The politics of Casting by Alicia Morgan https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0 en-us 2021-11-12 13:57:06 UTC 2021-11-13 12:48:09 UTC hello@padlet.com Traditionally, theatrical spaces have lacked in diversity emoseiasibey https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1887663802
  • A four year study published in 1989 by the Actors Equity Association found that 90% of professional American theatre companies have all white casts.
  • Harry Newman went on to create the Actors' Equity Association, which strived to improve diversity in front of and behind the camera
  • #PullUpOrShutUp circulated last year calling for more non-white casting in theatre productions in the UK.
  • According to the National Theatre, the company has surpassed its 25% non-white actor target since 2016 (with the latest figure being 35% for 2019-2020).
  • The casting process in itself is full of politics, and a variety of considerations must be made:
    • "Quantity rather than quality of nonwhite representation took the forefront in lobbying efforts, with the tacit assumption that improving the former would improve the latter”.
    • ]]>     2021-11-13 00:30:30 UTC https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1887663802     The Four Types of Non-Traditional Casting emoseiasibey https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1887665989
  • Societal Casting: Ethnic, female or disabled actors are cast in roles they perform in society as a whole.
  • Cross-Cultural Casting: The entire world of a play is translated to a different cultural setting.
  • Conceptual Casting: An ethnic, female or disabled actor is cast in a role to give a play greater resonance.
  • Blind Casting: All actors are cast without regard to their race, ethnicity, gender or physical capability.

    • ]]>     2021-11-13 00:33:34 UTC https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1887665989     A Seminal Example of Cross-Cultural Casting: Voodoo Macbeth emoseiasibey https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1887679362
  • Adapted by Orson Welles in 1936, Welles transposed Macbeth's Scottish setting to Haiti with an all Black cast.
  • Pushed by the Federal Theatre Project, which gave African-American actors substantial roles outside the racially stereotypical work they would usually find.
  • During rehearsal, the production faced criticism from both Black and white communities who thought the adaption would make a mockery of African spiritual systems and taint the high brow nature of Shakespeare's work respectively.
  • The play was an immense success; after a 10,000 strong audience on its opening night, Voodoo Macbeth ran for 10 weeks in the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem before touring the U.S to sold out, diverse crowds.
    • ]]>     2021-11-13 00:51:50 UTC https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1887679362     Current Contention: Are Black British actors stealing African American roles? emoseiasibey https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1887681421 2021-11-13 00:54:31 UTC https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1887681421 The Downfalls of Non-Traditional Casting emoseiasibey https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1887698621
  • Josephine Lee theorises that non-white actors can become caught up as "racial actors" with limitations being placed on their individual interpretations of texts if they fail to enact the racialised expectations of them.
  • Angela Pao observes that Asians playing in established American canons via colourblind casting are set up to disappoint critics due to the silent notion that Americanness = whiteness. Because of this cross cultural casting tends to better serve majority casts of colour. (This case additionally ties into the idea of the perpetual foreigner)
  • Cross cultural casting is not a panacea however as stereotypical demands can be made of an adaption and/or its cast's performances.
    • ]]>     2021-11-13 01:16:57 UTC https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1887698621     https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/12/9/unpop-opinion-color-blind-casting/ ed19am2 https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1888135527 2021-11-13 11:52:51 UTC https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1888135527 Neutrality of the white Body ed19am2 https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1888143805 The white body is considered a neutral canvas on which to paint any character. It represents 'a human', a 'normal person'. The hegemonic western standards creates this ideal that is so engrained into the mentality of western audiences. 
    In a society that is built on colonisation, to be black is to be political. To have Afro-Caribbean hair, black features, to simply exist is a protest. 
    As a result, black bodies are not seen as canvases on which you can simply put on a character. 
    A black actor and a white actor simply from skin colour, play different roles. 

    • When Asian American actors assumed that their performing bod­ies were as neutrally available to the texts as white actors’, they disappointed critics wedded to the racialized logic of American society 
    ]]>     2021-11-13 12:05:08 UTC https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1888143805     The Downfalls of Non-Traditional Casting 2 ed19am2 https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1888150106
  • White theaters and white texts are affirmed as the pinnacle of artistic opportunity in practices that assume that escaping non-­ whiteness is the true task of colour-blind social progress
  • It doesn't call for diversity in every aspect of theatre. We don't just need diverse casting, we need more people of colour writing scripts, producing, directing, managing etc. Actors wouldn't have to fight for white roles if there were enough POC ones.

    • ]]>     2021-11-13 12:14:36 UTC https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1888150106     ed19am2 https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1888156110 https://watermark.silverchair.com/tph_2016_38_1_89.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAAswwggLIBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggK5MIICtQIBADCCAq4GCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMf70jQmWhkqmOV2vlAgEQgIICf6y0hOvLRzDbQjHbHEvi2rIWj_4uRuGNWae4cb1g7yHiWcjrAwL9jwBC_OMYriS44EX8hrw3GBvRb-Lbg5RvUpTU1S69VpuOHPuZ5y-8lIcHPfAnwwA_Rjnskpywt4U-d8OdSxisRghGZ-r2EKgE9EqKrOmboCa0KIXV3xkOTl2C1fDQLct9OhViXKr87yJbEbJlMzGHG7OS_olNrBaeVMsyL9l2bTCrxdsvJXdq7HH3lFq-hpff0dhJCenUPmxsyX_L1t4bna9KZAOFt79lZ5frKRiHgiDYYcmu8uwAVbhxXBV7vgttlfne2fsL3pme4FrBouZ9FpkMFKGDDhakD6W17_rFRRRh4hn_coZbVYuT6SYmwDHj3BryEGBAienG8wwWBeTGB6JSzHoOjbms_iYeiVSWIPM1Xo_941zFasgp-B-h6-XdC9VHflq_jCyk74G-e-2AVVRuMzoCHz4q0GM78BX25QwOsec7jcIoyH9czWXMeRKg1CeTYxWqnY5tA2xP0f8KMdmbvpw7V5DrKeU28zcfSqaRn1Ui6QlHgYofJVuG8VPs6vcbXYp7ho5CokPUFkZPf3h-Y577ip-K4FHI3uEGycOolYOXWxKHAXajt7CfptyYaZXQCNUKDWppvt3zDpGZ0VUaNG3eLeTqRUUHE_sMl_jUP7bYH7djZxVIXGx-NA70lee4IsVtIqUFkqMca7Q7IAiexbHnxf7YS1EyVtJeoP_IVCwlHsdVPYG7RMC7IEGjkCCaS-7hIvgak33DPd83_E3VOc4l3ghohUf6y3OUXr75KIpE69OKtp9s9xDDaKJ1V__eQomulVUy5jKLYScnzZoOJQyKbvyYwg]]> 2021-11-13 12:22:59 UTC https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1888156110 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20c8hTTMrj0 ed19am2 https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1888168008 2021-11-13 12:38:48 UTC https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1888168008 https://metro.co.uk/2020/06/27/why-white-voice-actors-are-quitting-non-white-roles-12910375/ ed19am2 https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1888173639 2021-11-13 12:46:19 UTC https://padlet.com/aliciamorgangel/9za7p07vzshsy7s0/wish/1888173639