DC Theatre Scene: Mosaic Theatre’s current production, Charm by Phillip Dawkins, is inspired by the true story of Chicago trans icon Miss Gloria Allen, who teaches etiquette classes to youth at the Center on Halsted, an LGBT community center on Chicago’s northside.
The production already garnered a great deal of press when they announced a change in casting close to the start of rehearsals – swapping out cisgender KenYatta Rogers for the trans actress B’Ellana Duquesne in the role of Mama based on Gloria Allen. The move was made after a great deal of conversation between the artists and feedback from the transgender community, arguing that a trans role should be filled with a transgender actor.
1 comment:
I am always excited to see trans people playing trans characters. I feel it just dose not make since to have cis gender person playing a trans character because it takes away that representation. it also presents the problem that a cis gendered person would not have the experiences of being trans to draw on to create a convincing character. This show is also interesting in the fact that it shows the different views and biases even among its own community. The article also points out the idea that trans actors should be considered for cis gendered roles.
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