The London District Catholic School Board and the Thames Valley District School Board have cut funding for the Grand Theatre’s production of “Prom Queen: The Musical,” a play about gay students fighting to take a date to the school prom.
Source: Colleen and Akiva
The play is based on a true story about an Oshawa student named Marc Hall, who brought his boyfriend to prom after battling the Durham Catholic School Board in 2002.
Source: CBC News – Caption: Mark Hall (left) and Jean-Paul Dumond (right) on their prom day – May 10, 2002.
In an interview with CBC News, Matt Reid, chair of the Thames Valley District School Board, explained the reasoning behind the decision.
“There are many things in the script [of Prom Queen] that go against the culture and values of our schools,” said Reid.
According to Reid, the play’s spotlight on LGBTQ+ rights is not an issue for the board; the problem is the portrayal of school boards, teachers and adults.
“I think the message in the story is very important. The issue is how you portray the facts of the story,” stated Reid.
According to CBC News, school board trustee, Jake Skinner, was not aware of the decision to cut funding.
“I heard about it from social media,” said Skinner. “That’s not how I like to learn about things as an elected official of the school board.”
In response, Skinner began an online petition encouraging people from all over Canada to sign so that it could be presented in the next school board meeting. With enough signatures, a request for a revised decision on the funding can be placed.
In previous years, each school board has donated a total of $15,000 to the Grand Theatre Production team for its annual play. With the boards’ recent decision to cut this funding (amounting to $30,000 in total), a big dent forms in the team’s $250,000 budget.
Several Canadians, including many Londoners, are participating in a fundraising campaign online as a form of condemnation of the boards’ decision.This campaign is separate from the petition Skinner is conducting. According to CBC News, more than $45,000 has been raised in less than 24 hours.
Click here to learn more about the petition being presented at the school board meeting.
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