“In an age of virtual learning, theatre educators have been met with new challenges of how to create theatre and engage their students in a new platform.”

“Recently it was brought to my attention that a high school in FL had performed Miss Saigon last year with a practically all-white cast. While this would make any Asian performer raise an eyebrow and perhaps outrage more than a few parents, it might surprise them to know that not only is Miss Saigon available to schools but that the race descriptions of its characters are completely erased for the school edition.”

“An Ohio high school theatre teacher was arrested on felony charges of sexual battery, after allegedly having sexual contact with a student.”

“On December 11, 2019, police arrested Joshua Berman on charges of second-degree sexual assault for allegedly molesting a former student on multiple occasions while he served as theatre technical director at a Connecticut high school. Now, the victim has not only come forward publicly with her allegations but also details how high school officials mishandled her claims.”

“Over the past couple of days an old video clip of a school production of In the Heights is going viral again due to a supercut posted on social media. While many are taking part in ridiculing the production for everything from its problematic casting to performance, I don’t see the joy in shaming a bunch of students.”

While the COVID-19 shutdown sadly canceled many spring high school musicals, it’s never too early to start thinking about next year and what material these schools should select. So here are seven suggestions. Some of these you may have already produced and some you might now know. It should also be mentioned that all of these shows are licensable.

“Following Hairspray’s lead, it’s time for licensing companies to work with authors to implement casting requirements for roles of color. These roles were written for specific BIPOC’s and should be guaranteed to be portrayed that way.”

“Through theatre, I was given a map to navigate the overwhelming experience of childhood loss. I often wonder, almost ten years later, what route my grief would have taken if not for the positivity taught to me through theatre?”

So your friend has auditioned for your show.

Before casting them in the role that they have written down on the audition form, go through this checklist to make sure you’re not practicing nepotism, which in the workplace, is illegal!

“I grew up in a predominantly white suburb of Chicago and went to an almost all-white middle school. When I was in seventh grade, my teacher gave us two options and we had to vote on which one to do. After deciding we didn’t have enough boys to do “West Side Story,” the class chose “Hairspray.” And so the nightmare began.”

“With the new call to arms for high schools to increase black presence on their stages, I don’t feel it’s a progressive step to have those performers play roles that perpetuate stereotypes or serve only as window dressing. That’s not fulfilling any type of call to action. So there are two popularly produced plays that I feel should be avoided by high schools that truly want to embrace and welcome black students to get more involved in their theatre departments.”

“Last week, theatre director Eric Holsen was notified that his position will be recommended to be cut in next year’s school budget. If the school board agrees with that recommendation, South St. Paul, MN students will be without their theatre director for the first time in a decade. To make matters worse, the recommended alternative doesn’t make fiscal sense and hurts theatre students even more. “