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 in terms of size and engaged, positive reaction to our work.

I have also read and received comments about the casting of a woman of color as Hexasper. Audience members were troubled that the only major character of color was the Evil Fairy and felt that this was a very racist choice. I can understand that perception and I'd like to address it.

Sonya Joyner, the actor who did a great job with the role of Hexasper, is black. She specifically wanted that role, gave a fantastic audition for it, and impressed the casting committee with her suitability for the role. There was not another role suitable for her vocal range. Nor was there another actor who fit the role as well. During our deliberations, the casting committee did consider the issue of her race as it would impact that role. Personally, I was very troubled by the dilemma and consulted with a couple of friends who are people of color themselves and/or have taken an interest in issues of racism and discrimination.

Clearly, what this highlights is the failure of Theatre@First to attract a large pool of actors of color. We've had them--this is Sonya's third show with us and there have been others--and we have other actors of various national origin, ethnic background, religion, disability, sex, and sexual orientation. But overall, we're a pretty white-looking group. There was one other person of color auditioning, but the casting committee felt that she was best placed in the Chorus. Had we had a larger, more diverse group auditioning, we wouldn't have faced this dilemma: to have the only person of color in a major role playing the evil one, or to not cast a qualified actor solely because of her race.

We made the decision to cast Sonya. And then--and this is my own, personal failure--we didn't think about it any more. Now that I've been called on it, I see what an error this was. I should have considered how her race would impact the audience's impression of the character and how to respond to that. I should have talked with the author about it further. I should have talked with Sonya about this issue. But I didn't, and the show went on as many of you saw it and gave the appearance of racism. I think it's a fair cop and all of my concern and good intentions don't mitigate that.

Out of this have come some good conversations--I want to thank everyone who raised this issue for calling this out, and for being willing to give me the benefit of the doubt and believe that I am sincerely interested in doing better personally and helping Theatre@First to do better as an institution. These commenters' willingness to engage with me on this subject is yet another example of the stunning support that our community provides. Rather than keep these conversations screened and private, I am posting here because--as one of the people communicating with me pointed out--it is important that these conversations happen publicly, that we not be afraid to discuss race and the complex issues and feelings that it raises, that we have a chance to call out and to share the failures, and that we have an opportunity to discuss our way forward.

As a first step, we are developing a statement of non-discrimination that I hope the Steering Committee will agree to put on our website and all of our audition publicity, to encourage wider participation by a more diverse group within our community. I have received other excellent suggestions (finding a consultant with expertise in this area, applying for grants for funding focused on these issues, seeking out groups with stronger participation by people of color for possible collaboration, etc.) that we will have to consider and which will take time to develop. We will have many conversations and, certainly, a greater awareness, as we move on into future productions.

Again, thank you to everyone who has commented about the production. Your support has been overwhelming and extremely gratifying and we hope to continue to engage you with our future endeavors.

Comments

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

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.

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

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.

[starphire.livejournal.com]

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*.
However, I also assumed that it would probably strike some people as insensitive or even racist, and *that* troubled me because I knew there was probably little that could be done to slow people from making assumptions and accusations in a public way rather than perhaps making some quiet inquiries as to the validity of such thoughts before airing them.
So I wasn't surprised that it touched off some controversy. 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. Fortunately I had that opportunity, as 2 of the 6 family&friends who bought tickets to the show are people of color - a mother and her teenage daughter. Both of them enjoyed the show, the mother said she absolutely loved it. Neither was particularly bothered by the casting of a black woman in the role of Hexasper as the sole "bad" character in Never After. However, as many others would no doubt agree, it does point directly to the stickier question of how to have a more diverse community theatre scene. I just don't see any particular person or local group as being blameworthy in this case.

[sparkymonster.livejournal.com]

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

[joyeous.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

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.

[vanguardcdk.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

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!

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

i liked the show and i dug her performance, and clearly she enjoyed playing it. so although i think it would be great if t@f had a more diverse cast, i do not think it would be good to have not cast this actress in this part in this show.

i think a non-discrimination policy is a grand idea, as would be more minority outreach, to increase the group's diversity overall. but i'd be happy to see that be a development for the theatre, not a blow against this (imho quite delightful) show.

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. I don't see it as such, but as a signpost that here's one direction we should be attempting to grow.

[orbitalmechanic.livejournal.com]

I agree entirely with the comment above about geographical range. Somerville isn't very white, actually--census data and school data show a very different picture than the streets of Davis Square. Census data show 30% foreign-born and school data show at least that number of kids speaking language other than English at home, and any news article about Somerville schools shows a relatively non-white student body. Obviously these aren't all indicators of race, but they do say that the city is already home to a diverse population! But the Brazilian and Haitian populations, for instance, have their focus closer to Union Square, and of course there's already a major class/financial divider in the McGrath Highway.

I'm so glad to see T@F taking this problem seriously. I agreed with you at the time that there wasn't a good way out of the situation and I'm really pleased that you chose to begin changing that situation! It would be easy and also wrong to just say, this was the right decision for this play and this actor, and leave it at that. Thank you.

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I definitely think there may be opportunities within Somerville to find more participants and collaborators of wider background and experience and that can only be a good thing. Thanks for your support on this.

[jelazakazone.livejournal.com]

This is awesome. Thanks for sharing.

[spwebdesign.livejournal.com]

You and I clearly have a different approach! ;) If someone had said this to me, I would have responded along the lines of, "Wait, what? You mean Sonya is black?!?"

(In fact, I did have a pretty similar (and surprisingly honest — I just hadn't given it any thought) reaction when someone asked me how I felt about my music teacher being black.)

What you've described isn't an issue of racial equality, rather one of political correctness, and is an example of political correctness gone too far. Race should be a non-issue.

And, as naive as this may sound to some, I think the correct approach is to be completely blind to race. Reaching out to any group of people because of their [insert characteristic that sets them apart] is making an issue of it. If I, personally, had to draft a statement for T@F, it might be something along the lines of, "We don't care what your color, creed, orientation, gender, or zodiac sign is. We just want to do the best damn theater, and if you can help we want you!"

I think the race problem (and I would agree that there still is one) persists not because we don't think about it enough but because we think about it too much. People need to be thinking of people as people rather than black, white, yellow, or periwinkle people. (Although, truth be told, I really wouldn't mind if you thought of me as a periwinkle person.)

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Well, that's pretty much how the statement we're drafting goes. I hope we'll be able to take a more engaged approach to seeking out opportunities for change and greater diversity, but that's going to take more thought and time. A diversity statement isn't a quick fix, but I think it's a reasonable quick start to what will be an ongoing process.

[wellstar.livejournal.com]

Rather than keep these conversations screened and private, I am posting here because--as one of the people communicating with me pointed out--it is important that these conversations happen publicly

Just to be explicit, this approach encourages viewing from outside your friends list, yes? I've seen a few of these comments as well, and think people would appreciate being linked to your response. Either way, thanks for posting it.

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. I've left it unlocked so that people not on my friends list and not on LJ can access it and join the discussion, if they are so moved.

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

BRAVA!

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Thanks :)

[dpolicar]

(nods) Well said. I will include a pointer to this post in a couple of discussions I've had on the subject, just to close the loop.

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Excellent. I figured I probably wasn't even hearing from everyone who was concerned and posting publicly would put something out there to let people know I've heard it and am taking it seriously.

[melted-snowball.livejournal.com]

As a white guy who sees a lot of theatre, I have been surprised at how much I notice issues of race in casting in the past year or two.

I think partly this is because a lot of the theatre I see is at the Stratford Festival, which is my country's foremost classical theatre, where questions of how well the amazing diversity of Canadian society is manifested in the authors whose works are performed and in the artists performing feel entirely salient. (There was also exactly one person from a visible minority in the production of Sunday in the Park with George that I saw last month at the Shaw, which is the other major English language theatre in Canada, and that felt a little off, too.)

So I think this post feels really timely, even though I've only ever seen one of your group's performances. I appreciate you actually airing this.

That said, I kind of feel like I wish theatre groups would discuss this publicly when it wasn't being an issue of direct controversy, though. (That is, I'd like to read something in my program sometime that says, "hey, we want to talk about the fact that we only cast one person of colour in this production. We aren't happy about it, and here's what we're going to do to try to be better; please help us with good suggestions", and not feel unsettled about it, as I have been a couple times in the past year.) I do think this onus is greater in the case of the two professional theatres I have just mentioned than in the case of your group, but it's still significant in both cases.

(And I'm trying to say this in the way that doesn't sound like I am not glad you're talking about it publicly now, because I am glad of that.)

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Thanks--it is something we've talked about from time to time, but only very casually. This "controversy" (which seems like a big word for a thus-far small amount of online discussion--maybe this will become a controversy, but I think a conversation is more productive) is inspiring some introspection on both individual and organizational levels. We're a young group and very much still growing in terms of size and scope and I think this is a reasonable and appropriate time to be tackling these issues more systematically.

[sparkymonster.livejournal.com]

Thank you for making this thoughtful post. I wish the comments were as thoughtful.

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[cos]

Thanks for posting this in public!

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Thanks :)

[dancingwolfgrrl.livejournal.com]

You deserve credit for facing this issue head-on in public, admitting where you could and T@F have done better, and taking responsibility for making change happen. Bravo.

One specific idea, which might or might not be any use: I wonder if the high school (or schools) in Somerville might be a way to reach a more diverse pool of auditionees? I know that in my high school, the kids who were really into drama often participated in higher-end community productions.

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

That's a good suggestion. We've had some interaction with the teacher who runs an English-through-drama program for ESL students during the summers, so we can definitely talk with him and try to get in touch with the performing arts programs.

[deguspice.livejournal.com]

Now that people are asking about casting Sonja as Hexasper, has anyone asked Sonja what she thinks about the question?

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

I did email Sonya--I figured she certainly had a right to know that we were discussing her. I gave her the URL for this post and invited her to comment or respond to me privately. I would be very interested to hear her thoughts on the subject and am kicking myself that I never brought it up with her during the production.

[roozle.livejournal.com]

I was, in fact, troubled by the casting, even though I enjoyed the production as a whole tremendously, and even though I have great confidence that there wasn't a racist intent in the casting. Thank you for addressing this so forthrightly and productively.

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your faith in me and support of our work. I'm sorry that you were troubled by it and plan to do better in the future to address these concerns before the show goes up.

[http://users.livejournal.com/cgull_/]

First said, Sonya *did* do a great job in the role; it's a very short but important bit, and she fit.

I think the problem was maybe not so much the casting as some of the things that went along with it.

Red spot on the actor? A trope of dark, foreboding music? That certainly put a negative cast on the character to me, almost regardless of what Sonya did on stage. It leaves her as the most one-sidedly negative character on stage (the dragons were certainly more negative, but they were never on stage.) Granted, with my hearing, I was missing a lot of lines, especially in the first third or so for some reason. I did miss subtleties in the storyline.

I think about reworking the script, and the role's title to cast the character in a different light. If Hexasper had been (as somebody suggested) an Impish Fairy or a Random Fairy, that'd have placed more emphasis on the character's personality and less on a stereotypical role. (Why is the Evil Fairy evil in the first place?)

Of course, writers and directors don't work in a vacuum; there are actors too. I kind of doubt Sonya didn't think about this somewhere along the way; she presumably didn't voice any concern about the role. But maybe asking people in a role like that if they see any issues, and maybe someone a little bit *outside* the production, would be good; the fog can get a little thick when the Show Must Go On...

I think maybe the thing I take away from this is that unintentional though it was, the way this appeared to me fit a stereotype, and the momentary diversion of thinking and emoting about that stereotype distracted me from the real story of the play. So I think in that way, this casting/role failed the dramatic purpose of the play a little bit, and that perhaps a solution derives from an intent or statement of effective and inclusive dramatic delivery to an audience. Isn't that what T@F is about, after all? :)

[dpolicar]

But maybe asking people in a role like that if they see any issues, and maybe someone a little bit *outside* the production, would be good; the fog can get a little thick when the Show Must Go On...

This is a good idea for potential concerns in general, and is in fact what Elizabeth did in this case (I was one of the people outside the production she asked).

As I recall, my thought at the time was that given the constraints on the system (many of which are simply not appropriate to discuss in public), the casting decision she made was the right choice, though it might raise some concerns. (It's possible I'm editing my memories in light of subsequent events.)

I still believe that.

And, yes, your last par asks a very good question, and one I think it's important for us to think about... and especially for us to think about within a larger context than just this thread. This has come up for us before, and I'm sure it will come up again, and we learn a little bit each time it does.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

This is a wonderful response to a difficult issue. I was one of apparently many who were struck by the casting, but it never even crossed my mind that it might be due to anything resembling malice on your part. And I can't imagine it being dealt with better than this.

Congratulations again on another successful production!

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

This is Sonya/Hexasper

[(Anonymous)]

Okay folks, here goes......

Yes I'm Black and I do not expect anyone not to notice. If you don't notice, then you're not looking at me which is a problem in itself. Yes the Black=Evil issue occured to me but honestly, I don't have time to worry about what other people think. The role of Hexasper was the only principal character that fit my age and vocal range and I wanted it. If offered the chorus, I would not have accepted it. I'm usually cast as the angel, judge, preacher or other well-meaning character and I have been trying to change that (my current audition monologue has me as Satan). This is my third show with T@F and they have always been welcoming to me. Hexasper was the catalyst in Never After and without her, there is no story. That make the role pretty important. In my first T@F show, 12 Angry Jurors, I was Juror 8, also the catalyst. Seems to me that I am a VIP when cast in T@F shows! Of course I work hard at my craft and the support that this company has given me only makes me work harder. Racism exist and it can not be ignored, but in this case, it was not an issue. Those of you who feel that this is silly are just as bad as those who believe in the world being "color-blind". I am glad that T@F had the "cajones" to cast me regardless of the fallout that may have and has occured. Do I wished that we had discussed it? In hindsight, yes, but honestly I wasn't thinking about it after the fleeting moment that it popped into my head. Thank you Theatre@First and Colleen for giving me my first musical theatre experience! Thank you for casting me in the role of Hexasper! Thank you for seeing that I am Black and not letting that effect your decision! Thank you Elizabeth for your never ending energy, excitement and all of the smiles that you shared during every rehearsal! I hope I get to work with you on more shows in the future, villianess or not!

Sonya Joyner,
Proud to be Hexasper!

Re: This is Sonya/Hexasper

[veek.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for writing in, Sonya. It was good to read your perspective.

[kcatalyst.livejournal.com]

I'm an out-of-towner, so I missed the play and the brouhaha. But I wanted to say that I'm impressed with your thoughtful discussion here, but even more so with your polite and firm resistance to the pressure to not worry about it, dismiss concerns, etc etc. I know it's not easy to disagree with folks who see themselves as agreeing with/supporting you.

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

A walk-through

[drwex]

I did not see the show, but I have read some of the commentary afterward. I think this posting is applause-worthy in itself, as are the actions it outlines. I find myself puzzled that you are forced to defend your words and choices in the commentaries.

*exit, stage left*

[chienne-folle.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your thoughtful response.

Thanks extra for not taking the controversy personally and for using it as an opportunity to improve Theatre@First. Your throughtfulness and openness/lack of defensiveness do much to defuse the situation.

I don't think we've ever met, but I'm now convinced that you're an awesome person. :-) Kudos!

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Thank you--doing the best I can, which clearly works better some times than others :)

[bitty.livejournal.com]

applying for grants for funding focused on these issues

I just wanted to point out that we have, just this week, announced our next cycle of diversity & inclusion grants: http://www.tsne.org/diversityinitiative
(LOIs are due October 16.)

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

desiringsubject pointed me there and I've been looking at the grant information with great interest, along with other programs. I'm not convinced that we're quite qualified--it seems geared toward larger groups with staff and such--but if I can pull together an application, I think it would be a good way of focusing our thinking about this, even if nothing else comes of it.

Thanks!