Lavina Jadhwani doesn’t believe ‘colour blind casting’ exists. She suggests a new approach based on three simple questions.
I’ve got a big fat opinion on the term “color blind casting,” which is that it doesn’t exist. I can’t think of an environment, in real life, where race doesn’t factor into relationship dynamics. And if it doesn’t exist offstage – why do we think we can (or should) create that scenario? I prefer the term “color conscious casting,” by which I mean that race is acknowledged in, and ideally deepens, theatrical conversations.
As someone who’s taken to directing canonical work as of late, I delight in the opportunities that color conscious casting can provide, for both actors and audiences. Two years ago, I directed a reading of Closer by English playwright Patrick Marber at Victory Gardens Theater with an entirely Asian American cast. Afterwards, an audience member said, “You know, I was watching this play and trying to figure out what statement you guys were making, why this play had to be done with an Asian cast. Why couldn’t they just be people? And then I realized that that was probably your point.” And honestly – it was. We weren’t pushing a larger agenda, and race wasn’t the focus of that process, even though it was the main thing some audiences saw on stage. That artist-audience disconnect can be exciting and challenging, as it was in this case; I’ve also seen productions where it was reductive and upsetting... Keep reading on HowlRound
I’ve got a big fat opinion on the term “color blind casting,” which is that it doesn’t exist. I can’t think of an environment, in real life, where race doesn’t factor into relationship dynamics. And if it doesn’t exist offstage – why do we think we can (or should) create that scenario? I prefer the term “color conscious casting,” by which I mean that race is acknowledged in, and ideally deepens, theatrical conversations.
As someone who’s taken to directing canonical work as of late, I delight in the opportunities that color conscious casting can provide, for both actors and audiences. Two years ago, I directed a reading of Closer by English playwright Patrick Marber at Victory Gardens Theater with an entirely Asian American cast. Afterwards, an audience member said, “You know, I was watching this play and trying to figure out what statement you guys were making, why this play had to be done with an Asian cast. Why couldn’t they just be people? And then I realized that that was probably your point.” And honestly – it was. We weren’t pushing a larger agenda, and race wasn’t the focus of that process, even though it was the main thing some audiences saw on stage. That artist-audience disconnect can be exciting and challenging, as it was in this case; I’ve also seen productions where it was reductive and upsetting... Keep reading on HowlRound