THIS PETITION IS A FORMAL REQUEST TO THE DUVAL COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD FOR THE INFORMATION PERTAINING TO WHY DOUGLAS ANDERSON’S PRODUCTION OF INDECENT WAS CANCELED.

     My name is Madeline Scotti, and I am a senior at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville, Florida. The Duval County School Board canceled my high school’s production of INDECENT by Paula Vogel, and by doing so, they censored a play about the detrimental effects of censorship. In response, I took to Instagram and posted a video detailing our cancellation, my role as the Ingenue, and the importance of INDECENT. 

     Within a week, the cancellation received national attention from various news outlets including Playbill​, NPR, and Teen Vogue. Beyond that, anti-censorship leagues (The National Coalition Against Censorship, PEN America, and the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund) condemned the school board's decision to ban our production of INDECENT. Despite this recognition, the Duval County School Board fails to provide reasoning as to why INDECENT was canceled.

 

To Principal Tina Wilson, Superintendent Diana Greene, and the Duval County School Board: 

I formally request information as to what legal justification was relied upon to cancel INDECENT. 

My parents and others have sent emails to you requesting this information but have yet to receive a response. The order of your previous reasoning as to why INDECENT was cancelled is as follows:

1.     

·      REASONING: 

An email to parents of students at Douglas Anderson from Tina Wilson (January 5, 2023).

Tina Wilson: “We have decided to change our Spring production from the original selection, “Indecent”, to a production more suitable for student performers and student audiences… a closer review of the mature content of “Indecent” led us to the conclusion”.

·      REALITY: 

Our production of INDECENT was approved and announced in May of 2022. In response to the potential argument that INDECENT depicts “Mature content”, in order for students to audition and perform, a parental signature and consent statement was required. Further, within my time at DA, we have produced RENT, CHICAGO, and SIGNIFICANT OTHER, all shows contain equally (if not more) incendiary themes as INDECENT. The choice to use “Mature content” as grounds for cancellation is vague and unjustified.

2.     

·      REASONING: 

A statement from a spokesperson for Duval County Schools (January 6, 2023).

“‘Indecent’ contains adult sexual dialog that is inappropriate for student cast members and student audiences. It’s that simple.”

·      REALITY:

The school board and Douglas Anderson administration were provided an analysis of the play and changes applied to the dialogue to meet the high school standard. The only “Sexual dialog” detailed in the stage directions of INDECENT is a kiss, anything depicted on stage beyond that is a decision made by the director and actors. Our production of INDECENT had permission to change the script from the playwright herself, Paula Vogel. “I’d like to point out that high schools do this play and there have been no incidents, and it’s up to the director and the students. If they don’t want to kiss on stage, then let them hug. I don’t police stage directions. I don’t police my script.” – Paula Vogel on our cancelation of INDECENT.

 

I would like to keep this a positive and public dialogue between all parties. I feel that this is a perfect opportunity for a school system to educate on a real-world occurrence regarding the danger of censorship. 

To reiterate, I formally request information as to what legal justification was relied upon to cancel INDECENT.        

Sincerely, Madeline Scotti

 

To those who have supported, to those who have uplifted censored voices, and to the INCEDENT family:

I want to say thank you for the unending support. From Mexico City to London to our own little Jacksonville community, there has been an exceeding amount of love and an equal amount of outrage. Your guidance and encouragement have meant the most to me these past few weeks. I also want to address the numerous students from across the nation that have reached out to me with similar experiences of censorship: this fight is for you and because of you. I will continue to work towards a solution that prohibits artistic censorship in high schools from happening again. As always, FROM ASHES WE RISE!