So…
I read the letter from Jackie and I feel two things.
First, I’ve heard the ‘Baby steps’ argument before, and the metaphor is not useful to me.
I don’t see diversity in theatre as learning how to walk, I see it as breaking down a wall. Learning to walk means that your muscles need to be trained in a skill that they don’t already have. Breaking down a wall means taking away barriers. And with skills you already have. And with the right tools, it can be done in 5 to 10 minutes.
The reason why people don’t break down walls is because they are afraid of what’s on the other side. They are afraid of (here I’m going to get all post modern, I promise it will be brief and painless) the Other. Some say that the inate response to the Other is to meet it and negate it, destroy it. And some say that the fear is that the Other will infest, will distrupt the unity of the self. But often times, when you actually break down a wall, you realize that the other and the self can co-exist in harmony. (Post modern talk officially over. And I don’t want to get into a debate about the true nature of the Other, or Derrida, or Marx, or Lacan, or freaking Foucault, man, I knew I shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place)
I’m glad to hear you say that the theatre doesn’t officially have a policy of discrimination. However, if a hockey team doesn’t officially discriminate against female players, but every female player that wants to play is turned down, or put on the bench for most games, then descrimination exists de facto. I know you’re aware of this. And my understanding of your situation is this, you have a rep company. If you were to put on, say, Blues for Mister Chalrie, a play with a large black cast by the novelist James Baldwin, you would have to find a place in the festival for all of those black actors in other plays of that period. That’s my guess, it’s not based on anything I know, I’m just guessing. To that I would say, you’re missing out on producing one kick ass play.
I am hearing that you are increasing diverse casting incrementally. That’s good. But I hate quotas. I always have. Canadian television has quotas. You can have an American star in a series or movie as long as a quota of Canadian actors is met. I hate that.
What I also hear is that you’re working on for the future. That’s good. There’s an old proverb. The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is right now. You’re planting trees, that’s good.
But…
There are many classically trained diverse actors, all over the country, who can perform in Shaw’s works. There are Native, Asian, South Asian, Black, you name it. Some of their names we know. Some are award winning. And some we don’t know, but they’re damn good.
Hire them.
It’s great that you want to introduce young actors to the world of Shaw, but there are some ‘older’ actors, who don’t need to be introduced. Some of them are well aquainted with Shaw, and some are eager for a chance to prove themselves.
Give them that chance.
I would like to talk to you also. I hope we get the chance to speak.
Andrew
