www.broadwayworld.com: The Asian American Performers Action Coalition along with several theatre companies and Asian American advocacy groups today released an open letter to the artistic leadership of The Shed, the new multi-million dollar cultural center in Hudson Yards, Manhattan, in response to the casting of a Caucasian actor in an Asian role in their current production of Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise.
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1 comment:
Good for these individuals and companies for voicing the issue and not letting it be looked over. Whitewashing is a huge issue so many white artists don’t consider when making casting decisions, and they don’t realize how harmful it is to the communities they are erasing stories from. From reading the letter, it is obvious the whitewashing was not the only issue in this production. It is upsetting to hear of the stereotypical tropes used about Chinese people and culture, and the lack of respect and effort to output a conscientious production with depiction of People of Color. Yellowface is just as problematic as blackface, and it is often overlooked. You see prime examples of yellowface in film and theatre today, and it is often not caught and thought twice about. Asian stereotyping and tropes are harmful and anything but comedic to the Asian community. I hope The Shed takes this criticism seriously and will begin to be more socially conscious when making casting and production decisions.
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