PA School Board Decides that Theatre Productions Must Now Be Approved by Superintendent Before Performance
“The Pajama Game” at the 5th Ave Theatre
The dress rehearsals at Waynesboro Senior High School looks like they’ll have quite the critic going forward, the schools’ superintendent. A recent school board decision made it possible for the Superintendent to approve or deny performances going forward based on whether he determines the show "appropriate for the public".
“The Waynesboro Area School Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to give district Superintendent Tod Kline the authority to determine whether all high school productions should be performed in front of the public.
The superintendent will have the option to review the play with the school board before deciding whether the show is appropriate for audiences.”
The issues stem from alleged complaints made by parents over the school’s recent production of The Pajama Game. A show that I’ll be honest, doesn’t seem to usually be the center of controversy.
But when board member Stephen Kulla mentioned he had heard complaints, despite bringing no evidence of such complaints, the board voted in favor of giving the superintendent, Tod Kline, authorization to cancel theatre productions if deemed he deemed it inappropriate.
Now some in the community are calling this another form of censorship on theatre and overstepping by the school board.
So I have a few takes on this. First of all, I do believe the selection of theatrical material at an elementary, middle and high school level should always go through a pre-approval process by the heads of the individual schools. I do not think it’s out of line for theatre directors/teachers to have to propose shows to the principals or any other leadership before they purchase the licensing rights. This way everyone is on the same page and the production can move forward knowing it has the full support of school officials. I’ve seen it done this way in many communities. And I would have no problem with what they’re doing in Waynesboro if this is the way they were going to do it.
But there are a lot of issues with the Waynesboro school board’s new policy. First of all, there are no clear guidelines for what is and is not appropriate. If they felt that sexual scenarios and expletive-laced language was inappropriate, I understand that and would agree that maybe that show might not be the best choice for school theatre. But the new policy here gives the superintendent way too much leeway to decide what is and isn’t appropriate. He could shut down the show based on costume choices; the show’s perceived themes and messaging, etc. And the problem with all of this is that those elements are often subjective.
So if the superintendent doesn’t approve of The Pajama Game’s pro-union theme, he would have the right to shut it down.
The problem is that without clear guidelines of what is and isn’t appropriate, leaves too much open for interpretation and issues down the road.
I also have issues with the fact that this decision occurred without presenting any evidence of complaints. No one came forward to complain; no emails were shown, nothing. So I’m surprised the board was so hasty to vote on this without a shred of proof that the problem existed in the first place.
But as I said earlier, there is a way to do this, and there is a way not to. I hope the Waynesboro school board and superintendent be smart about this.
UPDATE: 3/28/19 - 5:25 PM
I’m now hearing some interesting details from members within the Waynesboro community. The board member that brought up these alleged parent complaints is also the director of a local children’s theatre in the town. Stephen Kulla is the founder and director of the Waynesboro Children's Theatre. It’s unknown if there is any conflict between Kulla’s productions and the schools. But it’s been confirmed that Kulla did not bring any evidence of complaints made to him to the meeting.
However, I’m surprised that Mr. Kulla would be so offended by The Pajama Game yet didn’t seem to have a problem with the design of the Native American characters in his production of Peter Pan…..Yeesh.
The director’s note in the program stated the folliwing:
“This show was originally written in 1954 and included quite a bit of satire involving corporate and union relationships and sexual harassment in the workplace. Unfortunately, in 2019, the story holds just as much relevance. My wish for all the students is that through our discussions in rehearsal and our presentation on this stage, that they all understand their worth in this world and the value of self-respect. That being said, I ask that each member of the audience understands that the story we are trying to tell is about much more than clever puns and beautiful songs...but it’s up to you to figure it out.”