HIGH SCHOOL IN AUSTIN GETS DENIED FUNDING FOR PRODUCTION OF RENT. . . AND IT PISSES ME OFF!
Let me first say how much I love Austin. Honestly, this liberal city which touts the slogan of "Keep Austin Weird", is the only city in Texas I could happily live in. With that being said, I am completely disgusted with the Austin Independent School District's (AISD’s) decision to pull $10,000 in promised funding for McCallum High School's production of RENT.
Why? Well, no one's really saying exactly why. John May, a representative from AISD said in an email, "at this time the district cannot support RENT as a district-wide summer musical production. While RENT may be very well received in some campus communities, it is obvious that this is not at all the case in many others. In planning for a district-wide event, all must be taken into account."
Such BS! It's my opinion that the objections from the administration are more about the homosexuality of the musical, rather than the drug use or AIDS.
Excerpt from the AUSTIN-AMERICAN STATESMAN:
"The revised script for RENT has
been reviewed and discussed by upper level administrators in AISD," John May,
the district's interim administrative supervisor of fine arts, said in an e-mail
sent in May. "Their decision is, that at this time the district cannot support
RENT as a district-wide summer musical production. While RENT may be very well
received in some campus communities, it is obvious that this is not at all the
case in many others. In planning for a district-wide event, all must be taken
into account." May said Friday that he didn't get an official copy of
the script, or libretto, from Music Theatre International until June. That,
coupled with concerns over content from several top administrators and certain
principals who had seen the original production, prompted him to send the
e-mail, May said. He did not say which administrators raised concerns and said
he did not ask specifically what content they found objectionable.
The Austin production will be the first licensed high school production of the musical in Texas
Quote from the production's director Nikki Staib:
I think a lot of people were basing their opinion off maybe the movie or maybe the full Broadway production, which does have some content that's beyond high school. But this script was edited very skillfully and I think it's totally appropriate for high school.
If you're in or around Austin this weekend, I invite you to purchase tickets and attend. Support these kids!!
~Derrick
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