A school canceled a play about anti-gay bullying. This theater company put it on anyway.

“Here we go again,” said Jeran Artery, an LGBTQ+ advocate who grew up in the small town of Wheatland, Wyoming, miles from anything but farms and ranches on the state’s far eastern plains.

“If there’s anything in Wheatland that has any kind of resemblance to any kind of association with the LGBTQ movement, it’s like, ‘This must come down immediately. Our kids must not see this,’” Artery said.

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Artery came back home to see a one-night-only performance of The Bullying Collection, a show originally produced by the town’s middle school drama department. However, the performance was canceled after word got out that the collection of skits included a reference to a gay character who commits suicide.

“It was awful,” 12-year-old Oliver Baez told The Detroit News. “For the school to cancel it, it’s like saying that ‘LGBTQ should not be included in a society.’ Which is really awful and cruel.”

Administrators said the play didn’t conform to school values, according to cast members and teachers, though no official explanation was forthcoming.

“The board supports the administration,” school board chair Lu Lay said in an emailed statement. She cited zero “negative” comments from the public on the cancellation decision.

“In my view, a play is supposed to be entertaining, that’s why I go,” said school district superintendent Dave Weigel. “It seems to me this is more of a kind of, stir up some social issues, maybe, instead of kind of like being more entertaining.”

The kids were left without a stage to perform on. The principal, Robert Daniel, gave each performer a thank you note for their hard work and a $5 gift card to the local Maverick gas station.

“We all kind of took it like they were trying to bribe us to feel better and not be mad about the play,” said Erica Biggs, who played the bully that harasses the gay kid in the show. “But it didn’t really help.”  

School officials have canceled other productions with gay characters and stories, including a recent production of Mean Girls, and the historical drama A Lion in Winter, activist Artery shared.

Ten years ago, the school board voted 4-3 to remove banners in schools that read “No Place for Hate”, because the Gay and Lesbian Fund of Colorado was among the public service campaign’s sponsors.

In the end, a local theatre group took over sponsorship of the show, and produced a performance of The Bullying Collection earlier this month on a high school stage.

About 50 people braved extreme cold, icy roads, and a snowstorm to see the show, including parents and half a dozen LGBTQ+ advocates and allies from Cheyenne, 70 miles away.

Oliver Baez’s mom blamed “old mindsets” for the small turnout and the principal’s decision to cancel the original production and to not show up that night in support of his students.

“As a kid who has been bullied, Oliver knew this was important. So he was sad and even mad that the school still wasn’t backing him on a very important topic,” Cassie Baez said.

Sara Burlingame, among those who traveled from Cheyenne and the director of Wyoming Equality, was proud of the kids for standing up for free speech and supporting their fellow students.

“They’re doing exactly what we hope all students would, which is take very seriously how bullying affects their peers,” Burlingame said. “The irony is the people who are supposed to be their exemplars become their bullies.”

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. The Trans Lifeline (1-877-565-8860) is staffed by trans people and will not contact law enforcement. The Trevor Project provides a safe, judgement-free place to talk for youth via chat, text (678-678), or phone (1-866-488-7386). Help is available at all three resources in English and Spanish.