Outside Utah, such moral stands could be just one more disadvantage in a cutthroat industry.

The Christina Axson-Flynn settlement announced last week will eventually create a process to resolve conflicts when a University of Utah student morally objects to the content of a classroom assignment. Axson-Flynn filed a federal lawsuit against the university, claiming her constitutional freedom of speech and religion rights were violated when theater department professors asked her to read a role that included language she considered offensive.

While future theater students might be able to drop certain words from a character's dialogue, professional actors have no such recourse - legally or as a matter of practice.

Susie McCarty has worked as a talent agent in Utah for 30 years. She says most Utah actors she has represented suffered little negative effect by rejecting roles because they felt the content was objectionable.

But if they want to work in New York or Los Angeles, it's another story.

"If they were in a major, major market, then it would definitely limit them," she said. "But they know that going in."

Actors rarely turn down parts, she said, simply because they don't audition for roles they consider questionable. When the agency learns of an audition, "We call and let them know what the audition is and give them a breakdown of what's in it, and they either say yes or no," McCarty said.

Chris Lino, managing director at Pioneer Theatre Company, paints a similar scenario: "An actor can protect himself against performing in plays he or she objects to on moral grounds in one way and one way only, and that's not to audition for those roles."

While Lino believes the Axson-Flynn settlement is fair, he hopes it won't tarnish the U. theater department's reputation.

"Any rigorous academic program in theater ought to at least make its students aware of the professional standards of practice, in this case, the professional standard that actors are not allowed to take words out of the script," Lino said. Also, one of the requirements of becoming a member of Actors Equity, the acting union, is agreeing "to perform the script to the best of their ability, i.e. as written."

One reason Mormon actors can make it in Utah is that the LDS Church is among the state's biggest entertainment employers, hiring mostly LDS actors for its films, commercials and other ventures.

And because of the LDS majority in Utah, there's a big demand for "family friendly" entertainment, even if that means changing dialogue in plays.

Hale Centre Theatre in West Valley City has asked publishers for many script changes over the years, including in its current production, "1776," which included swearing. Producers felt those words weren't necessary to the meaning of the play, said Tammy Morgan, an executive assistant at the theater. "I don't think swearing means anything. The whole thing is, does it advance the plot? No."

Axson-Flynn believes there will always be a demand for that kind of family-friendly entertainment, both in Utah and elsewhere. Her father Michael Flynn, who she says shares her opinions on the issue, has "a good career in Utah but a great career in L.A."

Most professional theaters in Utah will not change a word of any script. Others ask permission to make small changes in language; some have been known to make minor changes without permission.

"Utah has a history of being wrist-slapped by copyright people and royalty people for altering scripts, either formally or informally, for changing words that might offend an audience," said Richard Scott, artistic director of the Grand Theatre in Salt Lake City. The Grand will never change content, Scott said. When it did "1776," for example, it was with offensive language and all.

Scott says there have been instances in his career where an actor turned down a role due to content. That's fine with him, as long as they do so up front and not after the production is under way. Like many other theater professionals, he believes actors can portray things they don't believe in without hurting their own values. What's more, he says, refusing certain roles because of personal beliefs keeps an actor from fully exploring the range of human experience.

"One of the things I think is important about acting is that you need to be open to humanity. When you start to edit the words to reflect your personal values, you limit the number of stories you can tell."

- Tribune reporter Shinika Sykes contributed to this story.