Shows to
Make You Think
Our contest shows over the years have always been some of the most memorable shows. Although our spring shows are fun and allow students to explore quirky characters and introduce them to the challenge of performing in a full-length play, the contest shows provide students to see the other side of theatre – the side that explores the challenges of the real world. The side that helps them realize that, sometimes, there is no “right” answer, so people must do what they believe is best and that is not necessarily the choice, but the factors leading to the choice that define character. The characters in this show are forced to decide whether or not to print a story that would be one of the most sensational stories the school paper ever had. In making the decision, the students learn to question their beliefs, their motives, and themselves.
We hope you enjoy our production of The Thomas Paine Panther. Thank your for supporting our students and our program.
--P. Matanic
In selecting our contest-bound one-act each year, we always want to look at topics that students are engaged with. #Censored provides that opportunity, but it also seeks to engage you, the audience, more than previous shows we have tackled.
The script challenges us to really think about why people would advocate for certain works of art (books, music, plays, visual art, etc.) to be censored. Through a series of monologues and ensemble interaction, you are invited to really grapple with the consequences of taking such actions.
No one character in the show is at fault or otherwise in the wrong. Each comes to this particular moment with a valid reason for the reaction they are having. They each represent a thread in the tapestry of our world, each with its own coloring of it based on their own lived experiences. A tapestry, with its threads woven together, such diversity can create a rich tableau of who we are. But as each person takes their own strong stance, their actions rip apart the beauty of the world in order to foist their own beliefs on each other.
Finally, we hope you enjoy and are educated by the lobby display of controverisal works of art that our students looked at to understand the real-world instances where art has been censored or attempted to be censored in some way.
--R. Palasz
