Race and Theatre, Again

[lillibet]

I'm having this conversation with Dayenne, the actor in question, who has a different perspective from many of my readers here, as an actor and a black woman and the person in the spotlight

Comments

[rmd]

... This pretty much says what I was thinking.

[lillibet]

Yes--there was one woman of color whose auditions for other roles I had previously enjoyed who I hoped might be my Lizzy, but she just...wasn't. And the woman who is playing Lizzy is someone new to T@F and just marvelous in the role, so that's that.

BTW, Dayenne is not the same woman who was in Never After--that was Sonya, who is unfortunately tied up with other projects and didn't audition for me.

Thanks for the thoughts--I think that's pretty much the direction I'm going and I just hope it reads that way to everyone. I hope you'll be able to see the show and let me know what you think.

[trowa_barton]

You picked the right Lizzy.

[minkrose]

This expands on the few thoughts I had. The one note I would add is that my first thought after reading "She is a silly, self-centered, rather vulgar and stupid woman... I do not think that these qualities play into strong stereotypes about black women" was of Prissy, the rather foolish black maid from Gone with the Wind. The negative qualities don't quite line up, but since I did notice the witch-ex-machina was black last time (and cringed), I'd have to say, I'd probably cringe with Mrs. Bennet, too. Especially since I personally find her character very disturbing, and not hilariously obnoxious (which I believe is her intended role). That's totally my personal bias, though.

I think it's worth saying something in the program, but I always prefer to over-explain myself. :-)

[lillibet]

Thanks.

What would you say?

[rmd]

I wouldn't bother mentioning it in the program. One of the things with Never After is that there was no context for how the role is 'normally' cast, which, coupled with the isolated nature of the witch character made it conspicuous without really providing a way in which it was also awesome. On the other hand, there's hundreds of years of expectation for what the Bennetts would look like that's being subverted here.

Personally, in this case, I suspect I'd be more likely to notice the race-blind casting and the subsequent interracial nature of the Bennett's marriage and the whole Bennett family that's implied by the casting, than the fact that the character is less awesome than some other characters in the show.

[lillibet]

There's also the fact that I expect that by the end of Act I, everyone will be far too busy talking about Lady Catherine to spare a thought for the color of Mrs Bennet's skin :D

[moria923]

Many theatrical characters have flaws that, if perceived at a certain slant, could be seen as stereotyped behavior. It's hard to avoid this completely. And while Lady Catherine and Miss Bingley may disapprove of Mrs. Bennet for being declasse, IIRC the person they *most* disapprove of is Elizabeth, because she actually stands a chance with Mr. Darcy. If she had been a black actress, a determinedly race-conscious audience member could really have had fun with that one. Or with a black actor playing Miss Bingley or Lady Catherine, since they're villains. Or with her playing Lydia or Kitty, since they're foolish. Or with her playing Mary, because of her awkward attempts to better herself. And on it goes. And, regardless of Mrs. Bennet's personal qualities, the casting of a black actress could be seen as the reason for the villains' disdain for the whole family, since they're now an interracial family. Audience members will bring their own preconceptions to every show. We can't prevent that, except perhaps to keep stressing in