On March 13, Tim Canty, principal of Wilton High School in Wilton, Connecticut, rescinded permission for the Theater Arts II class to perform Voices In Conflict, a staged performance put together by the students from published comments from soldiers and participants in the Iraq War.
The controversy hit the New York Times on March 24. Previous DailyKos blogs on the subject can be found here and here.
I have read the early and current drafts of Voices In Conflict, and observed from a geographical remove the controversy and the effect it is having on the students, their teacher and parents.
I am an exiled Wiltonian and recovered victim of their school system, with both a personal and political interest in the subject. It appears the issue is headed for a compromise solution, imposed by the school system, in which the students will be "allowed" to perform the work off-campus. I'm convinced that unless there is further public pressure on the Wilton school district, they will "run out the clock" on the school year before the students can have a chance to perform their own play in their own school.
I have posted on my blog the names, addresses and e-mails of all the guilty parties. I also have links to all the relevant materials, including the playscripts that were taken down from the freewebs site, and the letters to the WHS parents from Canty and school superintendent Gary Richards.
Please come take a look, and contact the Wilton school administration with your input on this.