Open Forum

This year we are producing a dark, horror one-act that has themes of murder and suicide (a la Poe).  Our principal has asked us to put together a formal plan on how we will handle the material and prepare both our production members and the audience.  What strategies have you used to handle this sensitive material?  I'd love to hear other people's plans.

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Jessica Harms
Acton-Boxborough Regional High School
Lawrence MA
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Although we've been very blessed at Interlochen to mostly escape the threat of censorship over the years that I've been here, during the years when I was handling Artistic Director duties my Head of Education and the President of the School always asked me to write a reasoned prospectus defending the educational value for students and audiences of the "controversial" pieces that we chose to do (Sister Mary Ignatius, Top Girls, The Heidi Chronicles, etc.); their stand was:  if we can understand and support your rationale, we'll defend you from complaints.  That helped me organized my own thoughts and purposes; and if I couldn't defend a sensational choice of title from an educational point of view (for example, Sister Mary should not be viewed as "anti-Catholic"; it's rather a warning about what happens when unscrupulous individuals inclined to fascism become the voice and power of an institution....even a revered one), then I would challenge myself to re-consider my reasons for choosing the title.  

We would also always give students the option to not participate in the production of a given title if they had strong feelings about it.  In some cases, a letter would go to parents asking them to speak up at the beginning of the process if they had concerns.  (To the best of my recollection, none ever did.)

Poe?  I would think that you're on solid ground with such an icon of American literature.  Assign a student dramaturg/researcher to write a short essay for the program about the thinking that went into the choice of title and the production.  

Bottom line:  from my experience, if you've got the support of your student participants and their parents--and an open-minded supervisor--you're probably in good shape. Such controversy can prove stressful, nonetheless, so I'd assume you're prepared for that.

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David Montee
Director Theatre Division
Interlochen MI
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I faced a similar situation several years ago when we did SWEENEY TODD, SCHOOL EDITION.  I was able to convince the administration of the literary and artistic merit of the show by comparing it to literature that is taught in our English curriculum, showing that we teach works with similar themes of revenge, etc., that contain violence (which was very tame a symbolic in our production).  So, I compared it to HAMLET, ROMEO AND JULIET, FRANKENSTEIN, POE, etc.  I also stressed that it's a morality play and taught them about the Medieval traditions associated with that, so any other literary or cultural connections you can make would be good.

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Mark Quinlan
teacher/director of theater/head speech coach
Centennial School District, ISD#12
Circle Pines MN
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Great Stage Directions article about this topic, with lots of suggestions (and I'm not just saying that because they interviewed me) 

And here's the link to our audition sheet with a sample parent permission letter, drafted for our One Act Plays last year.  
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Hope Love
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Hi Jessica,

Sometimes productions of my play Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions, because it deals with bullying and (at least metaphorically) school shootings, have encountered similar concerns. To address these concerns:

• One teacher had her students create a study guide, which others can now download and use from the play's website. It not only helped inform the audience but also helped those working on the production.
• There have been post-show talkbacks, often in conjunction with school counselors or other mental health professionals.
• Classes have been prepared ahead of time (ostensibly by sending handouts or other information to their English teachers), though it could be cool for cast members to visit and make brief presentations.
• And, of course, teachers have had extensive discussions about the feelings triggered by the issues in the play with their cast and crew. For example, a huge thing that came up in one set of TYFF cast discussions was the students' very unresolved feelings about the suicide of a peer--something they felt that the school had really swept under the rug--which became the inspiration for me to write The Locker Next 2 Mine.

Classic literature is often incredibly bloody (Poe or plays like Medea or quite a bit of Shakespeare), but usually it gets a pass because of its classic nature. More contemporary plays seem to hit a little closer to home or feel more "real," which creates a certain sense of administrative caution.

Cheers,
Jonathan

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Jonathan Dorf
Playwright/ Co-founder of YouthPLAYS/ Co-chair of The Alliance Of Los Angeles Playwrights
Los Angeles CA
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Last Year, we did Five Kinds of Silence, a play that deals with an extreme case of domestic abuse, including physical, emotional and sexual abuse. We put warnings on the posters and press releases, and we did the play as a fundraiser for a local women's shelter. The shelter was gracious enough to send a representative to each show to talk about the services they offered. If it fits the play, maybe you could partner with a suicide prevention group, and if you're not able to have someone present before the play, create a lobby display with information about suicide and what can be done to help those considering it.

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Ken Buswell
Drama Teacher
Peachtree City, GA
http://mcintoshtheater.org/
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