HowlRound Theatre Commons: In 2014, Lavina Jadhwani, a text-based director and adaptor in Chicago, wrote a piece for HowlRound about color-conscious casting after directing a production of Duchess of Malfi. In the years since, Lavina has shifted to using the term “identity-conscious casting,” because she believes identity contains multitudes and race is just one part of that. In this conversation, Lavina sits down with Victor Vazquez, founder and casting director of X Casting NYC, to chat about the realities of casting in theatre, moving beyond the concepts of color-blind and color-conscious casting, and more.
1 comment:
I’ve never had the opportunity to be in a casting room, but I always speculated what had been discussed when the cast was finally announced. I have worked on a few productions where the casting was seemingly “color blind.” I’m sure the director I was working with thought he was being as inclusive as possible and creating an equitable stage. But he committed the fatal flaw described by the article. When the time actually came to rehearse, he made no effort to try to bring the identities of the actors to our production. And the result, while probably still entertaining, didn't feel nearly as genuine or authentic as it could've been. I love that this article is challenging the idea that ignoring race is the best path to liberation. When you actually make an effort to include and highlight the true identities of everyone working on a production, it might be easier to move past just entertaining and create a truly impactful piece of art.
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