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Tuesday, April 09, 2019
White Porgy and Bess cast ‘asked to say they identify as African-American’
Stage | The Guardian: The Hungarian State Opera has come up with a dubious way around a stipulation that George Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess be performed by an all-black cast: it is allegedly asking its white, Hungarian singers to sign a paper saying they identify as African-American.
9 comments:
Kaylie C.
said...
There are many great shows that cannot be performed because of casting constraints. It is something my high school took into consideration each year. It stopped us from producing some awesome shows, but our productions could not have done them justice without the proper casting. I really could not care less that Hungary is a very white country. Plenty of other white areas are able to cast black actors because they actually make an effort to scout black talent. Being a predominately white country is really not an excuse for this kind of behavior. When you buy rights to a show, it may have certain stipulations and you can not violate those the way this production is trying to do. I hope the rights holders do what they can to address this issue. I understand the actors' concerns with being blackballed, but I really think they should have fought back against this, or even seen that the show was written for an all black cast and simply not have auditioned in the first place.
While this contract is appalling and wild to me, it's absolutely shocking to me that people willing signed such an agreement. They wanted to do 'Porgy and Bess' so bad that they illegally copied music, and make singers sign contracts stating something untrue. If the story is that important, and holds such meaning, the least they could do is treat it with some respect. As Kaylie said previously, it doesn't matter that Hungary is a very white country. Hungary is not ALL white. If you want to do Porgy and Bess, go out and scout that black talent. If they saw 'Porgy and Bess' done and knew that they wanted to put it on, the probably saw it with black singers. Casting white singers downplays the story itself. It then sets an example that black singers are not welcomed on the stage, not even in parts that are for them. For any people of color watching that show, it sets an example that they are unwelcome in the performing arts.
I love seeing absolutely ridiculous articles posted on here, and this is surely one of them. This is absolutely laughable and just so not okay to do, I just don't understand why they have to go through all of this fuss when they can choose and perform literally any other opera or musical that has plenty of white people- in fact they were written for white people by white people. When it comes to portraying a show like Porgy and Bess, the color of the actors skin is actually integral to the portrayal and overall themes of the story of Porgy and Bess. The worst part is, they decided to use the good old Rachel Dolezal trick to yet again, take roles away from Black actors. My recommendation is for this production to be boycotted and protested because it really is a loss in terms of progress and the integrity of the entire theater community.
There’s a lot of interesting information about this particular situation. I do understand the concerns of the Hungarian company that by limiting the people who can perform in a work, in that country it means the work cannot be done. I’m not saying that justifies performing the work illegally. And it certainly doesn’t justify having your white cast sign papers saying they identify as black. The idea that that could maybe be a joke is also horrifying. It seems like there’s a lot to unpack here. I wonder if the estate will be sending a cease and desist for their improper use of the work. Especially since there seems to be quite a bit of media attention. I can tell from this article that the state of mind of the community in Hungary is probably a little different from the US. The idea that this company would have to halt a run of Billy Elliot because it might turn children gay is insane.
Okay, so I wrote a comment on an article about Porgy and Bess where this Hungarian company was mentioned in passing, but I thought that would be the last I’d hear of it. I think that this is blatantly offensive and shockingly untasteful. It actually feels like some sort of sick joke – in fact the article states that management was treating is as a joke which is even more upsetting. I’ll take a second to speak from an Eastern European standpoint, I am very aware of the cultural differences, especially involving race and identity. Eastern Europe, for the most part, just is not as progressive and careful about these types of issues as other parts of the world. I think about this all the time because I am Eastern European and because of these stereotypes, I actively try to represent my country in a positive and progressive way, but stories like this are a blatant step in the wrong direction. Obviously the situation is more complicated than just this event, there are arguments from the Hungarian side that do bring up interesting discussion points when it comes to what can and cannot be performed by who and why, especially considering the demographics of certain countries versus others, but despite that conversation, asking your white cast to claim that they identify as black is unacceptable.
This is so ridiculous and unbelievable; this honestly seems like more effort and work than just picking a different musical that will fit the available cast. This issue is a complicated one because theater should be accessible to everyone but there are other ways of experiencing and learning about shows without having to play a role that was not written for you. I just can’t even comprehend the thought processes that went into the idea for white actors to say that they identified as African-American. I am even more shocked that the actors agreed to this; this seems like an issue that would be so easy to say no to but, instead, these actors decided that the way to go was to claim that they were black. This kind of stuff is so ridiculous that it is easy to laugh about it but I think it is also important to recognize how problematic this is and the history that this stems from. I really think that, as a society, we need to recognize the severity of certain actions and respond to them accordingly.
This is actually one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read. I don’t care if it was a joke or whatever is was seen as, it was ignorant. Like Kaylie said, it’s not anyone’s fault that Hungary is a white ass country when it comes to the performing arts. I know it’s a completely different country from ours, so different mindsets and customs, but come on, that is absolutely ridiculous. The fact that the director of the opera house used Obama as an example, in a stupidly false way, shows that some people should just not have people working under them. Also something so severely stupid to me is why the hell are they identifying as African-AMERICAN? I am so sure that there are black Hungarians and there most definitely black people in other parts of Europe. Not every black person is African-American, or even African to start off.
There are so many obvious issues with the argument for a white Porgy and Bess that I don’t know where to start. First is that the cast was asked to-- and agreed to-- declare their African-American origin. No actor of any country should invent an identity for a role. Then, the argument that you can’t pin black on the Pantone scale is purely comical. Racial identity is a spectrum, and it would be an interesting conversation to explore how actors of non-presenting portions of that scale could represent the characters of Porgy and Bess. But these white Hungarian singers definitely do not take part in that experience and are solely taking advantage of the opportunity for profit and to forward their professional career. The excuse that it would be impossible to cast black actors for these roles in Hungary does not convince me of anything, but merely states a fact. If the characters of color cannot be cast with actors of color and the show is impossible to put on, simply don’t do the show-- there’s a plethora of all-white shows to choose from.
Woah. It blows me away that a state opera house could be this sketchy and ridiculous. The argument that using an all black cast is prohibitive in Hungary might be defensible, but the manner in which they’ve implemented that idea is outrageous. Using illegal photocopies of the music sounds more like a high school than a state opera house. And asking the cast to sign a waiver stating that they identify as African American (not even “of African descent” or “a person of color”), even if it was a joke, is horrifying. I can’t imagine that they will face consequences, considering their jurisdictional distance from the Gershwin estate and their current Hungarian government, but I certainly hope they do regardless. I guess they have enough Hungarians to work there, because this does not make the HSO sound like a place that I or most other people would want to work. It sounds like a place where art has been compromised by politics.
9 comments:
There are many great shows that cannot be performed because of casting constraints. It is something my high school took into consideration each year. It stopped us from producing some awesome shows, but our productions could not have done them justice without the proper casting. I really could not care less that Hungary is a very white country. Plenty of other white areas are able to cast black actors because they actually make an effort to scout black talent. Being a predominately white country is really not an excuse for this kind of behavior. When you buy rights to a show, it may have certain stipulations and you can not violate those the way this production is trying to do. I hope the rights holders do what they can to address this issue. I understand the actors' concerns with being blackballed, but I really think they should have fought back against this, or even seen that the show was written for an all black cast and simply not have auditioned in the first place.
While this contract is appalling and wild to me, it's absolutely shocking to me that people willing signed such an agreement. They wanted to do 'Porgy and Bess' so bad that they illegally copied music, and make singers sign contracts stating something untrue. If the story is that important, and holds such meaning, the least they could do is treat it with some respect. As Kaylie said previously, it doesn't matter that Hungary is a very white country. Hungary is not ALL white. If you want to do Porgy and Bess, go out and scout that black talent. If they saw 'Porgy and Bess' done and knew that they wanted to put it on, the probably saw it with black singers. Casting white singers downplays the story itself. It then sets an example that black singers are not welcomed on the stage, not even in parts that are for them. For any people of color watching that show, it sets an example that they are unwelcome in the performing arts.
I love seeing absolutely ridiculous articles posted on here, and this is surely one of them. This is absolutely laughable and just so not okay to do, I just don't understand why they have to go through all of this fuss when they can choose and perform literally any other opera or musical that has plenty of white people- in fact they were written for white people by white people. When it comes to portraying a show like Porgy and Bess, the color of the actors skin is actually integral to the portrayal and overall themes of the story of Porgy and Bess. The worst part is, they decided to use the good old Rachel Dolezal trick to yet again, take roles away from Black actors. My recommendation is for this production to be boycotted and protested because it really is a loss in terms of progress and the integrity of the entire theater community.
There’s a lot of interesting information about this particular situation. I do understand the concerns of the Hungarian company that by limiting the people who can perform in a work, in that country it means the work cannot be done. I’m not saying that justifies performing the work illegally. And it certainly doesn’t justify having your white cast sign papers saying they identify as black. The idea that that could maybe be a joke is also horrifying. It seems like there’s a lot to unpack here. I wonder if the estate will be sending a cease and desist for their improper use of the work. Especially since there seems to be quite a bit of media attention. I can tell from this article that the state of mind of the community in Hungary is probably a little different from the US. The idea that this company would have to halt a run of Billy Elliot because it might turn children gay is insane.
Okay, so I wrote a comment on an article about Porgy and Bess where this Hungarian company was mentioned in passing, but I thought that would be the last I’d hear of it. I think that this is blatantly offensive and shockingly untasteful. It actually feels like some sort of sick joke – in fact the article states that management was treating is as a joke which is even more upsetting. I’ll take a second to speak from an Eastern European standpoint, I am very aware of the cultural differences, especially involving race and identity. Eastern Europe, for the most part, just is not as progressive and careful about these types of issues as other parts of the world. I think about this all the time because I am Eastern European and because of these stereotypes, I actively try to represent my country in a positive and progressive way, but stories like this are a blatant step in the wrong direction. Obviously the situation is more complicated than just this event, there are arguments from the Hungarian side that do bring up interesting discussion points when it comes to what can and cannot be performed by who and why, especially considering the demographics of certain countries versus others, but despite that conversation, asking your white cast to claim that they identify as black is unacceptable.
This is so ridiculous and unbelievable; this honestly seems like more effort and work than just picking a different musical that will fit the available cast. This issue is a complicated one because theater should be accessible to everyone but there are other ways of experiencing and learning about shows without having to play a role that was not written for you. I just can’t even comprehend the thought processes that went into the idea for white actors to say that they identified as African-American. I am even more shocked that the actors agreed to this; this seems like an issue that would be so easy to say no to but, instead, these actors decided that the way to go was to claim that they were black. This kind of stuff is so ridiculous that it is easy to laugh about it but I think it is also important to recognize how problematic this is and the history that this stems from. I really think that, as a society, we need to recognize the severity of certain actions and respond to them accordingly.
This is actually one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read. I don’t care if it was a joke or whatever is was seen as, it was ignorant. Like Kaylie said, it’s not anyone’s fault that Hungary is a white ass country when it comes to the performing arts. I know it’s a completely different country from ours, so different mindsets and customs, but come on, that is absolutely ridiculous. The fact that the director of the opera house used Obama as an example, in a stupidly false way, shows that some people should just not have people working under them. Also something so severely stupid to me is why the hell are they identifying as African-AMERICAN? I am so sure that there are black Hungarians and there most definitely black people in other parts of Europe. Not every black person is African-American, or even African to start off.
There are so many obvious issues with the argument for a white Porgy and Bess that I don’t know where to start. First is that the cast was asked to-- and agreed to-- declare their African-American origin. No actor of any country should invent an identity for a role. Then, the argument that you can’t pin black on the Pantone scale is purely comical. Racial identity is a spectrum, and it would be an interesting conversation to explore how actors of non-presenting portions of that scale could represent the characters of Porgy and Bess. But these white Hungarian singers definitely do not take part in that experience and are solely taking advantage of the opportunity for profit and to forward their professional career. The excuse that it would be impossible to cast black actors for these roles in Hungary does not convince me of anything, but merely states a fact. If the characters of color cannot be cast with actors of color and the show is impossible to put on, simply don’t do the show-- there’s a plethora of all-white shows to choose from.
Woah. It blows me away that a state opera house could be this sketchy and ridiculous. The argument that using an all black cast is prohibitive in Hungary might be defensible, but the manner in which they’ve implemented that idea is outrageous. Using illegal photocopies of the music sounds more like a high school than a state opera house. And asking the cast to sign a waiver stating that they identify as African American (not even “of African descent” or “a person of color”), even if it was a joke, is horrifying. I can’t imagine that they will face consequences, considering their jurisdictional distance from the Gershwin estate and their current Hungarian government, but I certainly hope they do regardless. I guess they have enough Hungarians to work there, because this does not make the HSO sound like a place that I or most other people would want to work. It sounds like a place where art has been compromised by politics.
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