<p>Nydancemom:</p>
<p>Eve and Mary Anna have given you good advice about appropriate choices for a young Asian-American actor. Eve is (fortunately) right, that your d. may safely do an audition monologue originally written for a white character. Mary Anna is (unfortunately) right that your d. probably may not safely do an audition monologue originally written for a black character. Ive put the conflict in the starkest terms in order to bring out the contradiction. Yes, it makes no sense. But as with much in life, there are reasons based on history.</p>
<p>Those of us who grew up in the 50s remember quite clearly the roles we saw African-Americans play on television. Amos and Andy, which ran from 1951-53, used black actors to play roles which had been originated by a pair of white actors, Gosden and Correll, on radio. The comic gifts of the black actors (Alvin Childress and Spencer Williams) were certainly equal to those of the Marx Brothers and the Three Stooges, but the characterizations were completely racist. So were cartoons; listen to the vocal characterizations of the crows in Dumbo. It wasnt until 1965 that we saw a black actor playing an intelligent, educated character in a continuing, supporting role in a series. That man was Bill Cosby, who played the partner of Robert Culp on the series I Spy. It was 1968 before we saw a black American in a starring role on television, Diahann Carroll in Julia. Both Cosby and Carroll broke ground, and have continued to do wonderful work. I wish I could say that their efforts and these two series marked the end of racial stereotyping on television, but it hasnt. Any department chair can tell you stories of young black alumni whove had to learn how to play criminals and prostitutes in order to get work on television.</p>
<p>On the other side is the non-traditional casting movement. Sharon Jensen and others began the Non-Traditional Casting Project (<a href="http://www.ntcp.org%5B/url%5D">www.ntcp.org</a>) in 1986. Its mission was to convince producers and directors that actors of color could play Hamlet and Juliet as well as white actors could, and that audiences would accept non-white actors in those roles. It has taken awhile, but I think one could say that their work has been extremely successful in regional theatre and in universities. Except when the story revolves around race (Othello, Big River), most of us now cast color-blind. Twelve years ago, I directed Caryl Churchills Top Girls, a play about two sisters, one who stayed at home to take care of her parents, and the other who went to London to try to make it in the business world. I cast a white actress and a black actress as those sisters, and received not a single complaint. Audiences will accept whatever convention the play establishes. (Aeschylus and Shakespeares audiences didnt have any difficulty with men playing women.) So because of the work of the NTCP and others who have made a practice of non-traditional casting, nydancemom, your d. can audition with Juliet and Julie Jordan without any qualms whatsoever.</p>
<p>But Raisin in the Sun is different. It is a play about black Americans trying to survive and thrive in a very white world. Race is a central issue. And while your d may think of herself as a minority, shes not black. When I see a non-African-American doing a monologue from a black play (and Ive seen it), or singing a song specifically written for a black character (Coalhouse in Ragtime), I cant help seeing Al Jolson in blackface or hearing Amos and Andy on the radio. Im not black, so I have no right to feel insulted, but it does feel like theft to me. It makes me wonder about the naiveté or cultural insensitivity of the performer. Ill probably decide that its naiveté, and try to overlook it. But for those precious first fifteen seconds of the audition, Im not thinking about your childs talent, skills and potential, Im thinking about history. Not a good thing, at least at that moment. And thats why your d. should choose a different monologue.</p>
<p>Actual casting is different. Would I cast white actors in Hispanic roles, Maria and Anita, for example? Done it, just like every high school and college director faced with a dearth of actors of color. My Anita was a redhead (we kept her hair) and my Maria was a blonde (we changed her hair color). But Maya didnt sing I Feel Pretty at her college entrance audition. Context is everything.</p>
<p>My own hope, along with Chekhovs, is that In two or three hundred years, life will be unimaginably beautiful and any actor of any race or sex will be able to play any role. But were not there yet. Were only six generations away from the Emancipation Proclamation, a mere four from lynchings, and only one from the civil rights movement. We can and must keep aiming for a better world, and we can do that in our productions and performances. But for now, in auditions for entrance to college BFA programs, students should make choices which do not distract the auditors from attending to their talent and potential.</p>
<p>Does this make sense to anyone?</p>
<p>P.S. Eve, Mary Anna and Coach C, thanks for the very good advice youve been giving to people since you arrived. Please accept my belated welcome to the MT thread.</p>