District concerns result in the cancellation of the show
“The Letterman,” a student-run production, was made by Oliver Henn ‘26 and was set to perform at VHS in the little theatre Jan. 29 to Feb. 1 but was cancelled after concerns from the Ventura Unified School District.
The first performance of the show was held April 5, 2025. The show was one act that followed Hans, a German Nazi soldier who works in a concentration camp where the fiancé of Sariah, a Jewish girl who fled from Germany, was executed. Hans poses as Sariah’s fiancé and exchanges letters with her.
After its first show, Henn added a second act that followed Sariah’s point of view. which was set to perform this year.
Both the first and second acts were set to perform Jan. 23, 25 and Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. and Jan. 3 at 2 p.m. The show received an anonymous complaint from a VHS alumni regarding the content of the show.
Drama teacher Arden Smith said, “I got asked to meet with our principal over an anonymous complaint about the content within the show. After speaking with our principal, I sent her the script and a detailed description of any PG-13 content included in the show, as well as my plans to provide content warnings and strong suggestions that children under 13 do not see the show. She then explained that the content was fine[.]”
Two weeks before the show, the district requested that the show not perform on those dates. According to the district, any programs involving non-VUSD students, including alumni, are not allowed. Marissa Stadtmiller and Levi Kalbs were two alumni in the cast of the cancelled show.
Smith said, “That is when the miscommunication was [discovered] and we thought that we would just need the alumni to fill out the correct paperwork and we would be fine to continue the show. However, as it turns out, that was not the case and the district did not want alumni in the show at all.”
According to VUSD communications director Marieanne Quiroz, the district must prioritize student participation over non-VUSD student participation.
“Displacing current students from participation in a school-sponsored production is not aligned with district expectations,” said Quiroz.
Henn said, “There are official reasons that non-VUSD students cannot participate in VUSD productions. However I don’t think that’s the actual reason. I think the actual reason is because the play discusses Nazis and because of the current political situation in the world. They don’t want to risk the potential fallout.”
Smith said, “I think it is fair for the district to have a rule against any student who is not a current VUSD student to participate in after school activities. I fully understand their stance on that. However, I am disappointed that this all came to light so close to the show opening. Had this come to light back in September when I originally asked to check if having alumni in the show was a possibility, we could have avoided this problem entirely. It is a really unfortunate circumstance.”
Quiroz said, “[The] situation was reviewed in coordination with Educational Services, the school principal, and the teacher. During those discussions, the use of understudies was explored as a potential option to ensure current VUSD students could participate. However, there was concern that there was not sufficient time to fully implement those changes prior to the scheduled performances…Again, the district does not have an issue with [‘The Letterman’] as a play. Our focus was solely on who was participating in the production, not on the material itself.”
From these discussions, the district asked to reschedule the show but due to the timeline of other VHS productions, such as the spring musical, “The Letterman” was not rescheduled. However, according to Henn, he is looking into performing the show at a community theatre. Doing so would remove the affiliation with VUSD and would allow them to perform with Stadtmiller and Kalbs, the two non-VUSD students.
Smith said, “I think [‘The Letterman’] is a beautiful story that deserves to be told. My students worked extremely hard to portray this story with a delicate nature while simultaneously fearlessly making a statement that many people need to see with the current state of the world. We are currently trying to get the show into a local community theater. No matter what happens, I will forever be so proud and in awe of every single person, student or alumni, who worked on this show as it was a bold, brave and magnificent undertaking.”
