To recap, I believe that “color-conscious” casting means casting a production with a lens for how race factors into the story of the play. It’s treated as an additional given in the fabric of the production. For me, “color-blind” casting doesn’t work because audiences are not blind to how diverse casting changes their view of the story. I think sometimes, during casting, we put blinders on and then forget to take them off when we enter the rehearsal room.
2 comments:
I like how this article is not pointing out the problem in diversity but rather explaining how it is to have a color-conscious mind when casting for a show. Nowadays, directors have more free rain over who they want in their show. Looking past race, religion, and gender binary, even Shakespeare shows are getting a gender and racial swap. Recently I heard about Romeo and Juliet being played be two female leads (one black and one white). This version of the performance was focused more the racial separation that is still in our world today, but how we are trying to overcome this conflict and trying to accept everyone for who they are. Casting is a difficult thing to wrap our head around because we need to cast the who is ever fit for the role. This included their talent, looks, and how well they follow direction. A lot of article I've read have pointed our all of the racial outcomes of theatre today, but I like how this one had nothing negative to say about how theatre is handled to this day.
I enjoy this person’s perspective on race, and I also believe that the same perspective should be held when evaluating race in any context other than theatre. A lot of people seem to love the idea that racism doesn’t exist anymore (even though it very much does) or that it’s declining and not a big issue anymore, or that a colorblind world would be best. I don’t subscribe to any of those philosophies, because I don’t believe the notion that ignoring difference makes situations ‘safe’ or ‘politically correct’. The fact of the matter is that a black person is not a white person, and neither of them are Asian or Hispanic. But they most definitely are all people, and that’s the important part. Because they are all people, they all deserve a level of appreciation for what makes them who they are, and often times that may include race, but it also may not. The differences between people are what building strong characters is all about, and if this director thinks that being hyperconscious of racial components in plays is an effective tool in building those characters, I can’t say that I disagree.
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