“Dead Man Walking”
“Utah school district revises drama policy after backlash”
(AP Wire Report|September 2, 2012)
A backlash over a high school performance of “Dead Man Walking” has prompted a Utah school district to give parents a greater role in approving student plays.
The conservative family-values group Utah Eagle Forum objected to the play at South Jordan’s Bingham High School last spring.
The Eagle Forum says “Dead Man Walking” — about a Catholic nun who counsels a death-row inmate in Louisiana — contained profanity, slurs and sexual language.
District officials said much of the profanity was stripped from the play and drama students were allowed to change their lines.
Nonetheless, the Jordan School Board revised its drama policy on Aug. 28. Read on…
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“Jordan District changes policy after ‘Dead Man Walking’”
(The Salt Lake Tribune|Lisa Schencker|August 29, 2012)
In response to criticism over high school performances of “Dead Man Walking,” the Jordan School Board has changed its policy on drama productions.
The board voted unanimously Tuesday night to revise the policy in several areas. Parents will now have to sign consent forms before their students may participate in plays. Also, more parents will now serve on the school and district committees that select which plays to produce. And drama teachers will now have to fill out forms about the shows they plan to stage and submit those forms to the district’s curriculum department two months before productions, said Sandy Riesgraf, a district spokeswoman. Read on…
Tags: Censorship, drama, Intellectual Freedom Issues, Plays, Public performances, Schools, Utah