Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
CMU School of Drama
Friday, October 16, 2026
Students and Parents Protest After Wisconsin Superintendent Blocks High School Production of FLASHDANCE
BroadwayWorld: Students, parents, and community members in Watertown, Wisconsin rallied outside their school district offices this week after the interim superintendent blocked Watertown High School from staging Flashdance as its spring 2027 musical. The news was first reported by WPR.
School censorship of theater departments is so hard. I remember my high school theater teacher expressing how hard it was to pick shows for us to do. Striking the balance between satisfying parents, administrators, and the students seems near impossible. Let’s start off by saying, yes there are some shows that just might not be appropriate for high school students. Granted, this also depends on the high school and what support there is around the students and the production. A performing arts high school with numerous acting teachers, intimacy/fight advisors, and a full fledged design program may be able to do a show that a small school with one theater teacher may not be able to do with the proper care for the well-being of students. With that being said, a main point that I think is often overlooked is most of these afterschool theater shows are fully voluntary. Meaning, the discretion of whether a student engages in the content of the show should be determined by their parent in whether or not they participate or watch the production NOT the school board.
Schoolboards censoring theatre is something that I am very used to (thank you Bridget Ziegler), but I am kind of on the fence about this. While I do not think theatre should be censored I think that the high school is also responsible for choosing material that works in high school settings. Even with certain cuts and changes to the script I wonder why the musical was chosen in the first place. I also understand why the students, parents, and those involved with the production are upset. Getting involved with a show and spending hours learning lines, music, and blocking makes you really invested in it and having that taken away is truly horrible. There's two sides of this coin and I do understand both, but I am also prone to thinking in light of public perception (my old principle would not even let us apply to the rights of Urinetown simply because of the name). I am really interested in what the outcome for this is, and I really hope those students get to perform something, whether it's Flashdance or something else.
I do not have much personal experience with reactive censorship; however, I do know that across the world, high school theater is heavily censored. Some of this censorship is due to the matter of changing a play or musical from a primarily adult audience to one for the high school actors and crew and their families. But another level of censorship comes up with what the country and area’s government believes should be visible to the young adults and general public. In this case, I often feel like this excessive control is harming the students both artistically and holistically in their understanding of the world. When scripts are changed for the comfort of the actors, this change is fine because the play’s purpose should be for the students to learn safely. However, when these changes are for larger control, I believe this has gone too far. I think in this case the director could have been more conscious of the themes and have visible reasons for choosing this play, but that the retroactive dismissal of the show was handled wrongly and without care for those involved.
It was surprising to read about the censorship of the school's allotted musical “Flashdance.” I think the point about public perception is really important, especially since schools do need to balance artistic expression with the expectations of parents and administrators. However, I think there is a difference between choosing not to produce a show in the first place and canceling one after students have already committed so much time to it. The latter seems especially unfair to the students involved. I also think this raises questions about how much control administrators should have over artistic decisions. If a director and principal have already reviewed and approved a show, there should be a clear reason for overturning that decision, especially after rehearsals and preparation have begun. I understand that schools have a responsibility to their students, but I think that responsibility should include supporting their artistic growth and trusting the educators who work directly with them. Otherwise, censorship can discourage students from exploring challenging material at all.
4 comments:
School censorship of theater departments is so hard. I remember my high school theater teacher expressing how hard it was to pick shows for us to do. Striking the balance between satisfying parents, administrators, and the students seems near impossible. Let’s start off by saying, yes there are some shows that just might not be appropriate for high school students. Granted, this also depends on the high school and what support there is around the students and the production. A performing arts high school with numerous acting teachers, intimacy/fight advisors, and a full fledged design program may be able to do a show that a small school with one theater teacher may not be able to do with the proper care for the well-being of students. With that being said, a main point that I think is often overlooked is most of these afterschool theater shows are fully voluntary. Meaning, the discretion of whether a student engages in the content of the show should be determined by their parent in whether or not they participate or watch the production NOT the school board.
Schoolboards censoring theatre is something that I am very used to (thank you Bridget Ziegler), but I am kind of on the fence about this. While I do not think theatre should be censored I think that the high school is also responsible for choosing material that works in high school settings. Even with certain cuts and changes to the script I wonder why the musical was chosen in the first place. I also understand why the students, parents, and those involved with the production are upset. Getting involved with a show and spending hours learning lines, music, and blocking makes you really invested in it and having that taken away is truly horrible. There's two sides of this coin and I do understand both, but I am also prone to thinking in light of public perception (my old principle would not even let us apply to the rights of Urinetown simply because of the name). I am really interested in what the outcome for this is, and I really hope those students get to perform something, whether it's Flashdance or something else.
I do not have much personal experience with reactive censorship; however, I do know that across the world, high school theater is heavily censored. Some of this censorship is due to the matter of changing a play or musical from a primarily adult audience to one for the high school actors and crew and their families. But another level of censorship comes up with what the country and area’s government believes should be visible to the young adults and general public. In this case, I often feel like this excessive control is harming the students both artistically and holistically in their understanding of the world. When scripts are changed for the comfort of the actors, this change is fine because the play’s purpose should be for the students to learn safely. However, when these changes are for larger control, I believe this has gone too far. I think in this case the director could have been more conscious of the themes and have visible reasons for choosing this play, but that the retroactive dismissal of the show was handled wrongly and without care for those involved.
It was surprising to read about the censorship of the school's allotted musical “Flashdance.” I think the point about public perception is really important, especially since schools do need to balance artistic expression with the expectations of parents and administrators. However, I think there is a difference between choosing not to produce a show in the first place and canceling one after students have already committed so much time to it. The latter seems especially unfair to the students involved. I also think this raises questions about how much control administrators should have over artistic decisions. If a director and principal have already reviewed and approved a show, there should be a clear reason for overturning that decision, especially after rehearsals and preparation have begun. I understand that schools have a responsibility to their students, but I think that responsibility should include supporting their artistic growth and trusting the educators who work directly with them. Otherwise, censorship can discourage students from exploring challenging material at all.
Post a Comment