A recent article in "The Weekly Standard," "Kenyon College Cancels Play About Immigration; Starts 'Whiteness Group,'" describes a current call for censorship. Wendy MacLeod's play, "The Good Samaritan," is about an immigrant family in the U.S. surviving "without pay and living in dire conditions," according…

Offers a statement on freedom of artistic expression in educational theater by the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. Deals with issues, responsibility, process, strategies for teachers and directors. Offers a bibliography and two sample process forms (describing procedures for challenging materials and procedures for requesting a…

Discussions collected in this newsletter include the following speeches all of which were presented at the 1976 convention of the Western States Speech Communication Association: "Where the First Amendment is Silent," a sketch of current speech rights and a prediction for the future; "Freedom of Speech in University Theatre; or,…

Discusses what drama teachers, directors, and administrators should know about the legal limits of their freedom of expression. Discusses the limitations imposed by the courts on administrative officials regarding their ability to control or regulate what theater students and teachers do. (RS)

In 1989, some Springfield, Missouri residents demanded cancellation of the Southwest Missouri State University (SMSU) theater department's production of Larry Kramer's play, "The Normal Heart," which they alleged to be obscene. Opponents purchased newspaper advertisements which charged that the publicly funded production promoted a…

Theatre educators are discovering that censorship is on the rise in the United States. The censorship takes three forms: (1) formal (i.e., when a school official forbids a performance or mandates cuts in words or actions); (2) informal (i.e., when a person or group tries to pressure the presenter to make changes in a production or influence the…