That Tall Blonde at the Callback — White Actors, We Need to Start Declining Roles
I’m going to wade all the way into the deep end of the pool today. But the times demand it. I’ve read dozens of amazing social media posts from BIPOC friends over the last two weeks, sharing their experiences in our local community theaters. I’m presuming you have as well. Their experiences cannot be ignored or minimized. I’m actually really optimistic that our community is listening and will make real changes once theaters physically re-open. I’ve seen pledges to do just that from people in positions of power at various local theaters. We need to continue to hear and understand the experiences of those here in the Bay Area and the broader community.
I recommending reading this blog post from local actor, director, choreographer and educator AeJay Antonis Marquis about his experiences. I also recommend this post from Broadway performer Heathcliff Saunders. And if you are also on a theatre board or a member of artistic staff, theatre artist Anna Ashford Kelley Smith has listed several important ideas/steps all theaters should be examining closely. Last, but not least, there is a Google doc circulating where anyone can anonymously share their stories of racism or microaggressions involving area theaters/critics. If you are involved in local theater in any capacity, you must read it. Not to gossip or shame anyone, but to open our eyes to the pervasiveness of the problem.
I wasn’t sure if I had more to contribute. Like Anna, I’m a white woman. I’m not on any theater boards. I’m not behind the casting desk. So it’s easy to think it’s someone else’s job to fix these problems, particularly when it comes to casting. But there was a clear pattern to me, in reading the Google doc particularly, that we continue to have an epidemic of role whitewashing which results in an unwelcoming environment for BIPOC. We may not be doing the casting, but it was clear to me how I (and many others) can help. White people, we have to start declining roles.
No one wants to limit their own opportunities. We all have our bucket lists of roles. We all fight tooth and nail for the few opportunities that are out there. And they are such BEAUTIFUL roles! I fully admit that my own list has included roles like Eva Perón and Mama Morton. I’ve auditioned for both these roles (granted, my Eva callback was almost 20 years ago and back then EVERYONE called back for Eva was white and blonde; sad). We look at these amazing roles and justify it to ourselves. “…I look like her though”, “…but if they can’t find someone who fits it better” or “…if I really sing it the best of those who audition”, then who are we to say no? The director WANTS US! But no more. These roles are not meant for us. Every time we audition, we need to think about the characters and the story FIRST and determine whether or not it is acceptable to throw your hat into the ring. Every audition will ask you which roles you will accept. BE VERY SPECIFIC when you respond.
So let’s talk about some examples. Some roles — let’s say Deloris in Sister Act or Kei in Allegiance — would be just beyond ridiculous for me, or any white woman, to ever consider because it would do a total disservice to the story. If it’s “beyond ridiculous”, you do not audition for this role. It is not meant for you. Almost all of us already do this. But it should ALSO be just as ridiculous to audition for commonly whitewashed roles like Eva Perón, Maria in West Side Story, The King in The King and I, Lady Thiang, Bloody Mary in South Pacific, or the urchins in Little Shop of Horrors. These roles are written as explicitly non-white, but have OFTEN been played by white actors (because of systemic white supremacy, NOT scarcity of BIPOC talent, by the way). In the Bay Area, with the diverse community of actors we have, this should ALWAYS be a situation where you pass.
“But it’s my dream to play Maria,” you say. “I’m Italian, but I can totally look Puerto Rican! And what if they don’t have other good choices that ARE the ‘right ethnicity’? It will probably go to some OTHER white person if I don’t take it!” That may be so, but if enough of us refuse maybe we can have a hand in changing things. Also, to accept these roles now is now highly likely to bring YOU negative attention and hurt. You will be remembered as the Scarlett Johansson of Bay Area Theatre, and not in a good way. But the hurt you will feel, being called out, is minor compared to the hurt to communities of color feel when they see themselves erased from the story. We have to stand up and not participate in something we KNOW is wrong. However painful the choice. And then go sing “Tonight” or “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” at your next cabaret performance, where it’s more appropriate.
What about other roles? Perhaps where ethnicity is not explicit, but places we are “used” to seeing a particular ethnicity? For example, Sebastian in The Little Mermaid. He is supposed to be a crab, not even a person, or Mama Morton from Chicago, which I mentioned above. Mama Morton has been cast a variety of ways on Broadway with actors of every shade, but Queen Latifah slayed the role in the movie. Do you take a shot? Perhaps yes, perhaps no. What I would plan to do, is take a close look at the REST of the show and the talent at the callback. Maybe I could shoot for Mama Morton, because they have cast a Black Velma and an Asian Billy Flynn? Unfortunately, most places will NOT share the cast list until it is complete, and you must accept or decline without knowing who is cast around you. But in cases like these, I think it is important that we now ask so that we can make informed decisions about whether we feel it is appropriate to accept.
With pretty much ANY role out there, regardless of ethnicity, we CAN usually see who we are up against in a callback. What if there is an excellent, and more diverse, choice at the callback you think SHOULD be awarded the role, but instead you got the call? What can we/should we do? We can only speculate why, and it’s been ingrained in us NOT to ask why certain casting decisions were made, because a director never owes an actor justification for the decision (there is always someone disappointed, and justifying every decision for those who lost out IS exhausting and shouldn’t be normal procedure). It could be that the person turned it down or had too many conflicts. Should this situation arise for me in the future, here’s what I think I can do. Like with my Mama Morton example, I can ask about the diversity of the overall cast. I can ask if the director is willing to share why the decision went in my favor, and whether it is likely that the role WOULD be cast more diversely if I stepped aside. And if the responses tell me that I’m the only thing standing between a more diverse cast for this show, I hope I have the guts to turn it down.
What happens when you discover after accepting a role that you are suddenly a member of an all-white or near all-white cast here in our diverse Bay Area? Lack of diversity in casting, here in the Bay Area, is absolutely now grounds to drop the show. I would do it as respectfully and early as I can, but I will also make it clear WHY I am dropping. There will be dilemmas here, too. Is one non-white face in the ensemble enough to consider the show diverse? What if it’s a small cast? HOW MANY roles need to be BIPOC? These are questions we need to ask ourselves and make our own judgement calls. But we need to continue to put pressure on theaters and artistic teams that very well may otherwise continue with the status quo.
Is this hard to swallow? Trust me, there are a lot of very special shows that I’ve done that I was thrilled to be a part of, that had pretty bad track records and very few diverse faces, especially in the lead roles. It’s SO hard to miss an opportunity, I absolutely get it. And if it’s your big break and you rarely get offers, I get it even more. But if you are someone who can CHOOSE your opportunities, we all need to really examine where we lend our talent and donate our time.
I’ll share a story about an actor friend who is one of the most in-demand actors in the area. He is sometimes asked about his interest in female-presenting roles (as he has done several roles in drag). But he told me that when he is approached, he often asks if there will ALSO be a traditionally male role that will be cast with a female-presenting actor (either as a “pants” role or a gender swap if the story allows). This way he isn’t contributing to fewer opportunities for women (since we all know there are fewer women’s roles available, stiffer competition, and they dwindle even further for older women and THOSE are exactly the roles our society thinks is funny to see in drag). It’s a bold stance since there are so few opportunities for drag roles in the first place, but one he takes because he has PLENTY of male-presenting role opportunities as well. I so admire his stance!
And while we are at it, let’s all vote with our wallets, too. Don’t buy a ticket for a show where you feel there isn’t adequate representation. I don’t want to see shows with all-white casts. And I don’t want to support theaters that think that is still okay to cast that way. Buy MORE tickets for shows that feature BIPOC in leading roles. Most actors go see shows their friends are in. If most of your friends are white, this may mean (to use 42nd Street Moon’s upcoming season as an example) that you’ve got Mame on your radar, but perhaps not The Scottsboro Boys. Let’s change that. And not just for “traditionally” cast shows either. Hear that someone cast a Black Mary Poppins? Or a Latina Dolly Levi? Support and seek out those shows, too. So far we have pretty much only had Berkeley Playhouse as a choice to see shows consistently cast this way — I’m looking forward to seeing MORE theaters make this commonplace.
Finally, there is an elephant in the room for many of you as you read this. The fear that you, as a white person, will be cast less often. Yes, this may happen. But I think our community could stand to “spread” out the opportunities a bit — especially those leads. It may be that you have had more than your fair share of opportunities. And if we do a show less here and there, hopefully we’ll do it with a smile. And, for goodness sakes, we will NOT grumble that if it was up to “talent” we’d have more opportunities. That kind of nonsense is just rude and ugly.
Now if we could just get back IN the theater…we have SO MUCH TO DO!
P.S. I normally write my blog entries in an hour or two. This was such an important topic, that I took my time with it over a number of days. I did not, however, ask for anyone else to edit or weigh in with their thoughts, as I don’t usually have this as a step in my process either, and now seemed like a particularly bad time to say “hey BIPOC I know you’ve got a lot going on, but can I ask for your emotional labor to look at my white lady in theatre blog and make sure I didn’t say something really stupid?” So if I have said something stupid, let me know. I will say, “thank you for letting me know, and I will do better in the future.”
