Monday, April 28, 2008
Janelle's Directing Class
Did we ever raise the question about non-traditional casting in this class? I know we talked about Cat on a Hot Tin Roof being performed by an all black cast on Broadway. But I think it's worth exploring the issue more closer to home. This department is unique in the fact that we have an African American Theatre program that all students are involved with in some form or another. And it is departmental policy to cast non-traditionally when deemed necessary. I know when I think of non-traditional casting, I think more about minority actors being cast in roles that were written to be white characters. But there was one incident where a white actor was cast in an AATP show as a black character. I was a undergrad at the time and I knew before hand about the casting. But I don't know about what others who did not know before hand thought about the show. Did they know she was a white actor playing a black character? Or did the director chose to make the character white because a white actor was playing it? My biggest problem with this was that there was no clear answer either way. The play was clearly about racism in the 1930's, so color played a big part in the play. Also there was one line that that particular character had to say about not messing with colored people because they don't know when to quit playing. This line can mean completely different things based on the race of the person who is saying it. I agree with Janelle about the intentions of non-traditional casting. There has to be a reason behind it more than just not being able to find no one else to play a role. And if that is the reason, then it's the director's responsibility to fit the casting choice within the intentions of the playwright. Non-traditional casting can be tricky, but it could also open dialogue about race, class, gender, and religion issues in our society. But the question is raised, can this be done with every play? What happens when Othello is white and Iago is black? Or Romeo and Juliet are both women? Does it change the intentions of the play? Should it still be performed that way if it does? More Questions!
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I never thought about R & J with both women. However, just to expand a little more on what Mary and I have said. I talked to the white actor who played the character and they felt that the director did not really explain to them nor probably really knew what message they were trying to make. And I think that this falls under that responsiblitiy catergory. As a director it is our jobs to articulate our idea clearly enough for our actors. And as an actor it is our job to help the director expand on those ideas by the choices we make onstage. However, when these two don't line up I think we get things like the scene from Against the Wind. An idea may sound good in our heads, but unless we can embody that idea onstage in a way that the audience can get in on the idea then it is useless.
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