AMERICAN THEATRE: The Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC) has created and released AAPAC Theater Practices Toolkit: Creating an Inclusive Environment for AAPI/Asian Artists. This toolkit was inspired by listening sessions and survey data which revealed that less than 5.5 percent of AAPI/Asian theatre artists nationwide believe that theatres are creating an environment of inclusion for AAPI/Asian people. Intended as a reference guide for theatrical institutions across the country, the toolkit is organized by departments and lists anecdotal and statistical information on challenges specifically shared by the AAPI/Asian theatre community, as well as actionable solutions inclusive of their specific needs and concerns.
3 comments:
I’m glad I stumbled across this article, as my final project for ARETP is about this exact topic. Reading the statistics for the 2021-22 season in NYC really upset me. As they mention in the article, coming out of the pandemic, it was really hard for the Asian-American community, and anyone who is Asian in general. I hate to hear that this alienation carried its way over into theatre as well, which is known to be an outlet that people can share their stories in and overall (as I’ve known it to be) a very welcoming industry. Being Asian-American, I wonder how these statistics will evolve, and I wonder how this translates into technical theatre. I’m glad that there’s a toolkit that was made in order to provide solidarity and an outlet on the matter. As time goes on and I learn more statistics about the lack of Asian representation in theatre, I hope to gain a better understanding of why this is.
I feel like AAPI and Asian artists have never really had a solidified space in the entertainment industry. Part of that I feel like is because the model minority myth painted an image of prim and proper and oftentimes the entertainment industry is exactly the opposite of that. What representation in the media there was of Asian Americans often either perpetrated stereotypes of the model minority myth or swung it in the complete opposite direction which stereotyped exoticism and sex appeal. This kind of representation really pushed away the AAPI community from ever truly engaging with the entertainment industry and I feel like now there is really a push for diversity and engagement with regards to the AAPI community. I wish this article was longer and actually went in depth on the toolkit instead of just referencing things because personally, I am a very lazy person and so I don’t click on external links but that is just me so I can’t really complain about it.
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