Thoughtful words by theater director Kevin Ray:

Later in the fall, I watched a video (youtu.be/cUIDu47u3i4 of FIRE president Greg Lukianoff speaking at the university where Kirk was killed. Lukianoff described his own parents’ escape from authoritarian regimes as an attempt to “step outside of history.”

“History,” he said, “is the story of being afraid to say what you really think because someone might kill you for it.”

For a theater director like me, who presents work in public, these are not abstract theories — they are legitimate concerns, demanding a sober recalculation of risk. In sum, taking the year into account — the cost of artistic freedom has, in fact, inflated to new heights.

[…]

I think about the playwrights who took center stage at the beginning of this essay—surely Lillian Hellman, Mae West, and Arthur Miller would relish any opportunity to critique compelled conformity. In my heart, I know I should not demur either.

But then the wheels in my brain turn to the potential costs.

Until conditions for artistic freedom significantly improve, honesty requires me to ask: how high a price will artists be asked to pay for the freedom to express what they believe?