Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
CMU School of Drama
Thursday, September 01, 2022
Fringe audiences are 99% white? As a South Asian critic, I found Edinburgh’s screaming lack of diversity hugely troubling
The Guardian: I’m sitting in the audience of another Edinburgh fringe show. The month is in full swing and, as a reviewer, I’ve fallen into the pattern of rushing across the city from one venue to another to find my next seat. But, as I sit here, I have a growing sense of discomfort. Like the previous show, and the one before that, I’m the only person of colour in the audience.
3 comments:
Monica Tran
said...
I remember when I went to Edinburgh for the Fringe festival in 2017 as well as the author did. And it really was magical. It was so cool to see all theatre nerds from different parts of the world travel to walk down a royal mile and look for either wacky or emotionally moving shows to go to. It was a little weird to busk with my friends for the shows we were doing that day but then we'd go to a bar the same night and do it all over again. And I do remember thinking that there were a large amount of white people but I can only imagine it's more now because of covid and people who aren't as fortunate or as privileged as others wouldn't risk getting sick. There are a lot of layers to this issue. Like don't get me wrong I see the poor diversity efforts as well, but I'm just saying there's more to it than just lack of care from the festival's part.
I remember going to these festivals when I was in high school and my theatre program joking that we were "doubling" the south asian population at these festivals with just the 4 of us who were south asian in the program. I think being able to attend these festivals is an extreme privilege that many people of color can not afford. It is always obvious in the small theatre spaces when you are the only brown person or the only person of color and it is something that I do see this school changing in regards of. However, the vast industry is predominantly white and I agree with Monica that there is a lot more than just the festival's lack of care. Frankly it would take weeks for me to convince my parents and for many south asians that is a popular obstacle to overcome. Our own community has a bias against the arts, however these festivals are not scotch free when it comes to this. Not all communities are like this and the excuse that one community is so they all are is half baked. The festivals should want to promote pieces with people of color in them and give resources for underprivileged artist to be able to come to this festival
Up to this point, I haven’t heard much about the Edinburgh fringe festival but the little I have heard of it has only been positive. I have also grown up in a theater scene that is almost entirely white. This article has shown me a side of the fringe that is disappointing, upsetting, and unfortunately not all that surprising. This is just another example of how theater as an industry and an art is not as inclusive and accepting as we like to pretend it is. Stories like this happen all over the world and we are not free from racism in theater here in the United States. It is for this reason that anti-racist work in theater is so important. I’m glad that here at CMU we are getting the opportunity to take anti-racist classes and experience theater from different perspectives. We aren’t perfect and we have a long way to go but I am confident that we can work towards a better future where theater is accepting and inclusive to all.
3 comments:
I remember when I went to Edinburgh for the Fringe festival in 2017 as well as the author did. And it really was magical. It was so cool to see all theatre nerds from different parts of the world travel to walk down a royal mile and look for either wacky or emotionally moving shows to go to. It was a little weird to busk with my friends for the shows we were doing that day but then we'd go to a bar the same night and do it all over again. And I do remember thinking that there were a large amount of white people but I can only imagine it's more now because of covid and people who aren't as fortunate or as privileged as others wouldn't risk getting sick. There are a lot of layers to this issue. Like don't get me wrong I see the poor diversity efforts as well, but I'm just saying there's more to it than just lack of care from the festival's part.
I remember going to these festivals when I was in high school and my theatre program joking that we were "doubling" the south asian population at these festivals with just the 4 of us who were south asian in the program. I think being able to attend these festivals is an extreme privilege that many people of color can not afford. It is always obvious in the small theatre spaces when you are the only brown person or the only person of color and it is something that I do see this school changing in regards of. However, the vast industry is predominantly white and I agree with Monica that there is a lot more than just the festival's lack of care. Frankly it would take weeks for me to convince my parents and for many south asians that is a popular obstacle to overcome. Our own community has a bias against the arts, however these festivals are not scotch free when it comes to this. Not all communities are like this and the excuse that one community is so they all are is half baked. The festivals should want to promote pieces with people of color in them and give resources for underprivileged artist to be able to come to this festival
Up to this point, I haven’t heard much about the Edinburgh fringe festival but the little I have heard of it has only been positive. I have also grown up in a theater scene that is almost entirely white. This article has shown me a side of the fringe that is disappointing, upsetting, and unfortunately not all that surprising. This is just another example of how theater as an industry and an art is not as inclusive and accepting as we like to pretend it is. Stories like this happen all over the world and we are not free from racism in theater here in the United States. It is for this reason that anti-racist work in theater is so important. I’m glad that here at CMU we are getting the opportunity to take anti-racist classes and experience theater from different perspectives. We aren’t perfect and we have a long way to go but I am confident that we can work towards a better future where theater is accepting and inclusive to all.
-TJ
Post a Comment