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Monday, March 06, 2023
How bills restricting drag could impact high school theatre productions
NPR: More than a dozen states have proposed bills that would restrict minors' access to drag performances. So where does that leave high school theatre productions like Rent or nontraditional casting?
It’s absurd that the fact that congress is pursuing this so hard that it’s going to affect high school theatre, which is honestly just a bunch of teenagers playing pretend for fun at school. The part about this that’s on my mind the most is the situation that could happen with a show like Newsies. A lot of the time, they cast girls to play a boy’s role. I don’t understand why certain states want to even regulate clothes! It’s literally just a piece of cloth that you put over your body. There’s no reason there should be this much effort in banning drag or cross-dressing performances. Theatre is honestly a safe place for so many teens. I know it was in my high school, especially for my trans and LGBTQ+ classmates. The article is right when it says this- bills like this are unsupportive and create unsafe spaces for trans and LGBTQ+ students.
It’s absurd that the fact that congress is pursuing this so hard that it’s going to affect high school theatre, which is honestly just a bunch of teenagers playing pretend for fun at school. The part about this that’s on my mind the most is the situation that could happen with a show like Newsies. A lot of the time, they cast girls to play a boy’s role. I don’t understand why certain states want to even regulate clothes! It’s literally just a piece of cloth that you put over your body. There’s no reason there should be this much effort in banning drag or cross-dressing performances. Theatre is honestly a safe place for so many teens. I know it was in my high school, especially for my trans and LGBTQ+ classmates. The article is right when it says this- bills like this are unsupportive and create unsafe spaces for trans and LGBTQ+ students.
(Didn't post with my name. Sorry about that!) -Hailey Garza
All of this new anti-trans and anti-drag legislation is not only going to be incredibly damaging to the entire LGBTQ+ community but it will also have many more damaging effects on a huge variety of people. This article points out how, though not the intended target of the laws, this legislation will prevent many theater productions from being performed. There are many shows that make use of drag or have parts in them that could be considered drag. Not only that, but even just having a person cast in a role that is not their biological sex could theoretically violate these new laws. Many theater companies, especially in high schools, will be prevented from doing any show which contains these so-called “dangerous” topics. Because of these laws, many students could lose out on the opportunity to do theater in high school at all and will be losing out on huge parts of their education.
Regardless of who these bills are meant for, we are already seeing the impact that this legislation is having on our schools. Not just high schools either, youth of all ages will be affected by these bills. Certain shows are being called to not be performed anymore in certain states. The effect that this will have on our youth will be devastating. High schoolers will no longer be able to see themselves represented on stage because the government decided to ban them. Teachers are no longer able to create the safe space that they once promised. I can’t even imagine having to watch this happen as an educator. Classic shows are no longer allowed to be performed, many of which kids have been waiting years to do. I will truly never understand why people care about how others live their lives when it has literally zero to do with them. Mind your own business, the children are fine.
4 comments:
It’s absurd that the fact that congress is pursuing this so hard that it’s going to affect high school theatre, which is honestly just a bunch of teenagers playing pretend for fun at school. The part about this that’s on my mind the most is the situation that could happen with a show like Newsies. A lot of the time, they cast girls to play a boy’s role. I don’t understand why certain states want to even regulate clothes! It’s literally just a piece of cloth that you put over your body. There’s no reason there should be this much effort in banning drag or cross-dressing performances. Theatre is honestly a safe place for so many teens. I know it was in my high school, especially for my trans and LGBTQ+ classmates. The article is right when it says this- bills like this are unsupportive and create unsafe spaces for trans and LGBTQ+ students.
It’s absurd that the fact that congress is pursuing this so hard that it’s going to affect high school theatre, which is honestly just a bunch of teenagers playing pretend for fun at school. The part about this that’s on my mind the most is the situation that could happen with a show like Newsies. A lot of the time, they cast girls to play a boy’s role. I don’t understand why certain states want to even regulate clothes! It’s literally just a piece of cloth that you put over your body. There’s no reason there should be this much effort in banning drag or cross-dressing performances. Theatre is honestly a safe place for so many teens. I know it was in my high school, especially for my trans and LGBTQ+ classmates. The article is right when it says this- bills like this are unsupportive and create unsafe spaces for trans and LGBTQ+ students.
(Didn't post with my name. Sorry about that!) -Hailey Garza
All of this new anti-trans and anti-drag legislation is not only going to be incredibly damaging to the entire LGBTQ+ community but it will also have many more damaging effects on a huge variety of people. This article points out how, though not the intended target of the laws, this legislation will prevent many theater productions from being performed. There are many shows that make use of drag or have parts in them that could be considered drag. Not only that, but even just having a person cast in a role that is not their biological sex could theoretically violate these new laws. Many theater companies, especially in high schools, will be prevented from doing any show which contains these so-called “dangerous” topics. Because of these laws, many students could lose out on the opportunity to do theater in high school at all and will be losing out on huge parts of their education.
Regardless of who these bills are meant for, we are already seeing the impact that this legislation is having on our schools. Not just high schools either, youth of all ages will be affected by these bills. Certain shows are being called to not be performed anymore in certain states. The effect that this will have on our youth will be devastating. High schoolers will no longer be able to see themselves represented on stage because the government decided to ban them. Teachers are no longer able to create the safe space that they once promised. I can’t even imagine having to watch this happen as an educator. Classic shows are no longer allowed to be performed, many of which kids have been waiting years to do. I will truly never understand why people care about how others live their lives when it has literally zero to do with them. Mind your own business, the children are fine.
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