The Mary Sue: A word of advice to any aspiring actors out there who come to Hollywood and are looking for additional acting training: Stay far away from Lesly Kahn and Co. Not only does Ms. Kahn not know what she’s talking about when talking about the industry in which she supposedly works, but she apparently loves to sprinkle all of her classes with a light dusting of racist comments.
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The Latinx community is already underrepresented in the entertainment industry. Only 3.1% of the main characters in major motion pictures are people from the Latinx community. This under-representation is horrendous, and then to hear about an acting teacher tell a white actress to pretend like she is Latinx to get a job is appalling. If you know that you are not right for the part because the character has an ethnicity built in that is a defining factor, don't audition for it. There are so many people in minority groups that want that job and be amazing at the job. So let them have it! You don't need to put yourself in the pool. There are plenty of parts written for white woman, not as many as white men, but white people still make up well over half of main characters in film. Khan has an issue, she should never be telling someone to use a race like it is some costume. But also I think writers need to write parts for people of color so we can increase the diversity seen on screen.
I cannot believe what I just read. This is so frustrating and annoying that this is an issue in 2018. Never would I think that someone would be told to lie about their ethnicity just for job. These comments about how "being a minority" is lucky because we are "token" characters is outrageous and completely diminishes our merits and talents. It perpetuates a racist society in which minorities are seen as some type of exotic species. I am so angry right now that I can barely find the words to express my emotions. I just cannot believe that this story is something that exists in the world right now, especially in the entertainment industry where liberal thought and equality is boasted. Also, the author's story about losing out a role in Shakespeare hits a whole other side of racism in the industry where main characters are only ever seen as white and beautiful. To me, the stage is meant to reach every single audience member so I do not understand why we cannot put diverse actors/actresses on stage to reflect the world around it.
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