www.broadwayworld.com: On Monday evening October 6, more than five dozen theatres, professional and academic, around the US performed Enough! Plays to End Gun Violence, a half-dozen short plays selected from a semi-annual national competition among high school student writers to explore the theme in its title.
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It is unfortunate in any right when censorship of any kind occurs, but especially unfortunate when it results in those who are learning and growing from expressing that which they have come together to create. Moreso, it sends a message that what is important to them and that which is highly topical in today’s day and age is not to be exploded and recognized, but instead just kept for invited friends and family. Instead of allowing them to open themselves to their community to share what our newest generation experiences as they navigate an increasingly alarming world where their lives are in more danger than ever, we instead disallow that opportunity under a certain guise that what they have created is not in line with what we think is actually happening in America. Lastly, it is disheartening to hear the experience of those that chose to enter rehearsal spaces and barely listen to the work that students are doing to then make such decisions. Hopefully these students work can come to light and be displayed as it should.
When I first looked at the title I went in with an open mind, because sometimes the reasons for cancelling activities such as this (or censoring them) are multi-faceted and not caused by one singular nonprogressive issue. Reading it, however, made me realize that all censorship is the same, no matter who orders it. In this case, there was confusion and coincidence around the fact that the theatre venue itself cancelled: reportedly, no one was shutting down the play itself. The lack of detail on the subject makes me think that it could’ve been malicious intent. The fact that anyone would consider censoring any of this is wild. It’s absurd to me that I can go to any school in America, from preschool to higher education, and have a real, tangible fear of getting killed. What’s the point of censoring gun violence exposure? I don’t understand why people in power seem to want us to die.
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