Friends University in Wichita, Kan. - a Christian university of Quaker heritage, as its website explains - mounted a senior recital called "The Shows They Don't Want Us To Produce: A Study Of Censorship Through The History Of Musical Theatre" - for mature audiences, her playbill advised.
4 comments:
I highly respect this student’s dedication to the source material and conceptual meaning of the show. She clearly did her research and stands by the message of the devised piece. That is a very admirable and altruistic motive. I also think it is important to note the diversity of reasons for the censorship that Fox describes. From drug use to comments on history to the narrative context of the piece. While we can see their point of view, I almost feel that it is unfair to take this controversial work out of their intended context, because it does not allow the author much grace when it comes to expositional explanation. It is very hard to find the balance between the separation of life and work and art. Especially in Fox’s case, there is a huge personal risk that she is taking. She risks the delayment of her graduation or possible expulsion from university.
I really love Fox’s idea for her recital because it is part of an uncommon practice within many art disciplines in which creators curate collections of banned works specifically in order to bring them back into the public consciousness. This is a vital practice because in every case in which literature or art was banned, it was done so in order to control people or to make people forget or never learn something important. Once something like banning a book is attempted, it is our responsibility as artists to make sure that no one forgets about that book, because whatever was in it, was silenced before and should be shouted from the rooftops now so that we learn the lesson it tries to teach. I am disappointed in her school for silencing her celebration of once silenced works, but now its our job to listen to those songs and remember why they were banned int the first place.
For some reason when I read the description of this article I assumed that this was about a high school. It makes more sense to me but it also makes me angrier knowing it's a college because she shouldn’t have been censored. It is certainly not shocking that the university did pull back its support. Having done all of the work it would be incredibly frustrating to see it get censored especially with that being the whole point of the show. The history behind these shows and the reasons that a song is banned from the industry is important and is something that should be highlighted in student work like this. Fox’s perception of the situation is inspiring because it shows her resilience not only throughout the process but also moving forward with the project. I am happy that the show was still able to be performed but censoring works is something that should be talked about more.
I’m from Wichita so this article was of a lot of interest to me. I know some people who attend Friends University and have spoken out about struggling against the university’s conservative practices, so the fact that they have suppressed this production is not surprising to me. Unfortunately Wichita only tends to make big news when something bigoted or conservative happens but I swear that’s not all the city is, and I appreciate the article focusing more on Fox’s creative process and the content of the show. It’s a unique concept and reminds me of the lists of “banned books” recommended by teachers that would make the rounds in elementary/middle school. I haven’t seen Cabaret or know much about the reception of it so I’m glad the interview prompted an explanation of why the song was included in the show. Hopefully Fox continues making original works and I would love to see one when I’m back home.
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