In the greatest city in the world....
April 8, 2016 9:40 AM Subscribe
"The statistics tell us that changing the way we think of race and ethnicity in the theater will not be easy. Of Equity’s 50,823 active members, 68% identify themselves as Caucasian." -- Actors' Equity President Kate Shindle, on the Hamilton casting debacle, and the real problem of diversity in theatre.
Watching A Brown 'Hamilton' With A White Audience
To Everyone STILL Upset About “Hamilton” Calling for “Non White” Performers…
Watching A Brown 'Hamilton' With A White Audience
To Everyone STILL Upset About “Hamilton” Calling for “Non White” Performers…
68% identify themselves as Caucasian, which is interesting but not for the reason the author implies. America is about 77% white - making Equity's membership more diverse than the population at large, not less.
posted by 1adam12 at 9:46 AM on April 8, 2016 [10 favorites]
posted by 1adam12 at 9:46 AM on April 8, 2016 [10 favorites]
Actor's Equity is almost exclusively an urban union, and its largest membership comes from big cities -- they are almost unheard of in smaller American cities, like Omaha, where I live and can count the number of Equity actors on one hand. So while the demographics of America as a whole might be 70 percent white, that doesn't accurately reflect the demographic of Actor's Equity. In fact, their biggest presence is New York City (33 percent white), Los Angeles (42 percent white), and Chicago (45 percent white).
posted by maxsparber at 9:54 AM on April 8, 2016 [21 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 9:54 AM on April 8, 2016 [21 favorites]
I'm confused. Is she saying that 68% is too high? Because that number seems to reflect the racial demographics of the US as a whole where 70% of the population is listed as "white".
posted by beerperson at 9:57 AM on April 8, 2016 [27 favorites]
People ask me sometimes, when — when do you think it will it be enough? When will there be enough women on the court? And my answer is when there are nine.Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
posted by beerperson at 9:57 AM on April 8, 2016 [27 favorites]
the incredible constance wu speaking on the casting thing : Hey white ppl complaining abt #Hamilton cry me a fucking river;POC feel this every day of our lives & u have to feel it once? Boo fuckin hoo
posted by nadawi at 10:00 AM on April 8, 2016 [20 favorites]
posted by nadawi at 10:00 AM on April 8, 2016 [20 favorites]
Yeah that particular stat seems like the wrong one to highlight here. The fact that 80+ percent of the Broadway audience is white is more meaningful, and could be meaningfully translated into, say, an effort to expand theatre and arts programs in schools with mostly non-white student bodies. and some stats about the race of people who get cast as leads might reflect some institutional bias.
posted by bracems at 10:04 AM on April 8, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by bracems at 10:04 AM on April 8, 2016 [4 favorites]
i like this from the first link :
In 2014, American Theatre magazine reported that over a six-year period, only four playwrights of color were featured on the publication’s annual lists of the top 10 most-produced playwrights. If we are going to increase diversity among performers, we also have to produce more plays and musicals that tell the stories of traditionally underrepresented communities. This also applies to stories by and about women, people with disabilities, and a host of other descriptors that go far beyond skin color.posted by nadawi at 10:10 AM on April 8, 2016 [4 favorites]
This is a compelling argument, but then again, nearly half a million folks book flights and hotels and tickets for EssenceFest in New Orleans each year. Then there's the mad rush a few weeks back for tickets for Beyoncé's surprise tour. That is to say, there's a whole lot of pricey entertainment that people of color are willing to drop serious dough on, but Broadway shows like Hamilton don't seem to rate. Money matters, of course, but it's not the whole story.
That's because Hamilton's non-white cast is the exception, rather than the rule, on Broadway. Also, the people who picked EssenceFest over Hamilton may have only been able to afford one splurge - and they'd already picked EssenceFest before they heard about Hamilton, so that's it for them.
The fact that the show is also sold out until the end of the next presidential administration is probably affecting things too.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:15 AM on April 8, 2016 [5 favorites]
That's because Hamilton's non-white cast is the exception, rather than the rule, on Broadway. Also, the people who picked EssenceFest over Hamilton may have only been able to afford one splurge - and they'd already picked EssenceFest before they heard about Hamilton, so that's it for them.
The fact that the show is also sold out until the end of the next presidential administration is probably affecting things too.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:15 AM on April 8, 2016 [5 favorites]
yeah, the paragraph after that sorta goes into the reasons which make a lot of sense to me.
When it comes to race and Broadway audiences, a big part of the story seems to be acculturation. Theater has a long history of segregated seating and plays chock full of racist caricatures that meant black folks, in particular, never warmed to Broadway. "Theatergoing on Broadway is supported by families who collected programs going back 50 or 80 years," James Hatch, the co-author of A History of African American Theatre, told WNYC in 2012. "Blacks did not have that tradition, and apparently still don't."posted by nadawi at 10:18 AM on April 8, 2016
That plays out today in the important, subtle social cues about who belongs. It's hard enough getting comfortable in a social space when you're unfamiliar with its rules and conventions. It's even harder when you're aware of how much you stand out. At Broadway shows like Hamilton, you get the honor of having that experience for a few hundred dollars. Even as Hamilton exceeded my impossibly high expectations, I felt a vague unease sitting there that night, like I was at a hip-hop show where my favorite group was performing, but I might get shushed for rapping along too loudly
Yeah, these statistics don't seem horrible to me. Honestly don't know what the benchmark should really be though. Probably could be higher given that most plays are produced in more diverse places, but certainly better than some indistries.
I would be interested to know more specfic racial breakdown, ie by number of Asian americans, African americans, etc. I could definitely imagine some groups being less represented than others.
posted by mosschief at 10:19 AM on April 8, 2016
I would be interested to know more specfic racial breakdown, ie by number of Asian americans, African americans, etc. I could definitely imagine some groups being less represented than others.
posted by mosschief at 10:19 AM on April 8, 2016
The timing of this article seems to be kismet: I'm sitting at my tech table, in the Music Box Theatre on 45th street watching the cast of Shuffle Along rehearse onstage (incidentally, across the alley is Hamilton).
While 45th street right now is sort of an amazing place; out of the five theatres on the block three of them feature (almost) all black casts (we have one token white guy in the show): Shuffle Along, Color Purple, and Eclipsed; the problem really shows when you look from the stage out to the house and sitting at the tech tables you see almost exclusively white faces. We still have a long way to go with diversity in the arts, and despite the semantic issues with the Hamilton casting call, I think it has started an excellent dialog for the acting side of things, now we just have to work on getting it into the technical side of the things.
To give an example: in NYC there are roughly 200 people who make a living doing sound-for-theatre, and we all sort of know each other. Out of those ~200 people there are, I think, four black people. Lucky for me, as a white kid from New Hampshire who has rarely been exposed to black culture, our mixer is black (and she prefers "black", not African American, we discussed this the other day) and has been really great to talk to about our different life experiences and has given me a fresh perspective on the city, and world that I live in.
TL;DR: I think that casting call was a step in the right direction, but we still have a LONG way to go as a society, even in the arts, especially on the technical side.
posted by aloiv2 at 10:19 AM on April 8, 2016 [13 favorites]
While 45th street right now is sort of an amazing place; out of the five theatres on the block three of them feature (almost) all black casts (we have one token white guy in the show): Shuffle Along, Color Purple, and Eclipsed; the problem really shows when you look from the stage out to the house and sitting at the tech tables you see almost exclusively white faces. We still have a long way to go with diversity in the arts, and despite the semantic issues with the Hamilton casting call, I think it has started an excellent dialog for the acting side of things, now we just have to work on getting it into the technical side of the things.
To give an example: in NYC there are roughly 200 people who make a living doing sound-for-theatre, and we all sort of know each other. Out of those ~200 people there are, I think, four black people. Lucky for me, as a white kid from New Hampshire who has rarely been exposed to black culture, our mixer is black (and she prefers "black", not African American, we discussed this the other day) and has been really great to talk to about our different life experiences and has given me a fresh perspective on the city, and world that I live in.
TL;DR: I think that casting call was a step in the right direction, but we still have a LONG way to go as a society, even in the arts, especially on the technical side.
posted by aloiv2 at 10:19 AM on April 8, 2016 [13 favorites]
Those AEA demographic numbers also don't account for the fact that many people check more than one box, which is apparently allowed, or check none at all. In 2013-14, 17.6% did not say what race they were.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:24 AM on April 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:24 AM on April 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
the incredible constance wu speaking on the casting thing : Hey white ppl complaining abt #Hamilton cry me a fucking river;POC feel this every day of our lives & u have to feel it once? Boo fuckin hoo
I already loved Constance Wu, but now that I know she curses like a sailor, I love her even more.
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:25 AM on April 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
I already loved Constance Wu, but now that I know she curses like a sailor, I love her even more.
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:25 AM on April 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
I already loved Constance Wu, but now that I know she curses like a sailor, I love her even more.
I know from personal experience that her cursing is multilingual.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:28 AM on April 8, 2016 [4 favorites]
I know from personal experience that her cursing is multilingual.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:28 AM on April 8, 2016 [4 favorites]
Addendum to my point: A link provided in the Variety article:
Broadway Diversity Behind The Scenes
posted by aloiv2 at 10:36 AM on April 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
Broadway Diversity Behind The Scenes
posted by aloiv2 at 10:36 AM on April 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
I might have done a bit of minor pearl-clutching when the adorable Hudson Yang retweeted Constance's Hamilton tweet; I had a moment of, "But you're a baby! Why are you tweeting stuff with profanity?"
Because 12-year-old boys know nothing about curse words...
posted by imnotasquirrel at 10:40 AM on April 8, 2016
Because 12-year-old boys know nothing about curse words...
posted by imnotasquirrel at 10:40 AM on April 8, 2016
People ask me sometimes, when — when do you think it will it be enough? When will there be enough women on the court? And my answer is when there are nine.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
I love me some Notorious RBG, and I realize she was speaking in hyperbole. But an all-or-nothing, it's-either-perfect-or-hateful, attitude doesn't help anyone.
President Barack Obama has moved strategically to transform the nation’s courts with a more diverse cast of judicial appointments, he said on Thursday.
“But at no point did I say: ‘Oh, you know what? I need a black lesbian from Skokie in that slot. Can you find me one?’ he joked. “I mean, that’s just not how I’ve approached it.”
Taking questions from students at the University of Chicago Law School during a town hall discussion about the Supreme Court and U.S. judicial system, Obama said he doesn’t look at diversity on courts as filling a particular slot with a demographic. Rather, he broadens the pool of potential nominees and gives every candidate a fair look.
... For the Supreme Court, Obama has nominated two women — Elena Kagan, who is Jewish, and Sonia Sotomayor, who is Latino. Last month, he nominated Merrick Garland to fill the current Supreme Court vacancy.
“Yeah, he's a white guy, but he's a really outstanding jurist,” Obama said. “I'm sorry. I mean, you know, I think that's important.”
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:44 AM on April 8, 2016 [4 favorites]
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
I love me some Notorious RBG, and I realize she was speaking in hyperbole. But an all-or-nothing, it's-either-perfect-or-hateful, attitude doesn't help anyone.
President Barack Obama has moved strategically to transform the nation’s courts with a more diverse cast of judicial appointments, he said on Thursday.
“But at no point did I say: ‘Oh, you know what? I need a black lesbian from Skokie in that slot. Can you find me one?’ he joked. “I mean, that’s just not how I’ve approached it.”
Taking questions from students at the University of Chicago Law School during a town hall discussion about the Supreme Court and U.S. judicial system, Obama said he doesn’t look at diversity on courts as filling a particular slot with a demographic. Rather, he broadens the pool of potential nominees and gives every candidate a fair look.
... For the Supreme Court, Obama has nominated two women — Elena Kagan, who is Jewish, and Sonia Sotomayor, who is Latino. Last month, he nominated Merrick Garland to fill the current Supreme Court vacancy.
“Yeah, he's a white guy, but he's a really outstanding jurist,” Obama said. “I'm sorry. I mean, you know, I think that's important.”
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:44 AM on April 8, 2016 [4 favorites]
it's-either-perfect-or-hateful, attitude
i don't see that expressed anywhere in this thread. seems like there's way more sentiment of 'isn't this enough?' which doesn't seem terribly helpful...
posted by nadawi at 10:49 AM on April 8, 2016 [10 favorites]
i don't see that expressed anywhere in this thread. seems like there's way more sentiment of 'isn't this enough?' which doesn't seem terribly helpful...
posted by nadawi at 10:49 AM on April 8, 2016 [10 favorites]
I love me some Notorious RBG, and I realize she was speaking in hyperbole.
I don't think she was?
posted by beerperson at 10:51 AM on April 8, 2016 [13 favorites]
I don't think she was?
posted by beerperson at 10:51 AM on April 8, 2016 [13 favorites]
I love me some Notorious RBG, and I realize she was speaking in hyperbole. But an all-or-nothing, it's-either-perfect-or-hateful, attitude doesn't help anyone.
BUT HER POINT is that it would never EVER be thought of as hyperbole or extreme or unusual or as an "all or nothing" stance IF SHE WAS REFERRING TO MEN. Why would it be weird to have nine male supreme court justices? Why would be unhelpful to expect that? It wouldn't be, because that's been the motherfucking default for 200 years.
posted by kate blank at 10:57 AM on April 8, 2016 [49 favorites]
BUT HER POINT is that it would never EVER be thought of as hyperbole or extreme or unusual or as an "all or nothing" stance IF SHE WAS REFERRING TO MEN. Why would it be weird to have nine male supreme court justices? Why would be unhelpful to expect that? It wouldn't be, because that's been the motherfucking default for 200 years.
posted by kate blank at 10:57 AM on April 8, 2016 [49 favorites]
The tragedy of Broadway is that it has become inaccessible. If you want to see Hamilton and pay less than $600, you've got to wait at least a year. Even for tickets that are available for shows, you're spending at least a couple hundred dollars for a night out. It's not like going out to dinner. It's a major expense. The situation seems bifurcated, as well: you want to see a musical, you're watching either Broadway or the community theater production.
I am not a fan of musicals, but I can't help but think they've gone from being a form of popular entertainment to becoming sort of a "special occasion" even akin to taking a vacation.
When it comes to race and Broadway audiences, a big part of the story seems to be acculturation
I think that's the least challenging. Learning and absorbing social norms in unfamiliar situations is part of the human condition. More important is the fact that a person may only go to a large-audience venue to see a musical just a couple times in their lives. It's not something that is generally affordable for people to make a habit of several times a year, like seeing a movie.
posted by deanc at 10:58 AM on April 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
I am not a fan of musicals, but I can't help but think they've gone from being a form of popular entertainment to becoming sort of a "special occasion" even akin to taking a vacation.
When it comes to race and Broadway audiences, a big part of the story seems to be acculturation
I think that's the least challenging. Learning and absorbing social norms in unfamiliar situations is part of the human condition. More important is the fact that a person may only go to a large-audience venue to see a musical just a couple times in their lives. It's not something that is generally affordable for people to make a habit of several times a year, like seeing a movie.
posted by deanc at 10:58 AM on April 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
...but that's the point he makes in the quote?
At Broadway shows like Hamilton, you get the honor of having that experience for a few hundred dollars
he's pointing out that it's not surprising that black people aren't lining up to feel uncomfortable at a few hundred bucks a pop - the price is part of why the acculturation is such a big deal.
i think it's great that hamilton has partnered to get 20k school kids in the seats. it's awesome that they do they lottery. i think it's also be great if other foundations stepped up or were created to get more economically diverse crowds to see big expensive art productions (and i put things like beyonce in this category).
posted by nadawi at 11:05 AM on April 8, 2016 [2 favorites]
At Broadway shows like Hamilton, you get the honor of having that experience for a few hundred dollars
he's pointing out that it's not surprising that black people aren't lining up to feel uncomfortable at a few hundred bucks a pop - the price is part of why the acculturation is such a big deal.
i think it's great that hamilton has partnered to get 20k school kids in the seats. it's awesome that they do they lottery. i think it's also be great if other foundations stepped up or were created to get more economically diverse crowds to see big expensive art productions (and i put things like beyonce in this category).
posted by nadawi at 11:05 AM on April 8, 2016 [2 favorites]
More important is the fact that a person may only go to a large-audience venue to see a musical just a couple times in their lives. It's not something that is generally affordable for people to make a habit of several times a year, like seeing a movie.
To see the biggest hit Broadway musical, maybe, though the fact remains that exposing kids of all backgrounds and economic levels to theater is important to continuing the survival of the medium if nothing else. But especially in New York City, there are a gazillion people doing theater of all sorts in venues ranging from leaky basements and drafty churches to large well-regarded off-Broadway institutions to Shakespeare in the Park. The vast majority don't cost hundreds of dollars a ticket. Most non-profit companies give discounts to students, seniors, and other groups, and some do a pay-as-you-wish night. Hamilton represents the tiny tip of a much larger theater community, and it's certainly possible to make a habit of engaging with that community routinely without being an investment banker.
posted by zachlipton at 11:09 AM on April 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
To see the biggest hit Broadway musical, maybe, though the fact remains that exposing kids of all backgrounds and economic levels to theater is important to continuing the survival of the medium if nothing else. But especially in New York City, there are a gazillion people doing theater of all sorts in venues ranging from leaky basements and drafty churches to large well-regarded off-Broadway institutions to Shakespeare in the Park. The vast majority don't cost hundreds of dollars a ticket. Most non-profit companies give discounts to students, seniors, and other groups, and some do a pay-as-you-wish night. Hamilton represents the tiny tip of a much larger theater community, and it's certainly possible to make a habit of engaging with that community routinely without being an investment banker.
posted by zachlipton at 11:09 AM on April 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
Why is that RBG quote a response to my question?
posted by I-baLL at 11:25 AM on April 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by I-baLL at 11:25 AM on April 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
Also, starting next Wednesday, thousands of low-income kids are going to see Hamilton for free. Which is baller.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:26 AM on April 8, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:26 AM on April 8, 2016 [7 favorites]
the real problem of diversity in theatre
I have no reason to doubt, and many reasons to believe that this is indeed a real problem, but the framing of this post doesn't make it especially easy to understand the problem.
posted by clockzero at 11:48 AM on April 8, 2016
I have no reason to doubt, and many reasons to believe that this is indeed a real problem, but the framing of this post doesn't make it especially easy to understand the problem.
posted by clockzero at 11:48 AM on April 8, 2016
if only there were an article linked where you could see an exploration of the problem mentioned
posted by beerperson at 11:52 AM on April 8, 2016 [12 favorites]
posted by beerperson at 11:52 AM on April 8, 2016 [12 favorites]
but the framing of this post doesn't make it especially easy to understand the problem.
I mean, it's my OP, but I think it does if you click the links. Hamilton advertising for non-white actors, not a problem like everyone made it out to be. Real diversity in theatre is a real problem.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:53 AM on April 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
I mean, it's my OP, but I think it does if you click the links. Hamilton advertising for non-white actors, not a problem like everyone made it out to be. Real diversity in theatre is a real problem.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:53 AM on April 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
Shuffle Along
*googles that*
Holy shit this looks cool.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:53 AM on April 8, 2016
*googles that*
Holy shit this looks cool.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:53 AM on April 8, 2016
Thank you, nadawi, that is helpful context.
if only there were an article linked where you could see an exploration of the problem mentioned
I read the linked articles, and while they all reflected the reality of broad race-based inequities that permeate many social contexts, I didn't get a strong sense of what THE problem being alluded to actually is. Again, I am ready to believe that there is a problem, but what is it? Is it that casts aren't very ethnically diverse? That not enough POC playwrights are having their work produced? Or that POC aren't enjoying theater in representative numbers? Or some combination of all of those, and more? I mean, surely saying that there is a problem with diversity in theater amounts to more than noting that theater isn't immune to broad social patterns of power and representation? I guess I was expecting that there would be something about this unique to theater, which might have been unreasonable.
I mean, it's my OP, but I think it does if you click the links. Hamilton advertising for non-white actors, not a problem like everyone made it out to be. Real diversity in theatre is a real problem.
I don't mean to be disrespectful or anything, and I think it's an interesting and important topic. I read the linked articles and it's hard to see how there's a problem with diversity in theater; it seems more like professional theater evinces mimesis of race-based inequalities in American society at large. Is there more to it, in the specific context of theater? What do the people who know the most about this first-hand think the problem is? That's what's unclear to me. And for what it's worth, it would still obviously be worth discussing even if it were "only" that.
posted by clockzero at 12:22 PM on April 8, 2016
if only there were an article linked where you could see an exploration of the problem mentioned
I read the linked articles, and while they all reflected the reality of broad race-based inequities that permeate many social contexts, I didn't get a strong sense of what THE problem being alluded to actually is. Again, I am ready to believe that there is a problem, but what is it? Is it that casts aren't very ethnically diverse? That not enough POC playwrights are having their work produced? Or that POC aren't enjoying theater in representative numbers? Or some combination of all of those, and more? I mean, surely saying that there is a problem with diversity in theater amounts to more than noting that theater isn't immune to broad social patterns of power and representation? I guess I was expecting that there would be something about this unique to theater, which might have been unreasonable.
I mean, it's my OP, but I think it does if you click the links. Hamilton advertising for non-white actors, not a problem like everyone made it out to be. Real diversity in theatre is a real problem.
I don't mean to be disrespectful or anything, and I think it's an interesting and important topic. I read the linked articles and it's hard to see how there's a problem with diversity in theater; it seems more like professional theater evinces mimesis of race-based inequalities in American society at large. Is there more to it, in the specific context of theater? What do the people who know the most about this first-hand think the problem is? That's what's unclear to me. And for what it's worth, it would still obviously be worth discussing even if it were "only" that.
posted by clockzero at 12:22 PM on April 8, 2016
I read the linked articles and it's hard to see how there's a problem with diversity in theater
OK, here was my thinking.
Hamilton posts a casting notice for non-white actors. All of the white internet freaks out, because hello, reverse racism. Basically anyone who has seen Hamilton correctly points out that it is cast very deliberately, and there's a reason there is only one white principal. So, huge internet fake problem for no reason. The real problem is that people are so friggin' racist and used to seeing white people on stage that they got upset when Hamilton advertised for non-white actors in the first place.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:28 PM on April 8, 2016 [2 favorites]
OK, here was my thinking.
Hamilton posts a casting notice for non-white actors. All of the white internet freaks out, because hello, reverse racism. Basically anyone who has seen Hamilton correctly points out that it is cast very deliberately, and there's a reason there is only one white principal. So, huge internet fake problem for no reason. The real problem is that people are so friggin' racist and used to seeing white people on stage that they got upset when Hamilton advertised for non-white actors in the first place.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:28 PM on April 8, 2016 [2 favorites]
The problem is that there's a problem with diversity in theater (evidence: every link in this thread). The fact that this problem did not occur in a vacuum and that it mirrors larger problems in American society at large doesn't mean we shouldn't talk about it and address it as it pertains to theater.
posted by zachlipton at 12:31 PM on April 8, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:31 PM on April 8, 2016 [8 favorites]
When will there be enough women on the court? And my answer is when there are nine.
Here's a better quote: "The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house."
posted by saulgoodman at 12:31 PM on April 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
Here's a better quote: "The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house."
posted by saulgoodman at 12:31 PM on April 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
Or some combination of all of those, and more?
yes.
I mean, surely saying that there is a problem with diversity in theater amounts to more than noting that theater isn't immune to broad social patterns of power and representation?
why should it? if people just keep blaming society then no one tries to solve the problem. whether it's 'just' society or something special about theatre (and broadway specifically), figuring out why out why, say, playwrights who are most produced are overwhelmingly (94%) white is something that has to be done at ground level, they can't just throw their hands up and say, 'well, one day society will be less racist and i'm sure this will fix itself!'
posted by nadawi at 12:33 PM on April 8, 2016 [5 favorites]
yes.
I mean, surely saying that there is a problem with diversity in theater amounts to more than noting that theater isn't immune to broad social patterns of power and representation?
why should it? if people just keep blaming society then no one tries to solve the problem. whether it's 'just' society or something special about theatre (and broadway specifically), figuring out why out why, say, playwrights who are most produced are overwhelmingly (94%) white is something that has to be done at ground level, they can't just throw their hands up and say, 'well, one day society will be less racist and i'm sure this will fix itself!'
posted by nadawi at 12:33 PM on April 8, 2016 [5 favorites]
The problem is that there's a problem with diversity in theater (evidence: every link in this thread). The fact that this problem did not occur in a vacuum and that it mirrors larger problems in American society at large doesn't mean we shouldn't talk about it and address it as it pertains to theater.
I agree, and I hope I didn't give the impression that I was advocating for less talking about diversity or the lack of it whatsoever.
I mean, surely saying that there is a problem with diversity in theater amounts to more than noting that theater isn't immune to broad social patterns of power and representation?
why should it?
Well, sometimes specific contexts have patterns that differ from general ones we're more accustomed to -- and that can be important to point out and discuss, for many reasons. This doesn't imply that those broad social patterns aren't important or worth talking about in any given contextual manifestation, so to speak.
posted by clockzero at 12:52 PM on April 8, 2016
I agree, and I hope I didn't give the impression that I was advocating for less talking about diversity or the lack of it whatsoever.
I mean, surely saying that there is a problem with diversity in theater amounts to more than noting that theater isn't immune to broad social patterns of power and representation?
why should it?
Well, sometimes specific contexts have patterns that differ from general ones we're more accustomed to -- and that can be important to point out and discuss, for many reasons. This doesn't imply that those broad social patterns aren't important or worth talking about in any given contextual manifestation, so to speak.
posted by clockzero at 12:52 PM on April 8, 2016
I think it's also important to recognize that theater and the arts more broadly are both reflective and influential of the culture and society at large. It's not surprising that the equality and diversity issues in America today are present in the arts, but we should also appreciate the power of theater and other artistic mediums to give voice to more marginalized artists and to influence social change. That's why this stuff is important and why it's important to talk specifically about diversity in the arts, rather than viewing the whole thing as a giant intractable situation that can't also be addressed piecemeal.
posted by zachlipton at 3:12 PM on April 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by zachlipton at 3:12 PM on April 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
Hamilton posts a casting notice for non-white actors. All of the white internet freaks out, because hello, reverse racism.
Yet, in reality, it was a storm in a tea-cup. Very few people freaked out. One lawyer made a bit of a name for himself for a couple of days. The casting notice specifically asked for non-white actors, which is against the Equity rules. You can say your characters are non-white, but you can advertise for your actors to be non-white. It's a fine line, but it's a good one. I would think most white actors know the deal with Hamilton and aren't upset about the casting call, however it was worded. And most white actors aren't going to put themselves forward for this show.
posted by crossoverman at 2:51 AM on April 9, 2016
Yet, in reality, it was a storm in a tea-cup. Very few people freaked out. One lawyer made a bit of a name for himself for a couple of days. The casting notice specifically asked for non-white actors, which is against the Equity rules. You can say your characters are non-white, but you can advertise for your actors to be non-white. It's a fine line, but it's a good one. I would think most white actors know the deal with Hamilton and aren't upset about the casting call, however it was worded. And most white actors aren't going to put themselves forward for this show.
posted by crossoverman at 2:51 AM on April 9, 2016
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I'm confused. Is she saying that 68% is too high? Because that number seems to reflect the racial demographics of the US as a whole where 70% of the population is listed as "white".
posted by I-baLL at 9:45 AM on April 8, 2016 [10 favorites]