Datebook: When LaMont Ridgell learned in March that he’d be getting a different director for an upcoming production at Altarena Playhouse, he had questions.
His role as a devout Catholic in “Quality of Life” hadn’t traditionally been played by a Black man, and he wanted to make sure his new director, Katina Letheule, also the artistic director of the Alameda community theater, had thought through what his casting would mean.
4 comments:
I think it is important to have these conversations when roles that have not traditionally been cast with an actor of color are suddenly cast with an actor of color. We spoke about this during this old haunt, when suddenly a role that had always been a white woman was suddenly a Black woman, there were things that are said in the show that come off poorly when the race is changed. The passive aggressive nature of asking actors to reaudition after having them ask for clarification about the vision of the show after making a choice like this is hugely problematic. It is not helped by Letheule declining to comment on the racial identities of Altarena’s leadership because that would inform the issues that came up and how these things may not have been considered. If the leadership is entirely white, they most likely did not consider these things and may not have known how to handle these questions, leading to these issues, and that is a much larger problem.
There seems to be so much to unravel in the problems with Altarena Playhouse. Having to re-audition for a role, after asking the new director what their vision is for the show, especially after the role that was cast in what is considered a non-traditional way. That’s passive aggressive on the part of the director, at that point just recast the entire show, and stop making people jump through hoops. Also, you have a law firm investigating racial discrimination complaints, and instead of making it easy for the community find out the outcome, it took a reporter going to a board member to hear that ‘none of the allegations were sustained’. That makes it seem like they are hiding something. And don’t get me started on having no Covid protocols in place. They can’t use the excuse that they are a community theatre and have no funding for it. The community theatre I started at had Covid protocols in place and were good about enforcing them.
The actors absolutely have a right to question the capabilities of their new director regarding their ability to comprehend the way in which an actor of color changes perspectives of a traditionally white character. If they are incapable of understanding how important this shift in casting choice effects the show as a whole, then they will not be able to carry out the production in a efficient manner that will aid in getting the overall plot across. Often times in theater and film black and other POC stories are told through the perspective of white individuals, which drastically effects how those individuals and communities are perceived. It is difficult to speak on something or create a piece of work about something that you have not lived. Additionally, the discussion on black hair mentioned in the article poses another grand topic that needs to be vocalized within the theater community. Which is why are black actors and actresses not given the proper hairstylist to do their hair, and why are the people in charge of production not accommodating for their actors needs.
This is interesting from the beginning. If I was the actors involved being asked to re-audition, I would be offended, I would also refer to my contract to see if that is even allowed. Do community theatre artists have contracts? How are their rights as performers protected?Everyone who works in the theatre, no matter how big or small of a role, should get a copy of the handbook that writes out the rules and regulations and how to report things. That should be standard at all theatres. DEI is so important and is bigger than a financial investment. It has to be believed in and upheld by everyone in the organization otherwise it does not work. I hope this theatre changes for the better and those actors work in a better environment in the future. This theatre sounds unsafe in general and I hope anyone looking to work in it finds this article first.
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