hesherman1.substack.com: After more than a month of turmoil following the announcement that Copley High School in Ohio’s fall show, Qui Nguyen’s She Kills Monsters, would be canceled, despite rehearsals already being underway, it’s now likely that show will be seen on the high school’s stage – although the high school won’t take responsibility for it.
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I'm not sure how to feel about this article. I mean, I definitely feel satisfied with the outcome of the whole event, with the production still being able to be produced at the high school and able to cover its costs. I am definitely happy that the school board extended an olive branch, although I hope that this event leads to permanent change, particularly change that doesn't have to come from the school board and be forced down upon the administration (I've dealt with stubborn or disagreeable administrators and it's not fun). On a wider note though, I assume this really shouldn't be a controversial show, and some parent simply got all worked up, but I do wonder whether schools should do more controversial (actually controversial, not just slightly controversial) shows? Certainly not without the agreement of the students, although some shows that are likely to teach students the most come with controversial or difficult material.
This is such a strange situation. I just feel like of all the plays, She Kills Monsters is a pretty soft ball play when it comes to LGBTQ themes. I might just be desensitized, but I feel like there's like maybe two gay characters who get bullied for being gay, and the show is mostly about getting to build a bunch of fun puppets, and watching some truly terribly choreographed fight scenes between 2 to 5 uncoordinated highschoolers. I appreciate that the school is still letting the student do the play, even though they're trying their absolute best to appease everyone by both letting the students do the show, but claiming they have no involvement. It feels like the sort of compromise that just kinda makes everyone a little mad about the situation, but whatever. It's just a little annoying that one parent complaint is enough to possibly derail months of work for these aspiring thespians.
I have not yet seen a week with this many articles about schools cancelling or postponing their productions which leads me to wonder “what the f**k is happening?!”. Is this a common thing that has been happening for a while? Are the popular plays just getting raunchy? Are they scared to death of the current administration (most likely). I wonder how this will affect the show selection in the future. In an effort to be less controversial, will the school begin to choose shows that challenge these highschoolers less intellectually?
When I was in high school we did a production of Rent which got the community buzzing. Although I don’t like this show and I didn’t think it was our story to tell (in a primarily white and middle class rural area), I remember my friend who had just transferred from a Christian private school learned a lot about queer culture and sexual safety because of the organization we partnered with in this show.
I have many opinions on this situation. First I am glad that the school has extended an olive branch and is letting the kids perform on the stage, however I still think it is absolutely unacceptable that they cancel a show after rehearsals have started. I went to a school that had some decently strict rules about what we could and couldn’t put on our stage, for example they would never let us do Mamma Mia. That being said, we would work with the administration team of my school when choosing our shows and they would have the chance to veto things before we officially choose our season, not afterwards. When we started looking at plays for my sophomore year, we fell in love with She Kills Monsters and decided that was the show we wanted. My school had some concerns and we ended up sitting down with the principal and explaining why the show was so important to us. We ended up being allowed to do the show with the one note of all our advertising had a disclaimer of being recommended for 14+ due to sharing a campus with preschoolers.
It is a little scary that there seems to be a serious increase in the number of posted articles about schools getting their shows cancelled. An attempt to cancel a production of She Kills Monsters is especially striking to me, as that show is exceptionally family-friendly and age-appropriate, and a pretty iconic script in the high school theater production canon. I think just about everybody who has been a participant in high school theater in recent years has done a production of that show, because it has no questionable content. It seems obvious that this school board’s concern with the show is purely about the presence of LGBT characters in the production, which is especially crazy because the show’s main plot and themes do not center on that at all. It’s more of a “friendship is magical” type production. It is unfortunate that it seems that censorship of high school theater is becoming stricter.
I love the show She Kills Monsters and have wanted to be a part of a production of it since high school. It has a lot of wonderful LGBTQ+ and grief representation. The fact that that is the reason that a parent complained but also that the school board agreed with shutting it down drives me crazy. I know that we are being led by homophobic, racist, sexist assholes, but it still always upsets and surprises me when people act that way. As someone in the article said: “if the administrator had simply told the truth, the real reason of the show’s cancellation, I would at least respect its integrity in being open about the conversations.” I hate when people try to disguise their true horrible intentions by making up excuses instead of just being honest because that means they realize that what they are doing is wrong. I am glad that the show is still being put up.
I have done "She Kills Monsters" before, and it is easily one of the most fun plays I've ever been a part of, so hearing about Copley High was very upsetting. This play is about loss, friendship, and trying to understand someone after it's too late, and the queer characters are key to that. Moving it right after a parent complains about it and labeling it as a "process" problem feels dishonest to me, and I believe the students should have gotten the whole truth. The rental offer is not bad, but it sounds like the school is giving itself credit for allowing the play to happen while avoiding any of the responsibility. What gives me hope is the way the students have fought for their play. Theater is a place where children should be able to see themselves performed on stage, and I am so proud of how they didn't let that be stripped from them.
This reminds me of the first musical I ever worked on, not because of the controversy, but because it was a student-run, non school affiliated, musical put on for free on school grounds. I am seriously curious about what brought the production to the point that it was canceled in the first place. I am impressed with the students’ dedication to put on the production. I think that it says a lot about the behind the scenes feelings of board members through the way this has been handled. At the start they could have been seen as taking sides against those who would put on a production with lgbtq+ representation, but with their generosity surrounding the lending of the space it is clear they are trying to appease those who would complain while supporting the students who are still dedicated to putting on the production. I am proud of the students’ dedication because I love the show and am happy to know that there are more people who are interested in the story.
I was surprised to read about this lengthy battle between the school district and the school's theatre organization over the show “She Kills Monsters.” While I have never seen a production of the show or read the content, from my understanding, the only “jarring” aspect of this show is the exploration of queer identity. It is deeply concerning to me to see the impact of a parent's opinion. Given the larger climate of theatre instability, and the reach the current administration seems to have on the arts, it is upsetting to see this start to affect educational institutions. I am happy to see the outcome of this allows the production to still continue in some capacity - but I think it can raise questions on how this program will continue to function. Will they need to form as an outside organization to continue to produce work without censorship?
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