Banned Children's Books to be Enacted During CWU First Amendment Festival

November 7, 2006

ELLENSBURGWash. - Theatrical readings of banned children's books will be performed on Central Washington University's campus and around Ellensburg for the CWU First Amendment Festival's "Big Bad Banned Books" event Nov. 14-17.

"Child audiences are some of the most overlooked, misunderstood and exploited populations in the entertainment industry today," says Elise Forier, CWU theatre arts professor. "There is wide disagreement about the effect of literature, theatre and media on children. I hope these performances of banned books, which are created with specific age groups in mind, can open up discussion about First Amendment issues in child literature."

Students in two of Forier's theatre classes have spent fall quarter researching banned children's books and discussing how to talk about censorship to grade school students.

"My students are really enjoying this project," Forier adds. "We've had the most interesting discussions about why it's OK to ban something that offends you but not OK to ban something that doesn't offend you. Where do you draw those lines?"

Cynthia Mitchell, CWU journalism professor, who's steering the yearlong First Amendment Festival, points out the project is exactly the kind of thing she'd hoped faculty would do for the festival, which is designed to increase students' knowledge of and attitudes about the First Amendment.

"I'm sure the students in her two classes now have a better grasp of the First Amendment and why it's so important," Mitchell says. "Better yet, they're taking what they've learned and spreading it out into the community. What a great combination. I love it."

The students will be performing "A Light in the Attic," by Shel Silverstein, "Are You My Mother?" by P.D. Eastman, Grimm's Fairytales and "The ABC's of Halloween," by Patty Eubank. Locations for the performances include the CWU Brooks Library on Tuesday, Nov. 14, at 6 p.m., the Organized Noise coffee house on Main Street on Thursday, Nov. 16, at 6 p.m. and the CWU Tower Theatre on Friday, Nov. 17, at noon.

Each show is free and open to the public, and features different children's books. There will be a similar event in the winter quarter for adult books.

For additional information about the festival visit www.cwu.edu/~firstamendment/.

Contact: Cynthia Mitchell (509-963-1063/508-963-1060/e-mail: mitchelc@cwu.edu)