Monday, August 20, 2018
When Color-Blind Casting Get Complicated
Theatre Development Fund – TDF: I've loved musical theatre as long as I can remember. When I was young, I would listen to my original cast recordings of Oklahoma and Candide and My Fair Lady over and over and over, and imagine myself as Curly McLain and Candide and Henry Higgins. But my fantasies were constrained by the understanding that I would never play those roles. I was black and most Broadway musicals were about white characters performed by white actors.
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The author of this articles raises some good points about color-blind casting and how it sometimes has unintentionally offensive effects. One of the quotes that stood out the most to me from this article was the following section: "Ask yourself if a new work would get produced today about a jobless, sometime criminal black man who abuses his white wife? Plus this show is set at the turn of the 20th century, a period when interracial marriage was illegal in most of the United States." Of course it is amazing that more shows are leaning towards hiring a more diverse group of actors, but it does seem like in this case there should have been a little more thought put in to the optics of relationships they erew presenting onstage.Like this article says, although this practice may be called "colorblind casting" no one can ever completely eliminate their own personal biases and views about race when they go into the theatre. I hope that theatres will think about this when planning out their season and instead pick shows that have a lot of opportunities for people of color, and that have roles in revivals they can play that wont fall into this same trap.
I can definitely see the author's point in this article and can completely grasp where he is coming from. I agree with the statement that none of us are truly color-blind when it comes to race. The author makes a good point when he says "When white actors play Billy Bigelow and Stanley Kowalski, they don't perform under the shadow of a loaded cultural history that black actors invariably do." This is not just applicable to black actors but people of color be it male or female. There are stereotypes that have been attributed to different races that certain roles reinforce. People of color are not extended the same empathy and sympathy that white people are given when certain situations happen. In a world where everyone is equal, stereotypes are extinct and talent is the only determining factor, roles can be played by any and everyone.
To play devil's advocate, what if the presence of people of color in these roles is to spark a conversation about the preconceived notions we have toward different races. What that brings to is how do we successfully do that job as artists without reinforcing the problem. I believe this is a continuous conversation that has to take place from the beginning (production choice, casting) to the end of the process.
Stephanie Akpapuna
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