Censorship. Art.

for those of you who keep up with the news, you might have seen something about Lexington High School, alma mater of one of my favorite artists, Amanda Palmer. it kind of caught my attention.
essentially, what's going on in Lexington is a massive censorship issue. the students have the opportunity to direct their own play each year. this year, they were going to do Columbinus, an off-broadway dramatic representation of the Columbine shootings. the play mainly consists of interviews with witnesses, and it ends with a dramatization of the shooting. it revolves around the reasons that these kids felt the way they did, what drove their emotions, etc. it looks at the harsh reality of kids being alienated in their own school.

in other words, it's real life.

the actual article from boston.com said the following:

The playwright of “Columbinus,” a play about the Columbine massacre, says the recent decision by Lexington High School to cancel performances of the play will encourage people in the area to discuss the 1999 incident and the reasons behind it.

PJ Paparelli, the co-writer and original director of the play based on the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School near Littleton, Colo., said he does not think it is a wise decision to avoid conversations about the topic.
“It is always shocking to me when this type of thing happens,” Paparelli said.
Paparelli said the play has been performed by at least 100 high schools around the country, and that the only other time that he is aware of it ever being shut down before was several years ago at Boston Latin School.
Lexington High School Principal Natalie Cohen said she decided to cancel the play last month after Superintendent of Schools Paul Ash received a complaint about the language and content of the play. Cohen said she then read the entire script, and made a difficult decision to cancel it because of the harsh language and violence in the play.
Emma Feinberg, the 17-year-old student at the school who had been working for three months to cast and direct the play at the school, is now working with a teacher at Boston University’s School of Theatre to find a new venue for the play.
Paparelli said he is interested in speaking to Feinberg and helping her find a framework to discuss the content of the play with her audiences.
“I think the best think that can come out of this is conversation,” he said.
While some schools that have staged performances of “Columbinus” have embraced the topic and held discussions with students about the play, Paparelli said there have been other schools that are uncomfortable with the topic.
“All kinds of issues happen [in those schools] and if adults can’t figure out a way to healthily talk about it, it’s kind of a frightening thing to wonder where the students go to process it,” he said.

i'm having a hard time understanding this decision. why was it made after 3 months of hard work, casting, and preparation? if there was such an issue, why didn't someone mention it sooner?

i only had a true appreciation of this after seeing their play last year. they did "With The Needle That Sings In Her Heart," a play inspired by Neutral Milk Hotel's album In An Aeroplane Over The Sea. you can watch the whole play online here.
it was such an emotional, artistic, beautiful play. i'm not going to give too much away, but it's the story of Anne, a young girl who is in the holocaust. it's seen as through imagination, which is what helps her cope with the situation.

it's sad, yes. "the end of the world," as they call it.

but no one had a problem with it. i don't see why the explosive artistic and creative talent at that school is being stifled, especially after "Needle" was performed.
the girl who wrote "Columbinus" is moving to find another venue to perform the show. i applaud her for her perseverance.
these plays give students an opportunity to share their voice. we need to express ourselves. i think we have a lot to say. "playing it safe" only grows people so far.
a scary question is this -- what happens when we don't have a productive outlet to release ourselves?

it seems like art is dying in schools.

in fact, our state is trying to completely cut out art funding. and we only get $200,000 to begin with to cover the whole state's art programs.
it's pretty pathetic.

ART feeds people's souls.
ART will heal things that a math formula cannot touch.
ART is what fuels the great people in this world.
ART pushes the limits of our imaginations. it can make us uncomfortable, and sometimes that's okay.

don't let art die on us.

Song of the Day: "Sing" by the Dresden Dolls (watch the video here. please, watch it.)