The prestigious Off Broadway nonprofit said Thursday that it would stage a production of “Southern Comfort,” a musicalization of a 2001 documentary of the same name, which tells the story of Robert Eads, who transitioned from female to male, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, had trouble finding medical treatment and relied on friends for community as he died.
16 comments:
As of now, this seems like an amazing project and I am currently hoping for the best and that there are good intentions for doing this project now. As theatre practitioners, we often ask ourselves “why this play now?”. And this play’s subject matter is a completely justified response to that question, I just hope that the show is done in a way that is respectful to all communities represented. For example, there has been backlash about the recent film “Stonewall” in that it the film set out to show an important moment in history for the gay community, however there many oversights, which took away from the message of the film. This is my fear with this production, however I think that the intentions may be clearer and better based on the fact that the casting call clearly states that they are interested in transgender actors to play the roles. I’m excited to see this production and am hoping for the best.
I'm so happy that this musical is being produced, this is such a great idea. Stories about the transgendered community are usually either covered up or ignored, so the fact that a story like this is being told at the Public is groundbreaking. People commonly underestimate how hard it is to be a part of this community in America today. Transgendered men and women face persecution for things that cisgendered people consider mundane, such as going to the bathroom or shopping for clothes. Showing this story to the American public will hopefully raise awareness about these inequalities, and maybe open people's eyes. One other I really like about this particular production is that they're trying to cast members of the transgendered community as the characters in the show. Recently their have been issues with movies casting cisgendered people in transgendered roles, which is not proper representation. I hope that they stick true to this promise, and continue to support the community in this way.
The one thing the author explains that fascinates me about this article is how he states that the Public has asked for transgendered actor to audition. Now, no matter what, of course transgendered actors should audition for roles, regardless of whether or not the play calls for them. If you can act, you can act, regardless of your gender or orientation. However, does casting a show about transgenders using strictly transgenders hinder the art? Often times, actors have shown that they can play a character operating outside of typical gender convention regardless of their true gender. Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club played a transgender man who became a woman, and did so with such aplomb that he won just about every major acting award you could win that year. It is clear that acting is a practice that involves, more than anything, learning about a character and using what you learn to portray that person honestly, truthfully, and as lifelike as you can. Now whether that means you need to be transgender or not to portray a transgender person onstage isn't for me to decide, it's just a question that should be asked.
It’s so exciting to hear about a theatrical production about transgender people, with transgender actors. I think that, although we definitely have a long way to go, as the world starts to become a safer place for transgender people to live openly and authentically, it is so important that they are given a chance to perform and recount stories like this. Even though there are a lot of theatrical productions about LGBT+ stories which don’t necessarily need to have LGBT+ actors to realistically and honestly tell their stories, I think there is something so valuable about actors being able to relate to the characters they are playing. As I’ve never acted before, I can’t make any claims about if this would be at all helpful to the actors themselves if they are able to more firmly place themselves in the characters’ shoes, but I can only assume that it would. Not to mention that transgender actors need more opportunities in general, and what better way is there to do that than through a show like this. I think that as long as theater companies continue to make unwavering decisions such as Public’s decision to insist to cast trans actors, that we as a theater community will continue to make positive strides.
This is a great way for people to learn about issues that typically are not broadcasted widely among media and other such stories. I myself just learned about transgender lives and the process of transitioning in the most detailed I had ever heard it before. The one thing that strikes me about this musical becoming popular is that it appears to be akin to RENT, but substituting a post-transition cancer story in lieu of AIDS. I can’t say that I like the idea of having the most widespread and well known transgender story being about a male dying of ovarian cancer, but I guess the best way to spread a story and a way of life is to take it to the dramatic extreme and get some people behind it before further education can begin. I am also happy to see that this production has been put on previously and am curious to see if it will spread elsewhere.
It is a good day for theatre to hear thing like this. I am so glad that these stories are finally being represented on stage, and I really hope the production is well thought out and respectful but true. It’s not news that art is a reflection of society, but I feel that for a while we were at a standstill with continuing to push ourselves with what we are putting on stage and how the themes, plots, and characters in our shows can be found in real life. We weren’t being a true reflection, or maybe we were, but we were reflecting the part of society that is trying to act like these people don’t exist, don’t deserve to have their story be told. Either way, it is exciting to see such a show being made, it will lead to more interesting, more dynamic theatre. The fact that they hope to cast real members of the Transgender community is a huge step and door opener for transgender actors, and I believe if done right this show can lead to many more dynamic shows finally being performed.
I remember the other week when we had several articles discussing the problems of equality in casting actors with disabilities. I am extremely glad that such efforts are being made to work through the equality problem we have with casting in theater. First of all, making sure that transgender actors are cast in transgender roles is an important starting point. But beyond that, if we want to get to a point where we live in a world where we just "cast for talent" and it doesn't matter if the actor belongs to the represented minority or not, we cannot use that just as an excuse to continue casting cis actors in trans roles. We must start casting minority actors in roles that we traditionally assume are white, cis, etc. In an ideal world, casting directors would always just cast the actor most suited to the part, but you will never be able to convince me that the best actor for every role is a white, straight, abled, cis person.
This is why I love theater. Because their are stories that need to be told and shared with others, and stories about transgender people is one of them. I have one problem though. They are requiring a transgender actor. I understand it completely, because it is relatable to trying to do Hairspray with a skinny Tracy or trying to do Book of Mormon with an African American Elder Price. And a transgender actor can relate to the character more than someone else. If you cast the actors that do not look like the characters they will be playing, you are making a very big statement, which can be good - if thats what you want. However, for a show, which the author does not go into depth about, and I could just be ignorant because of that, whats the different of not casting a transgender actor for a role and not casting a non transgender actor for this role? I know others do not agree with this view, but I think we need to accept all gender identities from actors for any role no matter what. Then that is equality.
Yes a million times over! It has been fantastic these last few months to see so many articles discussing equality in casting. Equality seems to be a swiftly growing trend in theater. "Hamilton" (I realize talk of this show is becoming tired) has made an effort to cast primarily non-white actors. Deaf West is representing the Deaf Community with "Spring Awakening". And now the trans community is joining the team. It has been fantastic watching these last few years as trans actors made their way into entertainment. Shows like "Orange is the New Black" and Transparent have emerged into the spotlight. Unfortunately, too many shows and movies (for example, "About Ray") cast cis-gendered actors in trans roles. This is not okay. Trans people are possibly the most marginalized group in the United States with far too many losing their lives, family, friends, and jobs due to their identity. Representation of this group helps educate and bring forth acceptance for this group. What I'm trying to say through all the unintelligible rant is this; the Public Theater is doing it right and I'm really excited that they are casting members of this community.
This production is incredibly exciting to hear about, especially their goal to hire transgender actors to play these characters. However, I have to respectfully disagree with a question that Jacob asked in his comment, namely whether it hinders the art to only cast transgender characters with transgender actors. I talked it out with several of my classmates when I saw it, and we came to the consensus that we aren't far enough along in the process of equal representation in media to ask these types of questions yet. What's more important right now is that transgender stories are being told in the media by transgender people, because these stories are so underrepresented. Having cisgender actors play transgender characters, such as with Jared Leto in Dallas Buyer's Club, is not a solution to the problem, because doing so only reinforces problematic notions about transgender people, such as that trans women are just men in drag, or vice versa. This is the reason why productions like these, that outwardly state their intention to cast transgender actors to play transgender characters, are so incredibly important because they increase transgender representation in the media while still being respectful of the transgender community. I am excited to see how this play turns out and since it is being put on in New York, I hope I will get the opportunity to see it.
Aileen perfectly summarizes how I feel about this article. While it's great to have trans people represented in media in general, it makes a world of difference to have an actual trans person portraying a trans character. No cisgender person will ever truly understand how it feels to be trans. On just a performance level, it makes such obvious sense to cast a trans person for a trans character. That performer will completely be able to become one with that character and give such a better performance overall for that role. I don't understand why trans characters are ever played by cis people, when it just makes so much sense to cast trans people instead. A more powerful and heartfelt performance causes a more emotionally and mentally affected audience that really listens to the story being told onstage. A stronger performance resonates more with its viewers, and it will help a wider audience kind of understand what it means to be trans.
Expanding diversity in theatre does not necessarily mean that you can just start producing more diverse plays and musicals. The inclusion of diversity style programming also extends as far as hiring diverse employees and artists. It is one thing for a theatre to put on socially conscious work, but if the theatre’s daily operations and hiring processes don’t reflect the progressive mentality, how serious can you take their ‘diversity’ claims? The concerted effort by the Public Theatre to engage specifically with transgender actors and actresses is the exact embodiment of altruistic and genuine inclusion of diversity. The LGBTQI movement has gained significant ground over the past decade but mostly in the realm of sexual preference, not necessarily sexual identity. The distinction is important to note, especially as transgender individuals start to bravely embrace their true identity. I think it is of particular significance to note that transgender actors and actresses should never be pigeon holed into only transgender roles. It is the inclusion of transgender voices within works addressing transgender issues that lends authenticity and an in depth understanding to the production at hand.
We as a society and generation are getting to the point where we are focusing on the rights of smaller and smaller minority groups and eventually we are going to run out of small groups and hopefully start going back to the larger minority groups and helping to create more change than just awareness. At this current point in time the focus is Transgender Right’s. There still exists a transphobia culture our country today because people have been exposed to the idea all their lives and most people don’t understand. Like most things in this world, the things we don’t understand in life frustrate us. Case and point, Caitlyn Jenner and her beautiful transformation and embarrassing her true self was tarnished this year when someone decided her new identity was a great idea for a Halloween costume. So I am proud to see the Public Theater produce a musical about a Transgender person and even more proud that they are in search of someone who is really transgender to play the lead. This is going to be another strong step to helping to eradicate transphobia and just expose the general public to just being aware. This show will also have a stronger impact because of the choice to true cast the characters because the actors will be able to provide a really authentic performance.
It's exciting to hear that the Public is once again stepping up at the forefront of new work in theater and pushing to tell stories that are relevant and important to our time. The decision to produce this musical falls directly in line with Joesph Papp's mission to spawn conversations by producing work that is relevant for the time, just like he did when producing plays like Sticks and Bones, and The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, where he delved into the issues of the Vietnam war and the effect on returning veterans. In our time the social view of transgender people in our society is still far from the equality we all ideally seek, but I think the way to move forward towards that goal is to fearlessly engage in a conversation and learn from talking. Seeing as that is what this production is setting out to do I have a ton of respect for this production and its noble goals. One thing in particular that I have a lot of respect for is that the Public is asking for transgender people to come work on the show, like Jacob said earlier, I think they should regardless, but the Public's effort to spawn a conversation and keep the authenticity of it by bringing in the people that can directly relate to the aversion the characters face is what I think will really propel the show forward, and I definitely see it as a project that will be notable and important for our time.
On the subject of should a person play a transgender person solely because they are transgender, I would say that in a perfect world, no, it wouldn't matter. An actors job is to take on the life, experiences, and opinions of the character they are portraying. It is not illogical in that reasoning. But, this is not a perfect world. There are specific cultural ties unfortunately to cisgender people playing trans people - namely the drag queen stereotype. In a world where transgender people's rights and issues leave many people simply at a loss due to lack of education and awareness of the subject, it is imperative for trans people to be able to tell their own stories. Having a transgender actor allows that actor to communicate their own personal challenges through the character they are portraying. I'm not trying to say a cisgender person could not do the role justice, but with so few opportunities for trans people in the media already, this only helps. Maybe some day transgender people's right won't be in such a volatile state, and this discussion can be revisited in a different perspective, but for now, cisgender people should take a step back.
By far, the most important and interesting part of this article, to me, was that the Public Theatre put out “a direct call for transgender actors to audition.” That kind attention given to the importance of accurate representation in theatre is something that I cherish, it makes me so happy to see the Public Theatre being that responsive and caring. The thing is, it should not be a big deal for a theatre to send out a casting notice for transgender actors to audition for a transgendered character. This should be the norm. The transgender community is incredibly underrepresented and yes, by doing shows about them and their stories, we are supporting them, but the fact that we cast cis actors in transgendered roles seems offensive to me. Because there is an entire community out there that is use to be ignored and shoved under the table. They can act, they can direct, they can create all the things we create but we think that since we got here first that we get to make all the decisions. That is wrong, we need to give more than just support.
Post a Comment