minorities in BDWAY

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

<p>hi,</p>

<p>let me introduce myself a little bit. i am a sophomore in HS and being on broadway and doing musical theatre has been my passion since my freshmen year. </p>

<p>recently, our high school held auditions to the spring musical (Wonderful Town), and the main roles all went to 'white' students. out of the 5 Asian students that tried out for the roles, none of them got any of them, even though some of them had better voices and could act better. Now I'm sure it could also have been that they had bad auditions or what not but a part of me, and others who also tried out for the show, knew that it was because none of the Asian students LOOKED like the roles, the white students did. </p>

<p>Now this was in a HS where "type-casting" was not allowed (our school's policy). Now what worries me is that, for I am also an Asian and a minority, that this is going to be even WORSE when I actually try out for shows on Broadway and what not. </p>

<p>So the question is, what really is the deal with minorities trying out for shows -- say with all 'white' roles (which alot of shows are)? Or not even 'white', but just roles in general on Broadway?</p>

2

<p>In my opinion, Broadway has become "color blind" over the years and any race can play many roles traditionally played by Caucasians. It happens a lot now. However, there are certain roles in certain shows where the role truly requires a certain type/race. Example...Ragtime. </p>

<p>In terms of high school, I'd like to think that type is figured in way less than in professional theater. I don't know what the situation is at your school but my belief is that high school would go more by talent than type/looks/race. </p>

<p>While this is NOTHING the same...but giving you one personal example regarding how "looks" figure in at different levels....my daughter was seen five times for the National Tour of Annie several years ago. First she was a finalist for an orphan. Subsequently, for replacements, she was called back in twice for the role of Annie and was down to the final three. The two others were blonds. My D has brown hair and does not have a fair complexion, but more "olive/tan". The role went to a blond and the casting director who also was a producer told my D a reason which was that they felt she would not look as good as a red head due to her complexion and I felt this was a GREAT experience for my D to learn that at the high levels of professional theater, looks/type come into play but not so much in nonprofessional theater work. That same year, my D went on to play Annie in a local theater which cast solely by talent as the talent pool is not the same as in NYC and so her complexion was a NON issue. I'd like to think that is the case at your school or community. It is becoming more color blind on Broadway now too, unless a role really calls for a type in order for the role to make sense in the story. </p>

<p>Susan</p>

3

<p>I totally know what you are going through. My high school (predominantly white) does "type-casting" and it really irritates me, because even the directors and sponsers told me that I was a wonderful actress and that I am better than some of the people that are cast on a regular basis, but I just wasn't the "type" , and then they say in their real perky way..''there is always the next play". I know this happens in the real world, but how am I supposed to build up a resume if I never get any parts, because of how I look?? So I do community theatre and am in a musical theatre/dance company, and I have to drive 40 miles back and forth to get to rehearsals. I just hope that colleges will see my dedication and place more weight on my monologues and interviews, raher than penalizing me for not having a million plays on my resume. </p>

<p>Also, there are plays and musicals that will turn the blind eye to race, for example "Carmen", but for a musical like "Aida" (for the role of the main character) or "Ragtime", they will will "type-cast".</p>

4

<p>I didn't see that I cross posted with soozievt..</p>

5

<p>once again, susan provides an incredible amount of reliable info, but heres my take on the subject</p>

<p>from a students standpoint, when i was at nyu, i saw a plethora of people from all different backgrounds (this is the student body, not the auditionees)...all the students i talked to seemed really diverse, and really awesome to speak with. i didnt see as much diversity for theater at michigan, but i didnt see many students</p>

<p>so basically, from what ive seen you should be ok</p>

<p>chris</p>

6

<p>The siren....while I was predominantly talking about race before......and color blind casting....</p>

<p>Let me speak to "type" which is what you brought up.....actually in theater, particularly as you move past high school and such....type DOES come into play. It is part of casting, no doubt about that. You must know your type. Part of casting is talent but when they are down to enough talented people who are capable of playing the part talent wise, they are going to cast by type. It is not like type over talent but you must have talent and be the right type for a part. I'm not talking race now. I'm talking how you fit a role. For instance, my D knows her type. She'd be the first to tell you she'd never play Clara in Light in the Piazza, not her type. She won't be cast as Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls but would be more of an Adelaide. She was Anita in West Side Story but would never be considered for Maria. She was Ado Annie in Oklahoma and the director would not see her as a Laurie. </p>

<p>You need to know your type when choosing audition material and also when going for parts in casting. Certain actors fit certain roles. It is what it is. However, in most shows, that can include those of any race, if race is not germaine to the script. But some people are ingenues, some are character actors, some are comedic, some are more serious types, some have physical attributes that may or may not work in a role.</p>

<p>Looks can play a part as to who looks right with whom. That came into play in a big way once when my D was auditioning for Sound of Music. An anecdote from the producer of a big production of that show in our state mentioned that of the 200 kids who auditioned, the casting team felt my D had been the best one that they had seen and they were trying to find a way to cast her in the show, but she was 13 and was originally up for Louisa but the 16 year olds they had as finalist for Liesl were petite and similar in height to my 13 year old D who was about 5'2" at the time and so that did not look right. At the last minute, they had my D read for Liesl, even though she was just 13, but she really did not look older than the Louisa they had left. They simply could not use her with who they had in the other roles. Again, I thought this was a great experience for my D to have as it was the first time in our region she was not cast and it was a chance to truly learn that looks DO play a role in casting. She was told for the National Tour of SOM, which she also auditioned for, that she looked too Jewish to be a Von Trapp :D. </p>

<p>This is what to expect in this field. You must have talent but you still may not be cast because "fit" for the role in terms of looks/type will come into the casting decision. It is less common in high school casting but certainly common as you move up the "chain". Again, I'm talking looks/type, more than race now. Race, as I said, has become more color blind in professional theater. </p>

<p>Susan</p>

7

<p>Interesting story about race in casting...</p>

<p>I just responded to a post on the audition song thread about using the song "Endless Night" - and it made me think about a good friend who is an amazing singer/actor with 2 Broadway credits and 2 major tours at the age of 24 - and who IS "ethnic," but not African-American. For his college conservatory's senior showcase, he sang "Endless Night," and he ROCKED it and acted it heartbreakingly - I was lucky enough to get to see it. He got tremendous agent response (although it was hardly necessary, since he had already secured a Broadway job prior to graduation!) - but he has never been seen for the role of Simba, because although he is right in every other way (perfect voice, handsomely boyish looks, boyish energy, etc.), Disney is not yet ready to cast non-African Americans in any of the major LION KING roles (except Scar, of course). Conventional wisdom is that this will happen eventually, with other ethnicities being included, especially when the show's rights are released to regional theatres - but not yet.</p>

8

<p>I would not say that Broadway is color blind. It maybe moving that way slowly but as a parent of an AA, there are just many, many roles that are not applicable. Race is sometimes specificied in calls for roles, when there is NO reason that the part could not be any race- although soe claim it is historical accuracy. In shows like SOM mentioned above, I have not seen casts that the family is of mixed races, getting the family "look" is important. This does happen regionally and thankfully my D's school does not type cast unless it is essential to the story line. This includes having mixed race families in shows such as Suessical.</p>

<p>As for Lion King - yes they want AA's for the parts. But even there, there are shades of color that come into play. Talk is that Simba should have a lighter complexion. Where as at a call back for Hairspray, (we were told by other actors in the call back room) Seaweed and Little Inez should be dark complexioned - thus the actor leaving the role of Simba in LK was too fair for Seaweed. Now how much of this is true and how much is just talk between actors, I don't know. We heard this "gossip" during call backs for the respective shows.</p>

9

<p>What you are relating is along the lines of what I was trying to say. SOME roles/shows, the race of the character is more germaine to the script. In Hairspray, Seaweed and Inez need to be African American. So, in those instances, like I was also saying for Ragtime, casting is not color blind. But in other shows/roles, it is becoming more color blind in professional theater than in the past. </p>

<p>My daughter had the good fortune to perform for a few years with a wonderful actress who is African American, and who has been in several Broadway shows. I have read that she was in a professional production of My Fair Lady since then and she played Eliza Doolittle. Just one example. Got great reviews. </p>

<p>Susan</p>

10

<p>Susan,</p>

<p>How neat that your d was auditioning for the national tour of Annie, I wonder if it was the same tour my d was up for? Her audition was in 1998 in nyc. She was eventually called back the next month for an orpan spot, and will never forgive me for not calling her manager back right away with the answer! When I finally did the next day, the spot had been filled and I got yelled at for stalling so long, and not jumping on it right away! Believe me, if you had heard the horror stories I did at the audition, about families being broken up, divorces, exhausted girls, etc, maybe you would have hesitated too. I look back at it and think it was probably a blessing in disguise!
Eileen</p>

11

<p>hey, im a junior in highschool and im african american. i go to a prodominantly [sp?]"white" school and i got abigail in the crucible last fall, go figure?</p>

12

<p>Though, as many people have said, some certain roles require certain complexions/ethnicities, there are certain roles that are very flexible. Also, I remember reading a long while back about Wicked tour auditions. Some role descriptions read "any ethnicity," but they specifically asked that Glinda be Caucasian- I assume because of the "blonde" line in "What is This Feeling?", they thought it would look awkward to have an African-American.</p>

<p>I'm doing "The Boys From Syracuse" at my school, where they try to cast solely on talent. One Antipholous has black hair, a dark complexion, is about 5'8", and "curvy", you might say. The other is at least 6 feet tall, very pale, has long brown hair, and is very thin. </p>

<p>I'm still not sure how we're going to work that one out...along with the fact our Dromios have about a foot difference in height.</p>

<p>Earlier this year, my school presented a play where it required one actress to be black. The part went to a theatre-experienced senior- that was probably a bit pre-cast. But when the script called for someone to look half-Italian and half-Asian, the director chose a brand new junior of Indian descent who had never done a play before. </p>

<p>Take from that what you will...</p>

13

<p>Eileen..I hear ya on the whole Annie tour thing. I'm trying to recall the year and sequence (my mind must be going due to age and my D is out of town to help here) but I think it was in 1999, also in NYC. I recall my D going five times for this. I recall the initial open call, all day long, met lots of people that day. I recall a callback down to the finalists and being seen by Martin Charnin...I think she was up for Tessie then. That ended with being told she was one of two kids on some "hot list" for the future. I recall some other time in the summer when she had to go in again, this may have been for Annie replacement this time but she was away at theater camp and I was out of the country!! She was taken into the city by the camp that time. I was in touch with producers given the situation and believe me, in pins and needles in a far off place wondering what was going on (she was ten). Another time she was to go into the city from camp for a callback for Jane Eyre (Broadway) and they were going to take her in but at the last minute my D called home and said, "mom, will you take me?" as it was something she would normally do with me and this was a Broadway callback, not anything a kid from VT typically does! (by the way, this callback fits into the discussion because after that entire callback group, the directors decided to start entirely over with casting the kids saying they wanted to go "shorter"....and so I feel these experiences were great exposure to what casting is like at that level, NOTHING like at home where they normally just go mostly by talent, not inches and such!)</p>

<p>Then that fall, I recall hearing from the Annie tour again, for the role of Annie as the replacement. Back to NYC again (as if it were around the corner!...it's approx. 12 hours roundtrip in one day). That was the time when they called up kids from this so called "hot list" from the past auditions, finalists I guess...but then also brought in open call kids. In the end, they were back down to the final three from the earlier hot list. That was the time they said it came down to her and two blond girls and when she was told her complexion would not be right with red hair, in their view. I thought the producer was very good talking to a child and explaining she felt she would likely get to play Annie locally at some point and guess what, the following year, she did. And ya know, I felt EXACTLY like you did. My D wanted to audition in NYC and while we always supported her goals (and still do), it was with mixed feelings because it would challenge our lives in a big way and we told her I would NOT go on a tour or live in NYC with her but she'd have to have a chaperone, and I'd visit (she did not care, believe me...is not the homesick type), as we had another daughter and we are married too. I was so relieved it never came to that.</p>

<p>The way I see it, it was a win win situation because it allowed her to experience auditions and many callbacks at a higher level, Broadway/tours, etc. but we didn't have to DO the shows, LOL. It allowed her to see how she fared in a much stronger talent pool. It also is valuable to gain audition experience and I can truthfully say my D is not intimidated by auditions and being in front of a panel of judges and so forth. The experience of the auditions were great and then, we got to go HOME! Yay! (for me). We did not do this too often because we live too far away and she was ALWAYS involved in shows and many activities at home and so those were commitments we could not break midstream and besides that was her normal life (important too). </p>

<p>It turned out that she was cast in her first NYC agent submitted audition ever, and that job was ideal...she did it for three years, twice per year approximately, which involved just a long weekend in various cities around the country, and a rehearsal in NYC each time. She never had to give up a thing at home, even shows she was in and I just got to go with her for those periodic long weekends a couple times per year to do a professional job and yep, go home to regular life and her ongoing shows/activities/school. It was a taste of something on a big scale but not much of a commitment like Broadway or a tour would be. It was a neat experience for a kid from a tiny village and she'd have done it for free but was paid no less. So, like you, I am truly thankful she did NOT go on the Annie tour and frankly, it was the nonequity tour and the conditions of that tour were not great.....constantly in the bus as they only performed one or two shows per stop, making it harder for a parent to visit. I do know kids who had done the Equity tour but at the time of that tour, I had never taken my child to NYC for an audition and never would have dreamt to do so. She came up with this idea to audition in NYC after exposure to theater kids at her camp. So, she missed the whole set of Broadway and tour productions of Annie that were the Equity ones which may be the one YOUR D tried out for. My daughter has played Molly and Annie but in our state and for me, this really was better for our (and her) lives. Hopefully some day she can do that stuff for real! (well, not play Annie, of course) :D</p>

14

<p>I don't want to belabor my perception of this. I will acknowledge that it is only MY perception and others will certainly have different - but my feeling is broadway has a long way to go to really consider that there is color blind casting. Singular instances do not make a trend and by color blind casting I mean casting when family groups (lead families) are not necessarily all the same race, ala Disney's movie Cinderella. I do know, from being at NYC auditions, that there are many more caucasians auditioning than minorities, so maybe it is just a reflection of percentages. But we were also asked when D auditioned for "A little Princess" why bother they were looking for blonds (not specified in the call). Now when we read calls if they do not say specifically that race is open or specify a race for a part, we assume they are casting white. And If you a look through equity's casting call this makes for many, many more parts for whites than minorities.</p>

<p>On the flip side, I also realize that we are all fighting for very few spots with lots of competition for everyone. I will also openly to say we will use D's race to our advantage when she is applying for colleges/scholarships (and if anyone can tell us if this will give her an advantage in MT programs we will not fight it.) Around here an honor roll AA, graduating from an urban public will get scholarships.
In my opinion, race is still a huge factor in much of our children's lives(someday maybe not) and I mean all of their futures not just minorities, and we just try to figure how it can be used productively and to not destructively.</p>

15

<p>Keeping calm, I think what you write is quite true. It seems to be moving in a positive direction so there is hope. There is more nontraditional casting than there used to be, anyway. But as in everything, not just theater casting, the country has a ways to go.</p>