[Kate*]

1. Should it be allowed? I think so, provided the audience is old enough and mature enough to handle it, then yes it should be allowed. Plus, this is something that actors will encounter in the industry and they should have the opportunity to figure out how they want to handle it in a somewhat protected environment. Either decide they will decline and how it feels to turn it down, or if they choose to do it, they'll learn how to play parts like this and how comfortable they are actually doing it. Sometimes things sound like a good or okay idea in theory, but you get into it and realize you don't like it.

2. Is it fair to be cut for refusing? I think so. In the real world this will happen, and people need to learn that it's perfectly fine to stand by your values, but that will come with consequences (being denied certain roles.) However, if someone isn't comfortable in nude roles, they probably wouldn't audition for them anyway, or if they realized later that they were required to do nude scenes, they could turn the role down.

Now, for college specifically: If people are graded for appearing in shows, then I don't think it's fair for someone's refusal to affect their grade. In that case, there should be another way to earn credit, or enough other opportunities to make up for not doing it. If it's just for learning sake, then I think it's fair, because there will be other shows they can learn from that they will be more comfortable in.

3. Can't they just cut the nudity out? They could, but if the goal is to create as realistic an environment as possible, and the show requires nudity, then I think it should be left in.