An Open Letter to Theatrical Casting Directors,
We know that the theatre has long been a home for people of all ages, races, and genders to find a place that they belong. Where else in the world can a musical about the Mormon religion (The Book of Mormon) and a play about vibrators (In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play) live together in harmony, except Broadway? New productions and scripts are constantly being brought to the stage, and you are in charge of finding the actors to bring the characters to life. In a perfect world, you should cast these roles based solely on the actor’s abilities. But we live in a society that thrives on the division of people by race, gender, ability (or disability), and class, and these issues are often brought forward into plays. In some cases, it is considered to be experimental and bold to cast outside of the established type, while in others it is just offensive. It can be difficult to find the line, but I am here to draw it out for you: it is only justifiable to change the established race of the character (as described in the script) when that character was not created to represent a marginalized group of people.
On the one hand, it can be beneficial and eye-opening to change a character that we visualize as Caucasian to a person of color. If it is not specifically stated by the playwright or in the script, any character can be played by any actor. These are the kind of characters that are not defined by their background and their culture. After all, as a society, we have a bad habit of living in the “White until proven not-white” bubble. (I bet you immediately thought that I was a white person when you started reading this). Given world history, it makes sense since white people—or people who have become assimilated with and associated as “white people”—have consistently held power over others. Society is mostly dominated by White people, making it harder for minority races to jump in to the light.
Casting outside of the presumed white stereotype opens opportunities for minority actors. According to an on-going study (pdf) of diversity in New York theatre by the Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC), diversity is increasing in theatres. The Coalition has been collecting data for nine years, and the average minority casting has been 22%. In the 2014-2015 season, it jumped from 24% to 30% (4). This is a great improvement, but that still means that 70% of roles in New York theatre are dominated by white actors. This is an improvement from the past, but there are still extreme discrepancies, especially since the ratio of New York demographics (7) feature a much more even split of races in comparison to casting diversity.
People delighted in the idea of Hamilton, the musical that tells the story of founding father Alexander Hamilton. Writer, composer, and star of the show Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the show in an R&B Hip-Hop style with the white founding fathers cast in all colors of the rainbow.
“Our goal was: This is a story about America then, told by America now, and we want to eliminate any distance — our story should look the way our country looks. Then we found the best people to embody these parts. I think it’s a very powerful statement without having to be a statement.”
There are many people who argue that it is racist against white people to not allow them to be cast as a person of color; they call it a double standard that white roles can be taken by people of color but not the other way around. The casting call released by Hamilton requesting non-white actors caused a huge upset, with people calling it reverse-racism. However, I believe that reverse-racism is not real. Prejudice and racism are not the same thing; in order to be racist against another race, you must have privilege and power.
There was also a production of Jesus in India was shut down at Clarion College in Pennsylvania because the playwright learned that two white characters were playing Indian characters and pulled the rights, and the teacher published a very angry essay on the Chronicle of Higher Education.
I can understand this teacher’s anger and disappointment; I have been a part of theatre productions, and I have poured my blood, sweat, and tears into them. Having that ripped away before getting to showcase your work is heartbreaking. But there are a lot of factors at work here. The playwright felt that it was insulting to his culture and his identity to have white people play his South Asian characters. He didn’t mind that other generally Asian characters played these characters, because they have shared similar oppression by the same group of people. Race, whether we like it or not, is a part of a person’s identity (“8 Things”).
And at the end of the day, the playwright is the authority. It's not like the film industry, where the author sells their script. The playwright still owns the text, until it is released into the public domain, and they are giving you permission to use their work. It is totally within their power to remove a person's permission to use their personal work, and, in this case, the playwright felt that Clarion's production was a misrepresentation of his work.
The Wiz! is a musical version of The Wizard of Oz! written from an African American context, and a high school in Syracuse, New York put on an all-white production. This happens more commonly than it should: schools without a Black population performing this show.
When a character of color is replaced by a white actor, it takes away from the opportunities open to a minority actor, and adds to the issues that have been in place in our society for years. It may not seem like a big thing – it’s just one guy playing one character in our little production – but it adds to a bigger picture that has been in practice since the invention of theatre. Racist practices have been instilled in the theatre for centuries, all the way back to the Greek plays that only featured men. The theatre is meant to be a safe place for everyone, and in the past thirty years it has become much more inclusive. And yet still, there is the idea of blackface, yellowface, redface, and other racially insensitive practices that have occurred only recently, and your casting of a white actor in one that shouldn’t be, you are adding fuel to the fire.
This is an issue that is very close to my heart. I am a student at a university who did a production of Avenue Q, one of my favorite musicals. The theatre department had auditions without my knowledge, and was having a difficult time casting someone as the role of Christmas Eve. The script says that she is a Japanese immigrant, and she is defined by her bossy, loud nature and her big presence on stage. The department experimented with many options for Christmas Eve, including gender-bending, until a friend of mine who was involved in the production reached out to me. We were in choir together, so she knew of my musical abilities. I went in for auditions a few weeks into the rehearsal process, and came out with a part. Had it not been for the theatre department’s insistence to keep the actor for Christmas Eve appropriate to the race written, I would not have found an amazing community of people.
A still from my production of Avenue Q (2014).
This story ended well for both me and the university, but that’s not generally the case. Race is a social construct created by people in power, and the lines are etched in thanks to historical atrocities and oppression. But the goal and responsibility of the theatre is to help erase these divisions. It is a place where anything can happen, and where everything is acceptable.
One day, I hope that we can live in a society where race isn’t an issue. Maybe actors will be cast based on their ability to portray a character, rather than the color of their skin. But until that day is here, we must be aware of the racial politics that are extremely poignant in our world. The theatre is a home for many different types of people; it tells of struggles that aren’t always highlighted, and it has a much more inclusive atmosphere than that of the television or movie screen. In telling these stories, due to the world that we live in today, the actor must be representative of the character – racially, as well as personally. Racial type casting can be dangerous, but it is also an extremely important part of the casting business.
Sincerely,
A Student Waiting for Racial Respect and Equality
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Sources
AAPAC. “Ethnic Representation on New York City Stages 2014-2015.” AAPAC. 2015.
Alonso, Damian. “Here's why Reverse Racism Isn't Real.” Everyday Feminism. 2017.
brittanytom. “Parent upset over high school's all-white cast of 'The Wiz'” The Grio. 28 February 2013.
Michel, Marilouise. “How Racial Politics Hurt My Students.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. 13 November 2015.
Onuoha, Mimi.“Broadway won’t document its dramatic race problem, so a group of actors spent five years quietly gathering this data themselves.” Quartz. 4 December 2016.
Schachner, Bill. “Clarion University forced to cancel play over actors' race.” Pittsburgh Post Gazette. 12 November 2015.
Utt, Jamie. “Holding the Tension: Whiteness vs. European Cultural Identity.” Everyday Feminist. April 3, 2014.
Utt, Jamie. “8 Things White People Really Need to Understand about Race.” Everyday Feminist.
Weinert-Kent, Rob. “Rapping a Revolution.” New York Times. 5 February 2015.
Article originally posted here.
