People playing genders they're not assigned at birth? In theater?!?
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this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2023
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Shakespeare never would have done this!
My first thought was "wait until they hear about Shakespeare". Literally every role filled by men, sometimes with the script explicitly calling for a man to play a female in full attire.
I'd also hate to see what policies they'll enact for their chorale program when performing historical hymns, where soprano parts specifically called for a male eunuch (castrato) to sing since females were not allowed to attend church services including choirs.
In my younger years I would have been absolutely vilified by these people. I'm probably vilified now, but I would've been then too. In all seriousness though, I cannot believe how far backwards we've gone in all this. I recognize that these thoughts and feelings have existed since before I was a kid but at least back then people seemed to have the decency to mind their own.
But to attack theatre of all things with this gender bullshit is attacking theatre itself. Crossdressing in theatre has existed for as long as theatre has existed. Cross-singing has existed for as long as singing has existed. If they're not teaching that stuff in their performing arts programs, they are denying young adults a quality education of the performing arts.
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We banned ShakesSpear and hung him/her in effigy
—Texas, probably
There is a slight difference when we're talking about trans people.
I'd wager they would allow a man to play a woman's role and vice versa. I think this is purely the anti-trans agenda taking hold.
Gotta say, their obsession with children’s genitalia really weirds me out.
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Shakespeare would be mortified!
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This happened in Sherman TX, a city most famous for the Lynching of George Hughes and subsequent riot in 1930, commonly known as the Sherman Riot.
I was tempted to say, "New century, new target of bigotry," but who am I kidding? They never gave up the old target of bigotry, either.
Some of the very first people that the Brownshirts went after was transpeople, even completely destroying an institute that was studying gender in the 30’s.
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I'm happy to say that after a whole bunch of people showed up at the school board meeting to speak on Max's behalf the school board fully reinstated the original play and it's actors including Max and issued a formal apology. Special thanks to Grayson Pride for leading the effort. https://www.kxii.com/2023/11/14/sherman-isd-board-trustees-votes-reinstate-original-cast-version-oklahoma/
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Shortly after Hightower’s casting, however, the student was replaced when the school’s principal, Scott Johnston, called Hightower’s father about a new gender policy for student performers.
“Actors and actresses could only play a role that was the same gender they were assigned at birth,” Hightower recounted the conversation.
This sounds like the kind of thing a school would do under the Nazis. I wonder why that is.
What the fuck?
“Actors and actresses could only play a role that was the same gender they were assigned at birth,” Hightower recounted the conversation.
When I was in school, they literally didn't have enough students who were good enough to act, so there was so much gender bending. What garbage
During shakespeares time, they did not allow female actors, so all women on stage were played by men.
Shakespeare had men acting in skirts and dresses. Juliet of Romeo and Juliet, a 14 year old girl was played by a man. The kissing between the Capulet heiress and the Montague boy were two men smooching on stage.
Repugnicans are a plague on both your houses (of Parliament)!
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“Actors and actresses could only play a role that was the same gender they were assigned at birth,” Hightower recounted the conversation.
These people are so fucking clueless. Men playing women in theatre is literally as old as theatre because women literally weren't allowed to.
These people would loose their mind if they ever saw a traditional British Christmas Pantomime
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Because Max identifies as a transgender male, he could no longer be cast as the male lead.
I feel like the easy solution is to identify as a cis male...
It is concerning (but unsurprising) how obsessed conservatives are with childrens genitals.
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The cis kid who was cast to replace the trans kid should refuse on principle. the rest of the staff should, too.
Also conservatives can go fuck themselves.
The cis kid who was cast to replace the trans kid should refuse on principle.
The whole cast and backstage staff should pretend to go along with it until opening night, and then on opening night as the curtains open, they make a short statement about the injustice then walk off stage and go home.
Alternatively, the cast should covertly learn the role of an opposite gender cast member. Then on opening night, the cast members assume their opposite role and perform the whole play ignoring the costume inconsistencies.
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damn, i feel really bad for the kid
You'd think they would ban Oklahoma! in Texas entirely for daring to be about a state other than Texas.
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I hate conservative so much. This is a non issue. If they are the best for the part let them play the part.
This is the shit where they go, "Why not let the best person get the part?" And then when they aren't chosen, they start losing their shit.
They do know that acting is pretending to be someone other than yourself, right?
If Jared Leto (🤮) can win an Oscar for portraying a trans woman despite not being trans, then there is absolutely no reason that a trans boy can't play the male lead of a school play. It's acting.
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This is absolutely against theatre traditions.
I was an angsty theatre kid. I would conspire to ruin every and any play for the remainder of my time at that school.
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The licensing organization should pull their approval.
What’s most interesting to me is how Oklahoma! is an utterly poisonous production from the get-go. Every character is a self-absorbed jerk. Judd Fry asks a girl to a dance who only agrees as a ruse to punish the protagonist, who then literally tries to convince the dude to kill himself. The entire show is fucked up.
Any director who isn’t doing something subversive with the content has their head up their own ass. But hey, it’s Texas. 🙃
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transphobia and an adult abusing his position of power to hurt a kid, two berserk buttons in one headline
They should play one of the female lead characters, but as male.
Since the school is so up in arms about their production of Oklahoma, they should switch gears and do a production of Peter Pan. You know, where the lead is a young boy traditionally played by a female actor.
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This is going to help with the School Shootings and Child Poverty and Pastors Raping Children!
I was sipping my coffee and looking out the window listening to the song birds, and then I worried about a trans kid in a school play, now I don't have to worry thanks for taking care of that. What is next.....men dressing up as women to play in Shakespearian plays??
They should change it to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers but do it in furry.
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Well this will fix the various social crises in that country for sure.
I was a tech theater kid and if this bull shit happened I would absolutely sabotage every show.
I'd laugh my butt off if somehow Oklahoma got cancelled after that backwards-ass school "reviewed" its suitability or something like they seemed to be threatening to do in that article...and then got replaced by Peter Pan.
Peter Pan with a trans man in the lead would be so damn good.
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