To Kill a Mockingbird has faced considerable controversy over the years. Schools across the nation have assigned it to eighth-grade classrooms since its publication in 1960. And since that time parents, and teachers have called for it to be removed from the curriculum because of the content. Some parents argue that it makes white children feel guilty. Other parents do not want racial slurs to be something their children engage with. In recent years, the story has faced criticism for offering a "white savior" narrative. 

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Amidst all of this controversy and hurt, the book is still a foundation to the American literary canon and is loved and fought for by people across the nation. 

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With full awareness of this complexity, Taylor Theatre put on Christopher Sergel's adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird in February of 2022. In conversations with Director Tracy Manning, it became clear that the reason this play is important for our community is fluid. It is easy to say, "oh we did this play within the context of conversations on Critical Race Theory in schools",  or "oh we did this play in response to police brutality", or "we did this play to address our own biases in response to neurodiversity". All of those reasons and more have been true for the artistic team, cast, and crew of To Kill a Mockingbird. But these reasons became more complicated to hold on to when different individual impacts of the play came to light. 

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No one answer smooths out the controversy surrounding this text. This is not a reason to throw the story aside. Within the complexity of the questions "why this play" we found oom for nuanced and gentle conversations alongside passionate ones. Theatre can be a space for growth and reflection, and a play that confronts us with the ugliness and the beauty of humanity can lead to discomfort that can then move us to this individual change and response. 

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