“Belle is a fairy-tale character. I firmly believe that it shouldn’t matter what a person looks like to fit a role like Belle as long as they fundamentally fit the director’s vision of who Belle is.”

“A former high school assistant principal, who alleged he was fired over his protests of his school performing The Laramie Project, has had his discrimination lawsuit dismissed against his former school district.”

“A stage manager in North Carolina has been charged, for a second time, for sexually abusing a child from 2009 to 2011. At the time the charges were filed, he was working on a production of ‘Mary Poppins’, a show that includes children in the cast.”

“In 2008, Broadway performer James Barbour confessed to sexually abusing a minor when she was 15- years-old. The news and the ensuing legal proceedings sent shockwaves through the Broadway community. But recently uncovered documents, made public by former members of the Church of Scientology, not only provide insight into how the church tried to protect Barbour but also reveal confessions of abuse of more victims - including one as young as 14-years-old.”

“In 2021, a sexual assault allegation rocked the Rhode Island theatre community. A member of Epic Theatre Company in Cranston, R.I., reported that they had been sexually assaulted by founding artistic director Kevin Broccoli. The incident and the details surrounding it divided the theatre community so deeply, that those rifts are still felt today. But now, just over two years later, another theatre community in another state is welcoming Broccoli with open arms, and worse yet, they don’t seem to care about his past.”

“Little People characters in books, television, and movies were often written to be laughed at or designed as a spectacle: they usually are jesters, clowns, and circus performers in fiction. This irrevocably changed for the better with Peter Dinklage’s portrayal of Tyrion Lannister in the HBO show “Game of Thrones.”"

“In 2017, Tenyjah Indra McKenna, a talented young Black actress, was denied an opportunity to audition for a role in a play, simply because of her race. This incident not only raised questions about racial bias in casting but also underscored the ongoing struggle for diversity and inclusivity in the performing arts. A struggle still felt nearly six years later.”

“Representation matters – not just for those who need their stories told and have long been excluded from the narrative, but so that we can all learn to see ourselves in those different from ourselves. We need to take a closer look at how subversive, in many ways, “Wicked” actually was and continues to be.”

“In a world that can often be divisive and chaotic, you remind us that the stage is a place where differences are celebrated, where stories are told, and where hearts are opened.”

“A community theatre in Utah is facing outrage after it was discovered they had cast a convicted sexual abuser in multiple shows with minors in the ensemble. To make matters worse, the parents of the minors were never notified a sex offender would be in close contact with their children.”

“According to a lawsuit, a former theatre teacher at a Catholic school in San Francisco has been accused of sexually abusing one of his former students.”

“A conductor has pulled out of the BBC Proms after punching and slapping a soloist for allegedly entering the stage incorrectly at the Berlioz festival in France. Sir John Eliot Gardiner assaulted singer William Thomas after an opera performance.”