On 23 September 2023, The Syndicate hosted their first Black Box Series workshop, which focused on Grace Ellis’s new play entitled Explicit Content for Teens. The play centers on a group of drama students who are preparing to perform in a fictional play called Fool’s Gold that the school board has temporarily banned, citing its “objectionable material.” Ahead of the school board meeting to debate the merits of Fool’s Gold and determine whether the students can perform the play, the drama club gathers in secret to read it and discuss its themes. These include critiques of misogyny and implied references to the existence of love between women. As the cast of Explicit Content for Teens discusses these themes, the play stages a debate about cultural (in)decency and censorship, in effect showing that “explicit” is an indexical term, meaning different values and perspectives adhere to it depending on who uses it.
Ellis attended the workshop and explained that the play was inspired in part by the politics of producing She Kills Monsters in Ohio high schools in 2022. Although the production moved ahead without a hitch at Gahanna Lincoln High School, the administration at Hillsboro High School shut down the play, arguing that its lesbian character was inappropriate for the student performers. Many of the undergraduate students who volunteered to read the script of Explicit Content for Teens shared their own experiences with high school theatre and censorship, as well as their views about what is and is not appropriate for young performers. One after another, these students argued that student voices should not be silenced in administrative decisions and that LGBTQ+ representation matters.
At a time when school boards and state governments across the United States are increasingly restricting access to materials that they deem problematic for students, much of which relates to the LGBTQ+ community, Explicit Content for Teens puts the decision in the audience’s hands. Indeed, even as students discuss—and act out—the plot of Fool’s Gold, the ending of this play-within-a-play is withheld. At the climax of Explicit Content for Teens, a representative of the school board prompts the audience:
“I ask that you now take out your ballots and cast your vote, keeping in mind everything you heard during our comment period. Remember, this is not a vote about whether or not you like the play Fool’s Gold, but a vote on whether or not you think it is appropriate for a high school to perform. If you check yes, it means you think they should be allowed to perform it. If you check no, it means you think they should not be allowed to perform it.”
As Ellis explained, “the question becomes, how do you make these decisions for other people? How do you collectively decide what is appropriate for kids? And should you?”
You can read the first 20 pages of Explicit Content for Teens at this link.