Friday, October 02, 2015
Unpacking “Diversity” In Musical Theatre
HowlRound: In recent months, there has been quite a bit of online ink spilled on the subject of “diversity” in the theatre. Whether it’s Roundabout Theatre Company’s all white revival of Noises Off or Manhattan Theatre Club’s recently announced 2015/2016 season of nearly all white male playwrights (now including one white female playwright as a late addition), commercial theatre gatekeepers are now being put into the position of having to reflect upon whether they are at best, perpetuating an artistic culture of homogeneity or at worst, perpetuating an artistic culture of de facto racism.
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This article is among the best I have read in its discussion of color-blind/conscious casting, intersectionality, and the future of the DNA of the American theatre. The truth of the matter, as it relates to our world of education, comes from description of the boxes in which conservatories and other schools place people of color into within their training. I have engaged in many a conversation about this with my peers, and I understand that the school is trying to ensure that an actor of color be prepared for what the world of theatre has in store for them. This is one of the reasons that we are a world-renowned institution, because our actors leave here ready and prepared for the world that is coming to them. However, what does it mean to be a world-renowned institution does nothing but reaffirm the world that it ought to be shaping. The only people that are going to change the world are the people who are willing to believe that it will change. If the school that we attend puts the message upon us that we must submit to the way the world works, then we lose the opportunity to change the DNA that currently traps us. This is not reflected in all of the faculty, as there are many wonderful teachers who encourage this kind of change and focus in our work. And then, since I must keep going, I trap myself into a confusion. Because I agree with everything that this article says, yet I still personally want to go out into the world and create a theatre company, am I simply furthering the white supremacist capitlist, imperialist, patriarchy that I denounce in my comments on this page? I personally question where I fit into this discussion, and how we can work as a collective national community to further what is right and necessary to the evolution of the theatre. If anyone has a thought, I'd love to hear it.
This article is well written and has a strong argument though I don't know where I stand.
Color blind casting serves its purpose in many regards. It opens up roles, redefining possibly contrived theatre of the past, however, sometimes it just doesn't work. As I think further about this article I confuse myself. I do not know why it is that when seeing some productions of shows I am able to accept colorblind casting, and immerse myself within the world of the play, while other times I cannot sink in. Am I racist? Or is the theatre community trained to see different races portrayed on stage as specific stereotypes?
As we embark as the next generation of theatre artists I think it is important that we realize that world has preconceived notions of what is right, and who should play what. However, I am also excited to be the new generation that is willing to move theatre along into a new age. Pieces like Hamilton, told with a completely colorblind cast still tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, even though he was not a latino man. Are we as a theatre going community just stuck in the past or do we only accept certain races in certain roles because it affects the progression of the story?
I agree that an all [insert group here] cast isn’t enough to count as diversity. Though those plays can be very good, and very powerful, taking an underrepresented group and pushing them to the side isn’t representation. I definitely agree that in order to fix the problem of stories primarily being told from the white able-bodied cis male perspective, writers, directors, and producers need to be a more diverse group of people. Even if actors of color are being cast in a wide variety of roles, unless there are play written by/ directed by playwrights/ directors that are part of a minority group, it will only help so much. And, as the article says, it is problematic to pigeonhole those playwrights into race themed plays. Even though telling stories about how our society treats race is extremely important, it is also important for playwrights from minority groups to be able to write musicals about a variety of topics. I’m hoping that as discussions around the importance of seeing the power of theater in society and pushing for diversity, both on and off stage, will help improve not only theater’s impact on the world, but also just help improve the quality of shows by giving the chance for talented people to get into the industry without unnecessary and arbitrary barriers.
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