Further Thinking About Never After

[lillibet]

Since the performances of Never After this weekend, I've read many posts and received many emails talking about how wonderful the show was, how much people enjoyed the production and congratulating us on such a huge success. Thank you to all of you who've written and to everyone who was at the show--our audiences were the best we've ever had, both

Comments

[lillibet]

It is possible to take the diversity discussions just a little too far, to end up making a Very Big Deal out of something that should not be.

That's certainly true. But in this case, we haven't really had much in the way of diversity discussions at T@F. I do think it's something we could be considering more explicitly.

As for making a Very Big Deal about it, people saw a problematic issue with my show and raised it with me and I think they're right--it was problematic and also symptomatic of what I think should be more of a concern for the group. No one has been attacking or insulting in the process of raising this with me and the result is conversation, which I think is a Very Good Thing.

[rmd]

so, the next musical T@F will do is "avenue Q"?

(i've been humming "everyone's a little bit racist" all day after it showed up on my random playlist)

[lillibet]

I think my critics do have exactly that. They have all praised most aspects of the show and congratulated me on the success of it. This was a concern and, I think, a valid one, that we should be more careful of the messages we're transmitting. I haven't been worrying about it--really, the conversations have been very pleasant and productive--and I do think that putting some time into examining how we might send more concrete messages of welcome and awareness is time well spent.

[cos]

IMO, reactions like this one are possibly a larger problem than the casting itself. I'm very glad that Theatre@First's reaction is very different. If T@F had referred to these complaints as "just silly fretting about an irrelevant -- in this case -- politics of representation" then I'd really worry about racism at T@F.

[starphire]

I was pretty confident that you'd at least thought about race issues during casting. So I figured there were good reasons for casting roles as they were, and it didn't trouble me *personally

[sparkymonster]

Honestly, I'd much rather know what black people think on this issue after having seen it than hear the opinions and reactions of the well-meaning white people who worry about how it might be interpreted

http://mzrowan.livejournal.com/1206713.html?thread=7237817#t7237817

[starphire]

Thanks for the link. That's not your blog, is it?
While it's interesting to read about her perspectives on media and society and race issues in general, here I meant that I'd be particularly interested in the perspectives of the other black people who saw Never After, since I have more awareness of context and the choices that were made by well-meaning white people in that particular case. I realize the audiences had few people of color in them, so the sample size might not accurately reflect the spectrum of opinions or reactions that they might have to such a casting choice.

[lillibet]

I haven't felt blamed or publicly condemned--these points were raised either in locked posts or private email. I did feel that it behooved me to air them publicly, so that they could be acknowledged, but also so that people could know that I am thinking about it, I do think I could have done better and I am committed to engaging with these issues, rather than ignoring them or sweeping them under any rug.

I'm glad that your friends enjoyed the show and didn't feel concerned about the casting. At least one of the people raising this issue is a person of color, but I'm glad to hear comments and concerns from anyone, especially if their overall concern is how we might do better, which it seems to be.

[joyeous]

I didn't see it as a racist choice, and of course I would never think that of you personally as a director. I'm sorry if some people did.

That being said, the reason why T@F is so white-heavy is because Somerville itself (and Davis Square in particular) is very, very white. There have been incidents of perceived racism in the town itself. Hell, some of my elderly neighbors on Francesca Ave used to look at *me* funny for being different and I'm about as white as they get. And I know for certain there was not a single black or hispanic family on that street.

I am all for increasing diversity in T@F, but that is going to mean increasing the geographical range of the theatre. Which is a good thing too. A community theatre, by definition, would be racist if we took the word "community" to mean only the 1-square mile surrounding the theatre itself, because we all know most neighborhoods are still very segregated to this day.

[lillibet]

of course I would never think that of you personally as a director

Thanks :) One of the best things about this whole discussion for me is that no one has suggested that the choice was deliberately malicious.

I think T@F is a constantly evolving group and I think this is one direction we can try to reach out. Never After was a big expansion for us and I hope will provide more attention and opportunities for us.

[rmd]

buh? somerville is not what i'd call "very, very white". it's substantially less white than massachusetts on average. 77% vs 86%.

[vanguardcdk]

You had a choice based on a difficult situation but I think you did the right thing.

It was either cast her for the part she was perfrect for, and possibly look racist, or not cast her at all and living with the fact that you did it only becuase of her skin color. So you do the right thing and take a little heat from it.

On the other issue of how few ethnicities we get at our auditions..that is something I'd love to see change.

[lillibet]

Thank you. As I'm saying, I think this will be an ongoing, staggered process, but I think it's good for us to pay more attention to it, if only so that we're not caught in this kind of bind again. In most auditions, I'm just choosing between too many good actors--those are the kinds of dilemmas I like!