Archives for posts with tag: Diversity

I have “A Little List’ too – buckle up. #TheMikado #Gilbert&Sullivan

July 25, 2014 //

As someday it may happen that a victim must be found,

I’ve got a little list, I’ve got a little list.

Of Society’s Offenders who live proudly above ground,

and who never would be missed, who never would be missed.

There’s pestilential productions who take hatred as their guide,

Who upon their being ‘caught’ then moan ’bout ‘history and pride’.

The ones who giggle with their fans, their makeup all askew

Who never seem to question, or accept another’s view,

Their one response it seems is “Look, don’t tell me what to do!”

They’d none of them be missed, they’d none of them be missed.

(Chorus)

She’s got them on the list, she’s got them on the list

And they’ll none of them be missed, they’ll none of them be missed.

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There’s the self righteous Director, who proceeds without concept,

The Yellowfaced soloist – I’ve got them on the list!

Those who praise the music, but perform it quite racist –

They never would be missed, they never would be missed!

There’s the Baritone who defends his lack of knowledge and of taste,

Who oft asserts his ‘ given right’ to play another race;

And the lady from the suburbs, who dresses like a Maid,

Who knows she does not look Asian, but finds Caucasians ‘staid’,

She’d rather paint ‘exotic‘ than go play a Cockney maid…

I don’t think she’d be missed – I’m sure she’d not be missed!

(Chorus)

She’s got them on the list, she’s got them on the list;

And they’d none of them be missed, they’d none of them be missed.

Finally, let’s all agree this topic is just rife,

with charges, counter charges, all which causes strife.

Does no one see in fact that Sullivan and Gilbert would be pissed!

For that you’re on the list!

They wrote the show to mock society’s rigid chain of thought,

To say what we learn should shape us, not just what we’re taught.

The show says use your brain and heart, but it seems it’s all for naught.

For that you’re on the list! For that you’re on the list!

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It’s not enough to say you ‘want to’ and then go see it done,

We do not live in places where of opinion there’s just one.

And frankly, if you have to scream and rail about so loud,

It means that of your performance there is little to be proud.

Your show is not ‘authentic’ if you’ve re-written “Little List”

Racist shows won’t be missed, they’d none of them be missed.

I’ve put you on the list – I’ve put you on the list,

You’d none of you’d be missed, you would NONE of you’d be missed.

The Fairy Princess is a bit late to the game about writing about The Mikado Production in Seattle, or perhaps she was ahead of her time, because she co-wrote the screenplay, The Mikado Project, several years and several film festivals ago.

(There is a lovely review of the DVD from The Huffington Post, here)

(You may purchase it on Amazon.com here)

There have been many, many articles about The Mikado recently, since the first piece for the Seattle Times by Sharon Pian Chan (The Yellowface of The Mikado In Your Face) .

Journalist, Jeff Yang, wrote a thoughtful response (Yellowface Staging of The Mikado Has To End) which The Fairy Princess was interviewed for that appeared on CNN.com.

Another (The Problem With The Mikado) by Brendan Kiley from The Seattle Stranger, quotes Jeff’s article, but makes other wonderful points.

NBCNews also highlighted the issue, (Stereotypes in The Mikado Stir Controversy) and in fact, the film of The Mikado Project, in discussing it – many thanks.

Each time that someone has written about this situation, the wagons around the Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan company have been circled, and they have defended themselves from charges of racism and yellowface makeup.

They even went so far as to have their African American Female Business Manager write an open letter to try to shame the Asian American community into accepting Yellowface makeup, which is a classic technique, turning the minorities against one another.

One wonders if Seattle G&S expands their repertoire to include a blackface Porgy & Bess, if she would still hold her own opinion?

Still, that was impressive, Seattle G&S. Well played.

The Fairy Princess chuckled a bit at that, because it is a technique ripped right from the Andrew Jackson playbook. Then she heard the radio interview with the DJ, Dan Ross, who refused to accept, in any way, that he might be a part of a racially tinged performance. Not surprising, the ones who know they are wrong usually shout the loudest – it is called ‘deflection’.

The Fairy Princess was still not moved enough to write about this issue.

She felt that journalists were doing a fair job of keeping the story alive and accountable, and as she had been quoted numerous times in these articles, she thought she had made herself clear – when you have a production in which satire is sacrificed in favor of racial mockery, you turn a much beloved operetta into “a racist piece of crap’.

And she was fine with that, she was.

Until this morning, when she read the response from Seattle G&S’s Producer, Mike Storie – in which he loudly proclaims two things:

1. They have an Asian American on the Board of the company who has played a variety of parts

2. The Mikado should continue to be done.

Now The Fairy Princess is mad. She is truly, deeply mad, and now she IS going to respond.

In response to the first – who cares if you have an Asian American Board Member?

He’s played an Italian? So what? Italy is a seafaring nation, or was, and they traded with Asia, so there is a likelihood that there were Asians in Italy. It’s not so far fetched. That we are supposed to incredulously proclaim “Well, if an Asian American played a Gondolier, then the Company cannot have racist moments“, well, that is a failure on your part to even comprehend the issues at play here.

In addition, this API Board Member is not in The Mikado, which seems telling. There is no statement from him highlighting how he felt, walking in and seeing the show. You have cited him, fine – he’s there. Not in a visible way during this controversy, but he’s there…somewhere….lurking.

Fine, you have one.

Goody, goody.

That first proclamation was not what engendered this response, no, we’ll get to that…hold on, prepare yourself.

This is what made The Fairy Princess’s tiara tilt – none of the articles cited mentioned banning The Mikado from being performed ever again – and yet, that is what Producer, Mike Storie is intimating with his answer “It is worth performing and preserving, and can be a catalyst for better understanding“.

Aha. You see, Mr. Storie is implying that we, the ‘awful and actual’ Asians of America, are trying to reach out our little yellow hands and remove an operetta from the lily white fingers of those who would perform it with authenticity and dignity.

L-R: Dave Ross as Koko, William Darkow as Pish Tush, and Craig Cantley as Poo Bah

He is so convinced of this narrative, he has not only shared it, he has compelled his Business Manager to brandish her “As a woman of color…‘ sword in defense of this poor, beleaguered operetta, so sadly under attack.

Hopefully she will be able to pick the right one, because you know, Japanese swords all have…oh who am I kidding, they wouldn’t try and get this right either.

This is not the case, Mr. Storie – and this is why you have finally roused The Fairy Princess to share her personal thoughts on this issue.

You are threatening people with the thought that Asian Americans are out to erase an operetta that they very much enjoy – and this is not what happened. Asian Americans do not want to ‘kill’ The Mikado, we want you all to do better. We want you to make a Mikado that everyone can go and see, regardless of race, and feel good about seeing.

We want you to put together a production of The Mikado that we can bring our children to proudly as an example of music and art – not one where we have to usher them out of the theater and have the ‘yes, you are different and people will make fun of you for that‘ talk.

That is NOT a talk we want to have after dropping a bunch of $$$ on tickets.

Asian Americans have the HIGHEST disposable income of any group, so while you are moaning about not being able to pay your Actors for four months, you may want to adjust your thinking on who your audience is, at least in Seattle.

The argument that you are performing the piece with love and authenticity is a false one. Yes, your company may love performing it, but as every good Gilbert and Sullivan expert knows, Gilbert never intended to mock Japanese people. He went through every effort to have ‘authentic’ costumes and had visiting Japanese artists come in and advise his Cast members as to how to walk and act.

Have you followed the examples set forth by Gilbert himself in this matter? Did you have Japanese Artists come and advise you as to the the authenticity of your costumes and scenery and mannerisms? Did you even try?

You live and work in Seattle, a city which counts 14% of the population as having Asian heritage. Seattle also has a huge International District, which, amongst other attractions, has the Wing Luke Museum which is dedicated to telling the Asian stories of the Pacific Northwest. The population of that area alone, just in the I.D. is 56% Asian American. So, very easily, you could have looked in your own backyard so to speak, and found advisers if authenticity was an issue for you.

Was authenticity an issue for Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society?

The Fairy Princess guesses not.

Because here is an actual Japanese woman in the 1800’s

Vintage Photo of a Japanese Woman, circa 1880

And here is what Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan did:

Production Still: Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan’s Production of THE MIKADO

Again, here are some actual Japanese women studying, so, ostensibly “Maids”

Hard at work at Geisha School, studying the art of Singing, circa 1880

And…back to Seattle…

So no, your production is not authentic to memory of Gilbert, because you have not tried to do the extra work that he did at the time it was written. In point of fact, he had much less ability to BE accurate, due to language barriers, yet he tried. You have the I.D. in your backyard, and you did not pick up a phone or send a text or even go visit the museum to see if you have the correct obis now, did you?

“Fess up. No, you didn’t.

We can tell from the photos.

Your production is also not authentic because you have likely rewritten “A Little List” and made it palatable to local Seattle audiences – which is one of the hallmarks of the show. Once a show has had a rewrite of any kind, you cannot say it’s an authentic recreation of what someone did back in the 1880’s because you have done your best to ensure it is not.

This is what is infuriating to The Fairy Princess about Gilbert and Sullivan Societies in general, and of course, specific to this production in Seattle. Citing ‘history’ as an opportunity to prance about dressed as totally inaccurate and unauthentic Japanese people, is not supposed to be the take away from The Mikado.

The lesson to be learned from The Mikado, is that blindly following something because it has ‘always’ been done that way, is wrong. The Mikado is supposed to inspire you to see the ludicrous possibilities of what can happen when people do NOT think for themselves – executions, forced marriages, breaking the law, and so on.

The Mikado is not supposed to be used as a weapon to encourage racial mockery, it is not supposed to be the last bastion of visible hatred of Asian people which is left over from the invasion of Pearl Harbor.

anti-japanese-propaganda-k

The Mikado is supposed to let you know that if you follow your true self, everything will work out. It says that even if you are considered too old for love, you can find it. It says that the silliness of society’s rules, are to be taken with a grain of salt, and approached with caution. Finally, it says that if one can reason with whomsoever is in charge, and present their case, wrongs will be righted.

The Mikado ‘works’ with or without faux Japanese mannerisms – because the script and the music ring true. It has been performed in a variety of temperatures, with ethnic casts, without ethnic casts, and so it is puzzling, with the myriad of creative ways that one can perform The Mikado, that this allegiance to behavior from a different era lingers on. Not only does it linger, it seems to perpetuate and multiply.

Still from Seattle G&S Mikado

The Fairy Princess does not hate The Mikado – it would be impossible to do so given it’s message of hope.

The Mikado has been present in her personal journey for years – and in fact, she was encouraged as a Vocal Performance Major at Carnegie Mellon University’s Music School to study The Mikado, because her instructors felt that at some point, her background of multi-ethnicity would lend itself to being cast in The Mikado.

You would THINK, right?

(That this has not yet happened, despite a Broadway resume and an ability to appear Asian (ahem), is perhaps a question for the Theater Gods.)

The Fairy Princess has spent a lifetime mulling over the whys and wherefores of The Mikado, she owns giant vintage theater posters of it courtesy of the gallery FULLER + ROBERTS, she appeared in the original play by Doris Baizley and Ken Narasaki of THE MIKADO PROJECT produced by Lodestone Theatre Ensemble, she co-wrote and appeared in the movie version of the same title. She is, somewhat of an expert on The Mikado, and she has been a G&S fan since the age of 11, when she appeared in her grade school production of The Pirates of Penzance. (Which, honestly is still her favorite, and which, had she gotten to play Ruth and not a generic daughter of the Major General, may have led her on a totally different career path, perhaps accounting?)

The Fairy Princess does not hate The Mikado.

She hates the way The Mikado is often performed.

The Mikado, as written, is not racist.

The Mikado, as performed, often is.

The Fairy Princess knows that it is fun to play dress up, and to become other characters. She has seen productions of other G&S pieces, and in those works, it seems the Actors try harder to inhabit the characters – in The Mikado, she has seen shuffling of feet, batting of fans, bowing, and giggling and scraping, but little performance. When she has seen it, it becomes about the race being portrayed, and not about the singing.

Why is that?

The Mikado is in danger of turning into the last place where Caucasians can openly mock another race without getting accused of racism.

However, if the subject arises, as it did in Seattle, everyone involved is affronted! They cannot even begin to have a conversation about it, because it is just mean little Asian American people who ‘cannot take a joke‘, who ‘have no idea what Gilbert and Sullivan is‘, who ‘do not understand‘ the art-form.

Brace yourselves,

The Fairy Princess is your worst nightmare – she is a conservatory trained singer, she is a scholar, she is a big G&S fan, and she is Asian American. She has worked in comedy, she knows a joke.

We are not being ‘sensitive’, we are speaking up.

We are not ‘unable to take a joke’, we are unwilling to be the butt of it.

We are not ignorant of either this piece, it’s music, or it’s message, what we ARE is wary of what productions like yours do to average Asian Americans who are trying to go about their day. Will people mock them to their faces, the way you revel in mocking them on stage? Will our children go to school and have some child who has been taken to see your production, shuffle their feet at them, and make the awful faces at them that your Katisha is making in the photos above?

If you are bemoaning that no Asian Americans came and auditioned to be in your Mikado, did you at any time, wonder why? Have you considered that the way it has been portrayed on American stages in the past years has been painful for APIs to watch?

Your stance that APIs are wrong to speak up is a huge injustice to The Mikado and it’s creators, who had much to say about tolerance and kindness, and the ability to see beyond what is presented as fact.

America is changing, and if G&S Societies wish to survive and flourish, they are going to have to become more sensitive to diversity – both in casting and in performance.

If you are willing, she asks that you watch her speech from LA Stage Day…

She also asks that you take a look at these clips from The English National Opera’s production of The Mikado.

Seems to me that the E.N.O. did a bang up job there, and they made their concept work totally and completely.

It seems to me that that is truly the issue – making the show work without making it offensive.

You can do it – but you have to want to, and sadly, the ‘circle the wagons’ stance really implies that you are unwilling to entertain the notion of alternate viewpoints. What is saddest is that, with Seattle’s large Asian American population, you had a real opportunity here to introduce some great music to people who may not have been familiar with it – and instead, you blew it. Will you get an opportunity to grow your audience with the largest minority population in Seattle again?

Doubtful. Not impossible, but doubtful.

10 smacks of the wand to Seattle’s Gilbert & Sullivan Society – on top of what seems to be a questionable production in terms of sensitivity, you had your Business Manager write a ridiculous letter, you had your Koko on the radio blustering and posturing about that which he clearly knows nothing, AND you did exactly what they did in the 1940’s – you threatened people with what would happen if ‘those Asian people‘ had their way.

By Jingo you did.

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Finally, here is a message for you, from Asian America – stop trying to scare people with what will happen if we are allowed to speak our minds – we are going to continue to speak them, we do not CARE if you don’t like it –

in FACT….

KISS OUR FAN TAN FANNIES!

Tags Asian American, Carnegie Mellon Music, Controversy, Dan Ross, Diversity, English National Opera, FULLER+ROBERTS Gallery, Jeff Yang, Seattle, Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society, The Mikado, The Mikado Project, Town of Titipu, Wall Street Journal, Yellowface

Categories Diversity

This particular matter does matter, matter, matter – an answer to “30 Under 30 Who Matter”

July 14, 2014 //

The Fairy Princess had a pretty busy week, and she has a busy week ahead. For those who read my blog regularly, yes, I am working on something in regards to performing PACIFIC OVERTURES without Asians in the show, however, it will take a bit of time, and you will have to wait a bit on that – although she is hoping when it is published, it will stand as a ‘definitive’ post on P.O.

However, just because you do not hear from The Fairy Princess all the time, does not mean that she is not fluttering about, paying attention to various things.

Here I am, paying attention…see – eyes WIDE open….

And when one pays attention, they can get their wings a bit bent, and that is what happened when she read this article in the LA Times by Betsy Sharkey on ’30 Actors Under 30 Who Matter”.

What The Fairy Princess noticed most on this list was that when it comes to ‘who matters’, the answer is quite clear – blondes. In fact, of all the women on this list – 17 in total, only 4 are brunettes. Only one, Hailee Steinfeld, is ‘ethnic’, she is Eurasian. There are no Latinos or Latinas on this list – at all. Two African American men. No African American women. One South Asian man.

To be fair, writer Betsy Sharkey acknowledges that her ‘list’ is ‘whiter than I would like“ because of “Hollywood’s continued bad casting habits‘, however by titling those listed as the ones ‘who matter’, Ms. Sharkey is contributing to the problem, not helping solve it.

While we can all acknowledge that television is leading the way in bringing Diversity to our screens, Indie film falls sadly behind. This is due of course, to most Indie films that make it to the big screens being written and directed by Caucasian males – and a large majority of them are based on some sort of retrospective of the writer/director’s life as a coming of age young man. Apparently they all lived in some generic American town that was quirky in the extreme and they were bereft of even a token ethnic friend, (which could be in part why they left), but really…who knows?

Bland upbringing means blonde casting. If they want the female lead to have depth, she is a blond with roots or a light haired brunette. She is wry, quirky, self-deprecating, but as this list points out, she is startlingly similar to the last Indie darling found by the last hailed Indie genius.

What is ‘wrong’ with this list is not, in fact, that these Actors are working, but that they are being held up in a way that Actors of Color are not – which takes an already un-level playing field and tilts it even further away from Diversity towards a very specific look.

Should Indie films continue their ‘all look same’ policy, the breadth of stories being told will become far narrower, their appeal far less, and all in all – it will contribute to the decline of Indie film as a place to go for exciting stories – after all, how many ‘coming of age gawky teen films full of desire for the cheerleader AND the ‘alt’ girl‘ are we, the general public supposed to swallow? We can only be sidetracked by their wearing some sort of superhero or 1970’s garb for so long before we realize they are, indeed, all looking and sounding quite similar.

What is happening to you, Indie Filmmakers? Why so bland?

May The Fairy Princess make a suggestion? Do not just ‘write what you know“, write what you can imagine. SEE people, SEE that stories come in all shades and sizes, and that beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, but in how the DP lights you. If you cannot cast your film with a Person of Color in a major role or large supporting, then perhaps you should look to another profession – because the art of cinema is in how you visually paint your palette – and if there are no other colors, what are you painting exactly?

It was not that long ago that Indie film was where people looked to see diverse stories – let us remember America Ferrara, who starred in the breakout film, Real Women Have Curves – which was directed by Patricia Cordoso and written by Josefina Lopez and George LaVoo in 2002. Ms. Ferrara has had a great career in television and voice over since then. Her success in Indie film helped changed the television landscape with the show, Ugly Betty.

Another was Gabourey Sidibe who starred in Precious, which was directed by Lee Daniels, based on a book by Sapphire in 2009. She too, has gone on to a successful career in film and television.

Or the Cast of Better Luck Tomorrow, directed by Justin Lin, in 2002. All still working.

L-R: John Cho, Karin Anna Cheung, Parry Shen, Roger Fan, Jason Tobin, Sung Kang

2002 was a good year for Diversity in Indie Film. It is now 2014 – and now, we have this list to tell us who are the ‘breakout’ stars for this new generation, and it includes no Latins and no Black women.

Diversity behind the camera, brings Diversity to the camera.

Here’s the truth, The Fairy Princess does not have a problem with any of the Actors on this list, she enjoys their work. TFP does not even have a problem with the writing OF this list, because the list is based on box office and Q ratings and numbers, but the title of the list IS a problem. Because it says that these are the 30 ‘who matter‘, and by inference, anyone not on that list does NOT matter.

So who does ‘not matter’ in show business, which is the subliminal take away from Ms. Sharkey’s article? Latinos, Black Women, Asian Men, South Asian Women, Middle Easterns and most Mixed Raced people.

Those are who do NOT matter.

This list is now in the hands of every Casting Director, Show Runner, Executive, and Aspiring Director as a veritable ‘who’s who’ of how to get your show or film funded, the people on this list are now ‘bankable’, and bankable means green-lit.

This list gives a play by play of how to get your film to the next level of serious consideration and the great thing about it is, as demonstrated, if you cannot get Elle Fanning, you go to Chloe Grace Moretz, and if she passes or is unavailable, and you can bring yourself to even envision a brunette, you could think about offering it to Hailee Steinfeld. If you want super hot but slightly weird you can turn to Ellen Page, and if she is not available there is always Rooney Mara, who managed this year to get cast as a Native American, simply by dint of hair color!

Because she ‘matters’.

That is the danger of this list.

With respect to Ms. Sharkey, she is not ‘responsible’ per se for up and coming actors and who they are or what ethnicity they inhabit. What she is responsible for is the way in which she has them presented. To her credit, when The Fairy Princess tweeted her about the lack of diversity on her list, she responded with a request to be enlightened (something that is presented as open minded while wearing blinders).

The Fairy Princess took it as an honest invitation, but perhaps it was not.

Ms. Sharkey also mentioned via Twitter, and it is worth repeating, that Diversity is more apparent in Actors ages 30 and up, which is somewhat hopeful and yet, appalling. Because she writes about film, and she could not name Diverse Actors in their 20’s.

The Fairy Princess has asked around and has done some research and while she may not get to 30 because of the ‘rules’ of the list – she is limited to rising film stars and not television stars (where it is acknowledged there is growing diversity), she wants to be clear that the Actors and Actresses of Color who are in their 20’s working in film ALSO ‘Matter”.

In fact, they matter more – because they are the .001% of those who have the talent to already be working in the film industry despite their not being a petite blonde whose grew up in show business or the willowy one who can do stunts while being gorgeous and wry. In fact, TFP will allow up to age 30 to be considered for this list because once upon a time, those who just turned 30 were in their 20’s. For some, it may be only moments ago.

These 20 somethings have succeeded in spite of the Industry. If TFP misses anyone who should be considered, please of course, list them in the comments – her hope is that this list too, will become a ‘short list’ of who to go to.

The parameters are again, film – successful and noted Indie films and Blockbuster Hollywood Franchises. Not the short that got you a mention in the Film Festival in your town. Not the grad school film that you appeared in for a copy on DVD. No Youtube ‘stars’ who are ‘famous‘ – just because you have ‘hits’ and money from those hits to live on does not make you an actor or actress of note.

Blockbuster Films and well lauded Indie films are the requirement to be on this list. Future projects are listed, but they are not ‘required’ to be on this list – the requirement is age, and credits.

Anything else would prove the point Ms. Sharkey has unwittingly made – that there are few Diverse actors to choose from when making film, and we all know that is NOT true in the slightest.

The Fairy Princess pulled from the world wide web, her memory, and friends to make sure she had options, so come with her now and see how she did….

PATINA MILLER (29) TONY Winner for her role in the Broadway Revival of PIPPIN, TONY Nominee for originating the role of Deloris Van Cartier in the Broadway musical version of SISTER ACT. Next to be seen on the big screen as Commander Paylor in THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY.

TAO OKUMOTO (29) A model turned actress, she played opposite HUGH JACKMAN in The Wolverine, and will next grace the big screen in the Blockbuster BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN

TAO OKAMOTO (29) A model turned actress, she played opposite HUGH JACKMAN in The Wolverine, and will next grace the big screen in the Blockbuster BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN

FREIDA PINTO (29) another of the breakout stars of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, and will play a heroine addicted Iranian Artiste in the upcoming film, DESERT DANCER

FREIDA PINTO (29) another of the breakout stars of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, she will play a heroine addicted Iranian Artiste in the upcoming film, DESERT DANCER

ROMEO MILLER (24) First appeared in a mainstream film in HONEY opposite Jessica Alba in 2003. In 2011 he starred in JUMPING THE BROOM. He appeared in MAEDA’s WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM in 2012, and will play the lead in the Urban Strip Drama, CHOCOLATE CITY from Writer/Director Jean Claude LaMarr – just announced by Nikkie Finke. Mr. Miller has 3 films currently in Post-Production: LOOSE, BROTHERLY LOVE, SHAKER POINTE, and ONE HEART

UTKARSH AMBUDKAR (30) began his film career with ROCKET SCIENCE in 2007, and went on to do quite a lot of TV work before appearing in PITCH PERFECT in 2012, he is currently rumored to be reprising his role in PITCH PERFECT 2, according to IMDB.

KATIE LEUNG (26) this Scottish Actress is best known for playing Cho Chang in the HARRY POTTER film franchise. Her acting career seems to be growing most on stage – WILD SWANS, WORLD OF EXTREME HAPPINESS (The Shed at The National Theater 2013), and on the BBC in the Father Brown series. She was also named one of Scotland’s Most Stylish Females

KARAN SONI (25) Appeared in the Indie hit film, SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, which won numerous awards.
He is currently filming a GOOSEBUMPS movie and an indie called B-Roll in addition to appearing in numerous TV shows.

NATHALIE KELLEY (29) this Aussie is of Peruvian and Argentinian descent. Best known for appearing in THE FAST & THE FURIOUS; TOKYO DRIFT she also appeared in the feature TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT and will reprise her role in FAST & FURIOUS 7

NATHALIE EMMANUEL (25) this UK Actress has a combined heritage that included Dominican, St. Lucian, and British. Though most may know her as Missandei, the Interpreter for Khaleesi in GAME OF THRONES, she is set to light up the Big Screen in FAST & FURIOUS 7. She has also appeared in the stage musical of THE LION KING in The West End playing Nala.

TYLER JAMES WILLIAMS (21) starring in the upcoming Indie film DEAR WHITE PEOPLE from writer/director Justin Simien.

VANESSA HUDGENS (25) has a mixed ethnic background of Filipina, Irish and Native American, she is known for the Indie film THIRTEEN, THUNDERBIRDS, SUCKER PUNCH and SPRING BREAKERS. Her next project is a Pre-Broadway workshop of the musical, GIGI by Lerner & Lowe

KEKE PALMER (20) shot to fame as the lead character of Akeelah in the indie, AKEELAH AND THE BEE. She has a long resume that includes the Animated feature ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT, JOYFUL NOISE, THE CLEANER, and BARBERSHOP 2:Back In Business.
She will next reprise her role as Peaches in ICE AGE 5, she has a film called THE PIMP in Pre-Production, and another film, BROTHERLY LOVE in Post Production.

ADAM BAKRI (26) star of the Palestinian film OMAR, which was nominated for an ACADEMY AWARD for Best Foreign Film in 2013. The Film won the Special Jury Prize in Cannes.
He self identifies as a Palestinian Israeli, who now lives in the US full time.
His next project is the feature film ALI AND NINO directed by Asif Kapadia. The story is regarded as ‘the jewel of Azerbaijiani literature’ and charts a romance between a Muslim Prince and a Georgian Christian Princess, the book was published in 1937 and written by Kurban Said

HANA MAE LEE (27) This Korean American Actress started modeling at 16 for major brands before making the leap to Acting. She is known for her roles in PITCH PERFECT and will reprise it for PITCH PERFECT 2.

HANA MAE LEE (27) This Korean American Actress started modeling at 16 for major brands before making the leap to Acting. She is known for her role in PITCH PERFECT and will reprise it for PITCH PERFECT 2.

JAMES FLOYD (28) This UK Actor who is half Indian-Singaporean and half British won the Best Newcomer Award last year at the British Indie Film Awards for his role in MY BROTHER THE DEVIL. He has also been seen in THE INFIDEL (2010) and EVERYWHERE AND NOWHERE (2011)

TESSA THOMPSON (30) – WHEN A STRANGER CALLS (2006), MAKE IT HAPPEN (2008) ,FOR COLORED GIRLS (2010). Next up for her, the highly anticipated Indie DEAR WHITE PEOPLE

BRITTENY ALGER (25) is listed as having Mixed Ethnicity by her Agent, and hails from New Orleans. She has appeared in the films PITCH PERFECT, 21 JUMP STREET, and THE DEMENTED. She will next appear in FAST & FURIOUS 7 as Jasmine.

DARREN CRISS (27) appeared opposite comedic heavy hitter Kristen Wiig, in GIRL MOST LIKELY.
Mr. Criss is Eurasian, having heritages of Chinese, Spanish, Filipino, English, German, and Northern Irish

ODETTE ANNABLE (29) She has been seen in CLOVERFIELD (2008), THE UNBORN (2009), AND SOON THE DARKNESS (2010), YOU AGAIN (2010) She will next appear in the feature film, THE TRUTH ABOUT LIES, which is in post

ODETTE ANNABLE (29) whose heritage is French, Italian and Cuban took her Husband’s name, her original surname was Yustman. She has been seen in CLOVERFIELD (2008), THE UNBORN (2009), AND SOON THE DARKNESS (2010), YOU AGAIN (2010)She will next appear in the feature film, THE TRUTH ABOUT LIES, which is in post. She was raised in a Spanish speaking household and is fluent.

TRISTAN WILDS (24) has appeared in THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES (2008), the Indie HALF NELSON (2006), and RED TAILS (2012)
TRISTAN has been quoted as saying “I get offered a lot of black roles because apparently, I don’t look Latino enough”

ALEXA PENAVEGA (26) started off her film career with the SPY KIDS films, and also appeared in the film REPO, THE GENETIC OPERA. She has 5 new films coming out – DWELLER (pre-prod), SPARE PARTS (post-prod), SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR (Post Prod), 2 BR/1BA, 23 BLAST, and THE REMAINING.

LEILA BEKHTI (30) is a French Actress of Algerian descent. She won the coveted Cesar Award for Most Promising Actress for her role in TOUT CE QUI BRILLE, which was a critical and commercial success. She starred in THE SOURCE, competed at Cannes in 2011. In 2013 BEFORE THE WINTER CHILL, and in 2014 MAINTENANT OU JAMAIS

DESIREE AKHAVAN (29) is a Writer, Filmmaker, and Actress whose feature, APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR is being shown at LA’s OUTFEST 2014. She has been called “The next Lena Dunham” and refers to herself as a Bisexual Iranian American.
This film was her thesis for NYU’s Graduate Directing Program, and premiered at Sundance Film Festival.
The LA Times just did a feature article on her – coincidentally, the same paper that the 30 under 30 list appeared.

MALESE JOW (23) has appeared in THE SOCIAL NETWORK, BRATZ the movie. Upcoming she has the film, PLASTIC

Ki HON LEE (24) has appeared in SHE HAS A BOYFRIEND (2013), THIS IS HOW WE NEVER MET (2013). He will be playing Minho in the film adaptation of James Dashner's THE MAZE RUNNER

KI HONG LEE (24) has appeared in SHE HAS A BOYFRIEND (2013), THIS IS HOW WE NEVER MET (2013). He will be playing Minho in the film adaptation of James Dashner’s THE MAZE RUNNER

AML AMEEN (28) this UK Native appeared in Lee Daniel’s film THE BUTLER playing a younger version of Forrest Whittaker’s character, Cecil Gaines. He will appear in THE MAZE RUNNER Trilogy later this year, as well as in the the feature LILA & EVE opposite Jennifer Lopez & Viola Davis. He will also appear this year in the feature BLACKBIRD alongside Minnie Driver and Danny Glover.

NATASHA WANGANEEN (30), This Aussie Native is shown here with her 2004 AFI Award for her turn in the film RABBIT PROOF FENCE. She also appeared in JESSICA in 2004

JESSICA HILDA MAUBOY (25) is an Australian Actress who gained International notice when she starred in the Indie film, THE SAPPHIRES (2012). She earned a AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
She appeared in the Aboriginal Musical Film, BRAN NUE DAY. She is also a Pop Star in Australia and was nominated in 2013 for “Young Australian of the Year”.
She is of Indonesian and Indigenous Australian descent.

QUVENZHANE WALLIS (10) is known for her roles in 2 Oscar Nominated Films – BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (2012) and 12 YEARS A SLAVE (2013). Next up for her is starring in the reboot of the latest film version of the musical, ANNIE

KEISHA CASTLE-HUGHES (24) nothing like launching an Indie career by riding in on the back of a Cetacean, but this actress from Western Australia is known for her debut in WHALE RIDER (2002). She also has been seen in THE NATIVITY STORY (2006), STAR WARS REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005), RED DOG (2011), with a rumored part in GAME OF THRONES coming up. She has completed filming on 2 features – MILLION DOLLAR MATE and QUEEN OF CARTHAGE

Well heavens, The Fairy Princess made it to a list of 30!

Now, of course, Dear Reader, this will spark your memory and you will OF COURSE comment on who was left off of this list – AS WELL YOU SHOULD. Let us make the list longer!

One group which she wanted to include was Native Americans, there are quite a few from The Twilight Movies, however – they generally did not have their birth dates listed on IMDB, so The Fairy Princess could not determine – given the parameters of the list – whether or not she could include them on this particular list.

The Fairy Princess did want to let you all know that there is a wonderful list of NA Actors on IMDB, and if you click HERE, you will find it – and Congratulations to them all, TFP was glad to know that there were so many.

The Fairy Princess is not a professional writer who patrols screenings and looks for new talent as part of her job, she is someone who blogs about Diversity and what lack of Diversity does to our culture at large – and this list took her one day to compile.

ONE. DAY.

And, there is NO DOUBT that she could have written more, there is not a doubt that she could have gotten higher than 30, but… she has to go to bed. That is the truth. The Fairy Princess has a toddler who will be awake and chatty at 5:30 am, just as he is EVERY morning, and simply put….she has to call it a day.

However, she wants you to remember, that the next time someone deigns to tell you who or what ‘matters’, that it is clearly something to ignore.

We all matter – whether it is to your Family, your Friends, your Career – YOU matter. Do not let Hollywood and it’s lack of creativity in Casting have any effect on your personal feelings about yourself because The Fairy Princess SEES you, she does, and take it from her – YOU MATTER.

10 smacks with the wand to Ms. Sharkey, who in one fell swoop, managed to push the Hollywood agenda steadily forward, by paying lip service to the problem, but not, in any way, becoming part of the solution.

Dear Ms. Sharkey The Fairy Princess has no idea why your list was so heavily stilted towards blonde actresses…

but she could take a guess.

Let’s do better next time.

Also, please take a look at this new film’s trailer…because we are getting restless, and when we do, we People of Color, we get funny….

Tags 12 Years a Slave, 30 Under 30, Actors, Adam Bakri, Alexa PenaVega, America Ferrara, Aml Ameen, Annie, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Betsy Sharkey, Better Luck Tomorrow, Bias, Britteny Alger, Chloe Grace Moretz, Darren Criss, Desiree Akhavan, Diversity, Elle Fanning, Ellen Paige, Eurasian, Executives, Fast and the Furious, Freida Pinto, Gabourey Sidibe, Hailee Steinfeld, Hana Mae Lee, Harry Potter, James Floyd, Jason Tobin, Jessica Hilda Mauboy, John Cho, Justin Lin, Karan Soni, Karin Anna Cheung, Katie Leung, Keisha Castle Hughes, KeKe Palmer, Ki Hong Lee, Lee Daniels, Leila Behkti, Malese Jow, Nathalie Emmanuel, Nathalie Kelley, Odette Annable, Odette Yustman, Parry Shen, Patina Miller, Pitch Perfect, Pitch Perfect 2, Precious, Push by Sapphire, Quevenzhane Wallis, Racsim, Real Women Have Curves, Roger Fan, Romeo Miller, Rooney Mara, Showrunners, Sung Kang, Tao Okumoto, Tessa Thompson, Tristan Wilds, Tyler James Williams, Utkarsh Ambudkar, vanessa hudgens

Categories Diversity

Can He See? An Innocent Question about my Son’s Eyes

June 28, 2014 //

The Fairy Princess has a two year old – most people who read my blog know that. She blogs, generally, about diversity in theater and representation on television – and Diversity is an ongoing conversation.

The reason the conversation about Diversity is ongoing is because the world is not run by, this is a generalization and The Fairy Princess knows that, however it is a generalization for a reason – not because this is intended to be a rallying cry – the world is not run by People of Color.

Unless you work for Shonda Rhimes.

Are there People of Color everywhere?

Yes.

However The Fairy Princess and her Family reside in the United States. She is also a Member of the UK Commonwealth by Citizenship, so in HER world – barring The President of the United States – the world is run by white people.

White, straight people.

Caucasian Cisgendered People who enjoy a greater sense of Privilege.

Now, The Fairy Princess‘s Father was a Caucasian Cisgendered male – so she has nothing against people who identify themselves that way – unless in impacts the way in which she lives, or the way her family lives -changes their ability to walk about the world doing whatever it is one does all day – with us, it is generally auditions, drink coffee, creative meetings, physical health maintenance and making sure that my child lives the fullest life for his age group that any child can live. Your regular creative nightmare.

Today, she took her child to the local pool. Her child, whose heritage is Korean, Chinese, Irish and Welsh, is one who, by appearance, looks 100% Asian. He is gorgeous. The Fairy Princess has been told this by People who work in Entertainment, so of course it must be true because People in Entertainment are always honest.

Ahem.

Personal attractiveness aside, she will say, her kid has an amazing personality and a love of life that reminds her every day that we should all strive to be as full of the wonder of the world as we can.

Anyway, today she took him to the local pool – he looked very cute. He was running around enjoying himself, with Mommy only a few steps away because…well…there was water and he was in the pool, capice?

Everyone who looked at him enjoying himself and laughing, smiled.

Even the very cute little 5, possibly 6 year old girl who was near him in the water. It is a wading pool, and kids younger than 8 generally stay in this area.

As this lovely little Caucasian girl with the long lovely brown hair looked at him, she smiled. She looked up at me and she smiled. She looked at The Fairy Princess‘s son, who was laughing and splashing, and smiled again. Then she looked at The Fairy Princess and asked her a question.

“Can he see?”

The Fairy Princess took a second, because well…she had to watch her son, and also, she wanted to take stock of the situation in full, to see if she understood it correctly. Which is when the question was expanded.

“Can he open his eyes?”

Because The Fairy Princess‘s son has beautiful and expressive Asian shaped eyes. Asian eyes tend to be smaller in appearance than Caucasian eyes, but they are not. They are the same sized eye that everyone has – generally, Asians have an epicanthic fold – which is just skin, Folks, it’s just skin. The eyeballs are the same size as anyone else.

Yes, we can see.

This is why Diversity on our television screens and on our stages and forty feet high in the movies matters.

This little girl, it seems, has has no interaction with Asian Americans, and her question was simply her trying to understand something that she had never seen. So she asked a question that, had The Fairy Princess‘s son been older and more aware, probably would have hurt his feelings. It might have made him, had he been older and more able to understand, question his own worthiness. It might have, had he been older and more able to understand, might have made him shut down and feel isolated.

The Fairy Princess never wants that to happen to her son, so she has surrounded him, since birth, with people who all walk different paths. He is awash in the love and kindness of so many, that it gives him a confidence and an armor to go out into the world where he will, no doubt, hear this kind of question again – only not given so innocently.

The next time he hears it, it could be to belittle him, or used as a tool to make him leave a situation. The next time he hears it, it could be the prelude to violence – the thought of which keeps The Fairy Princess up at night, because no matter how safe you feel in America, a Person of Color – like any woman walking around the world anywhere, has to keep an awareness of personal safety that straight, white, cisgendered males do not.

This little girl was not, herself, being racist. She was trying to understand because in her daily life, and in the life her Parents have allowed her to enjoy – she does not, it is clear, encounter People of Color. No one has explained to her that the world is large, and that people come in all shapes and shades, and that love can be all manner of things to all manner of people. No one has shared with her the notion that there are questions that are inappropriate, or that just because someone looks different to you or acts different to you, it is not your ‘right’ to demand an answer for their existence.

This little girl and her question are why we need, at a young age, to be exposed to different peoples. Not just racially – there are people with disabilities, and people who love people of the same sex. There are people who come from cultures where facial tattoos are a right of passage, or people who have lost limbs to war. There are people who began life as one type of person and have found that they are another type of person. There are people who have weight issues, or people who have scars…there are so many different types of people in the world.

They all deserve to walk about the planet without having answers demanded of them, with no notice, from someone who only knows one type of world – even if the person asking is only five. Or six.

The Fairy Princess‘s answer to this little girl, who smiled so innocently while asking was brief, “Yes, he can see.”

The Fairy Princess‘s look at this little girl’s Mother, bikini clad in a Lily Pulitzer transparent cover up, standing outside the water but able to hear every word her daughter asked, said a bit more.

Ahem.

The little girl’s Mother pulled her out of the pool rather quickly, and, one hopes, took her home to give her a talk on the Diversity of the planet, perhaps she popped in a DVD of Disney’s Mulan or something to explain it further. Hopefully, this little girl’s Mother now realizes that what she is giving her child – confidence, charm, inquisitiveness – perhaps needs to be expanded by visiting museums, and venturing to other areas like New York City. Perhaps she will realize that she is doing her child, and my child, a disservice by presenting only one world view.

Perhaps she will not.

However, if our television screens continue to diversify, if our films continue to show different types of people, if our stages start to represent our entire populations – that little girl will have exposure to other peoples. No one will be ‘foreign’ to her, she will have seen a world that encompasses many things.

As she grows, if she sees Diversity, her questions will hopefully focus less on appearance and more on…oh, science or art or music or the environment or…there is so much more to focus on, when we all can just accept one another without demanding answers for another person’s existence, for when we stop asking why someone looks the way they look. Perhaps if she can stop with the questionable questions, she will be able to set about finding answers – to things like world peace, conservation, global warming, sex trafficking…that little girl seemed very bright, The Fairy Princess bets she could do it.

That is why Diversity matters, because lack of Diversity makes the conversation stop and focus only on one aspect, and there is so much more to see and do, than ask if Asian people can open their eyes.

The Fairy Princess hopes that, in hearing her child ask an Asian American child if they could see, that little girl’s Mother learned a lesson today too.

Because the next time, that Mother might get more than a look from The Fairy Princess, she might get an earful too.

Tags asian eyes, cisgendered, Diversity, epicanthic fold, LGBT, Racism

Categories Diversity

When the BBC told the BEAs to take a Slow Boat to China….

June 12, 2014 //

The Fairy Princess needs some sleep. Seriously, between the time zones and demands for this or that to be put on tape, she is too tired to function and well, to say she is needing some intervention…

would be putting it mildly.

The Fairy Princess is mainly exhausted because her 2 year old has discovered that he can climb, and at less than a moments notice she has to pull him from the top of a table or a piano or a flight of stairs – you understand, he’s a maniac, maniac on the floor – or the stairs, or the hallway, or…you get the idea.

However she came across a letter written by the BBC explaining why they cannot have a more diverse television palette in the UK, which she found shocking because here in the US of A, our television Networks continue to make great strides in their commitment to Diversity – particularly, it should be noted, the aptly named ABC (American Broadcast Company).

American Networks, though not ‘even Steven‘ integrated ’tis true, are hosting shows that reflect a broad range of experiences, families, and most importantly, diverse faces. In short – our televisions are slowly but surely starting to ‘reflect the American scene‘ as required in production contracts.

Why is why she felt a bit flummoxed upon reading the response from the BBC – and while she is NOT in the UK, she felt she should let some support to the British East Asian Artists who are having to deal with some outrageous Public school prats who live in the proverbial bubble and never deign to step outside their world, lest they have to deal with the riff raff.

Which would be me.

Not that they perhaps, know who I am, but um….The Royal Shakespeare Company and the English National Opera do, so if the BBC has questions, they can ring up an old chum from the Academy and have a chat.

The beginning of the story is, a letter was written to the BBC by a British East Asian Actress named Bess Chan

She asked the BBC why in America, Asian Americans are viewed as Americans, but why in the UK, Asians are viewed as “Foreigners’ and vastly underrepresented in a variety of roles.

(I have to interject that we fight that same battle in the USA every day, but we do have several examples of Asian Americans on the small screen who do not play ‘foreigners’, in terms of representation, we are light years ahead of the UK)

The BBC wrote back to Ms. Chan. Their letter is exceedingly long winded, and as a real Queen once said…

So The Fairy Princess is going to break it down, the BBC’s reasoning for accepting public funds but refusing to represent the public.

1. They are ‘too big’ to demand diversity from themselves.

“…we are a much larger, much more complex and massively more separated multimedia broadcaster with many different and separate departments and divisions, as opposed to one all-encompassing department which oversees absolutely everything.”

2. They believe demanding Diversity would limit the freedom to ignore people of color

“Some…believe that we as a publicly funded public service broadcaster should be subject to formal quotas on diversity, but the the reality is that this cannot happen as it would be contrary to the Equality Act….television must be able to maintain artistic choice and discretion in what they do’

3. They believe that hiring few actors of color is because they hire the best actors available

“The actors hired are employed on the basis of their judged suitability for the role…this includes things like ethnicity…but that’s not to say there is any bias against or in favor of any group of society in terms of television drama productions…what we couldn’t do is simply shoehorn a British East Asian family …in for no reason or relevance…that would equate to…’positive discrimination’…’

4. They believe that writers are immune from having discrimination, and they cannot force them to write about people they do not want to

“There is absolutely no discrimination by writers and producers against any section of society….it’s simply about characters, relevance….questions would be is there a sizeable British East Asian population/presence/culture in the type of area (it) is mean to reflect?….a medium like television does have to allow programme makers withe ability to have a very wide choice based upon the dramatic and artistic requirements upon them.”

5. They are not ‘The Boss of Everyone”aka “There are none”

“…put simply we ourselves cannot create British East Asian Actors, we have to rely on schools, colleges, drama clubs…the theatre and so on to identify, train and nurture young talent, which then feeds through…The BBC does not oversee or govern such things itself, no should we, as it is not our role to create actors…”

6. They have ‘initiatives’ that are just not working, but that’s not really their fault

“But what we can do and do do is work with many different partners across the country and support emerging talent to come forward, is to encourage applications and approaches from…groups which might be under-represented’.

And then they list each and every British East Asian Actor who has EVER, and I mean EVER, appeared on the BBC.

Ok, BBC, The Fairy Princess has heard your reasoning and….well….Victoria, you want to ‘take’ this one?

First off, the BBC is unaware of the ethnic population of London, London is fairly diverse.

(40% BlackAsianMinorityEthnicity – BAME)

As the yellow, pink, and blue dots represent People of Color in London, it is interesting to note that those colors appear in every neighborhood – some more or some less, but they do appear. Which means anyone who works at the BBC knows someone of color, it would be mathematically impossible given the density of diversity in London to live a life without a person of color in it.

Unless you live in a palace. Which, some do. It is London.

Let’s see, do people who live in a palace know people of color?

Prince Charles with Will.I.am

The Royals with Bollywood Actress Kajol, Nita Ambani, Mukesh Ambani & Ajay Devgan

The Royals with President Tan, of Singapore and his wife, Mary.

HRH’s Wills & Harry with Kanye West & Sean Combs

The Royals in Tuvalu

I guess they do.

Even people who USED to live in a palace know people of color

Sarah Ferguson & Naomi Campbell

Just so we all understand one another, the Royals extended social circle has more diversity than the BBC.

The BBC, just like the Royals, receives funding from The Public. However, in the Royals case, they do their best to be ambassadors for Britain the world over and meet people from any and every social strata, the BBC….not so much.

How can one live and work in London, walk around, talk to people – people of color – all day, and then shut out their existence from your place of work? A place which, incidentally, is supposed to represent them? The denizens of the BBC live and work in London, mainly, and yet, they apparently do not ‘see’ BAME people. Remarkable.

The Fairy Princess read with interest the letter from the BBC, and marveled at the hubris and pomposity with which a self admitted “…massively separated multimedia broadcaster’ deigned to address the issue of diversity, she read it over and over again – even out loud with a posh accent – in order to better formulate her thoughts on the matter.

Are you ready, BBC?

First off – when one IS a ….what was that self described term again? Oh right, “Massively separated multimedia broadcaster‘ it essentially means one is a corporation. What is a corporation?

A corporation is a separate legal entity that has been incorporated either directly through legislation or through a registration process established by law. Incorporated entities have legal rights and liabilities that are distinct from their employees and shareholders,^[1]

Corporations are (to The Fairy Princess’s horror) able to be treated legally as individuals. They can be guilty of human rights violations, they can be convicted of offenses in a court of law, the only thing they are not considered is a breathing human. A Corporation is, in theory, owned and controlled by it’s stockholders, under the supervision of appointed peoples.

The BBC is a corporation, independent from direct government intervention, with its activities being overseen by the BBC Trust.

The BBC is a a public service broadcasting statutory corporation – and it operates under a Royal Charter. (Which, actually, can be revoked – will never happen, but it can, in theory). It’s main responsibility is to provide impartial public service broadcasting in the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Mann. It’s work is funded by an annual licensing fee, which is awarded by Parliament and is charged to all British households – it is charged, in fact, to anyone who watches television in the UK on any type of equipment that receives broadcast signals.

In short – taxes. Taxpayers are the BBC’s stockholders.

The BBC does have many channels, and they all have their ‘thing’, some are Arts based, or Sports, or News – but they all fall under the giant BBC umbrella – even if they are BBC4 and not BBC3, even if BBC2 has a complex about being the second channel and therefore not as loved – they are all in the same family.

In 2007, the BBC Trust was formed, and they, 12 Trustees appointed by Monarchs, set the strategy for the Corporation. The whole thing. All of it’s multi-media-ness. BBC Channel ad infinitum – all under the Trust. And what is the Trust supposed to do? It’s stated aim is to make decisions in the best interests of those who pay the licensing fees.

The taxpayers. The Trust is supposed to watch out for the taxpayers and see that they are best served. How can one best serve the taxpayers on the small screen?

They can have people on the small screen who look like the people who are watching it.

In response to the first point in their letter, The Fairy Princess wanted to point out that, actually, you CAN require more Diversity because ultimately, you are headed up by 12 individual people who hang with The Royals.

No, David Beckham is not a Trustee of the BBC – but he TOTALLY COULD BE if he plays his cards right

The BBC is not an amorphous matrix of broadcasting, it is simply a Corporation where 12 individuals set policy and then they allow minions to run and do work for them. There are, of course, existing policies and different levels within this corporate structure – but…it’s not MI-5 or 6.

It is not an ‘I’d tell you but then I would have to kill you‘ scenario. It’s television.

You CAN actually know what other departments and associated productions are doing because at some point during a Trustee meeting, it has to pass by 12 individuals. According to the way it is set up by Royal Charter.

Therefore to that first point, which is really –we can’t know what we are doing because we are too damn big to know….

The Fairy Princess replies:

The second point in their response, is that to require Diversity would violate The Equality Act.

The Equality Act is England’s Anti-discrimination law designed to protect people from discrimination based on race, creed, color, sexual preference, sexual harassment and so forth.

However, by citing The Equality Act as a response, the BBC has actually weakened it’s ‘case’ because The Equality Act is supposed to guarantee equal access in employment. Equal access to everyone and everywhere within their entity – and that includes on the screen, writing for the screen, and producing.

Monitoring being what it is, in our ‘Big Brother’ society, it should be easy to pull the records – how many pitch meetings for writers who are BAME? How many BAMEs cast on a show set in London? How many produced shows by BAME producers on your Network?

The Fairy Princess is Asian, and horrible at math, but even she can see that this response does not add up.

Perhaps before citing The Equality Act, you should have looked at their list of current productions.

Numbers do not lie.

If the BEA are not being given equal amounts of auditions as their Caucasian counterparts, then already, the BBC is in violation of The Equality Act. Therefore in order to fulfill the requirements cited by The Equality Act, they should instigate some sort of Diversity program to get more People of Color on their small screens.

Taking steps to ensure equality is not a violation of The Equality Act.

It’s making sure that The Equality Act cannot NOT work.

The rest of their points – they cannot talk to their poor, overly sensitive writers?

Let me tell you about writers – they will write just about anything if they think it is going to sell. Therefore when hearing pitches for new shows, or showing them numbers from their existing shows, perhaps it is best to cite numbers from American shows that are diverse in order to show them that DIVERSITY SELLS.

And no, you do not always have to ‘write what you know’ personally – you can make stuff up and have it be fantastic and magical and include Diversity, oh British TV Writers.

The more diverse the cast is, the better it does – and if they do not believe you, hand them this article from the USA’s National Public Radio.

The BBC believes that they have already hired the best actors around?

Well…not really – BAME Actors are fleeing to the USA in fairly large numbers because of the opportunities to be seen as something more than ‘foreign’ in the UK.

Opportunities to headline a Broadway show perhaps?

Or did you not know that Sophie Okonedo won a TONY last week for her role in “A RAISIN IN THE SUN” on Broadway?

What did Lenny Henry say again?

“….Since 2006 -2012 the number of BAMEs working in the UK TV industry has declined by 30.9%”

Diversity is, as Diversity does.

Lastly, while I do not have exact numbers from British Equity on the number of Union members who self identify as BAE, The Fairy Princess is confident that there are Conservatory graduates and dwellers of the leading British theater companies who are British East Asian. They are on your stages RIGHT NOW!

Gemma Chan & David Yip in DHH’s YELLOWFACE, re-opening in May 2014

Why, there is even a whole Facebook page devoted to British East Asians, called – wait for it –

British East Asian Artists

– so the answer that you are waiting for BAE’s to pop out of conservatories like Dame Edna out of a corset is ludicrous. There are many, and they have been on the stage and all sorts of screens, and by even talking that way it only shows you have not practiced your due diligence when responding with that wretched letter.

Come ON my BBC Possums!

You are probably feeling a bit knocked around now, bit bruised by now BBC? Aren’t you?

Listen BBC – there are, yes, a few British East Asians that have appeared on your network – some in groundbreaking shows, some in good roles, but they are few and far between. The fact that you can list them in one paragraph in a letter should show you right there that you are aware that this is an issue.

Besides, when did having a few Caucasians on your networks prevent you from hiring more Caucasians?

The answer to that is never.

Having Caucasians on the screen has never been an obstacle against having more. And all things being EQUAL…..having a few BEA Artists on television shows of the past should not prevent you from having more in the future. British East Asians have been in England for the last few hundred years.They have been part of the fabric of the UK, because you are a seafaring nation.

Or have we forgotten The Opium Wars?

Chinese people have been visiting England since the 17th Century!

This is the first one – he was a friend of the King James the Second.

Shen Fu-Tsung was the first ever recorded ethnic Chinese person to set foot in what is now the United Kingdom, having visited over 300 years ago in 1685

Which means that in any period drama, there could be one. Or two. The Fairy Princess does not wish to limit you, but to cite historical accuracy or population numbers as a reason that there are not enough BAEs on television is a diversion.

En garde!

It is time, BBC, to acknowledge that you are trying to run what we in the States call a ‘shell game’ with that letter. You want us to look here, when the truth is there, meanwhile you have been hiding it all along and it never was a possibility to win in the first place.

You are the BBC! You exist by Royal Charter! You are supposed to be gracious!

You know what would have been a better answer?

I will write it for you:

Dear Ms. Chan,

Thank you for your letter. We at the BBC do understand that the UK is changing and we exist to serve our various communities and our population as a whole, as per our Royal Charter. The numbers you state and the questions you ask are ones we are grappling with ourselves, and we do understand your frustration.

We do have a plan to introduce more Diversity on our screens, or rather encourage it, by having workshops, panels, and showcases of underrepresented talent for our writers, producers, and show runners. We are also setting up Diversity departments that will have regular meetings with Casting Directors, to encourage them to broaden their scope when looking for an actor to fill the role. While the BBC cannot control anything on the Agency sides – meaning the Talent Agents that submit their clients to our Casting Directors, as part of our public service, we will invite, to these showcases, Agents from the top UK Agencies, in hopes that they may add someone found at our showcases to their roster.

Our Diversity Department will also be responsible for meeting with each showrunner and asking for their Diversity numbers from past seasons, and requiring that they examine the demographic for the area in which the show is set, and try and remember that when casting.

This is not going to be a quick process, because we do, at the BBC encourage Artistic License, however we are aware that this is an issue that is ongoing, and we are going to push for our screens to represent our population as much as possible. It may not be ‘every’ show, but within the next year, we hope to see a huge rise in the number of, at least, guest starring and supporting roles that are BAME, with of course an ultimate goal of series regulars who are BAME Actors, to better serve our country.

Thank you for your letter and allowing us to respond, we appreciate that we exist by public support.

The BBC

That would have been a better answer BBC – and look, The Fairy Princess has actually shared with you the way American television has made their screens more diverse!

That’s the way it worked – with mission statements, by coordinating casting, production, executives, and writers, by having showcases…all of these things worked, and now our small screens look more like America.

Don’t you want your small screens to look more like the UK?

Take a look at our Networks – because they too, are corporations, but they look a bit more like….

Some of the Cast of “Madame Secretary”

The Cast of SCANDAL

They look like America.

Come ON BBC! Do Better!

Because BAME Artists are not going silently into ANY dark night, and as for me?

Tags ABC, BAME, BBC, BEA Artists, Diversity, Fresh Off The Boat, Kanye West, Kate Middleton, Letter, naomi campbell, P. Diddy, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Prince William, Sara Ferguson, UK

Categories Diversity

Accent-uate the Positive

June 10, 2014 //

The Fairy Princess had an audition and she was required to use an Accent.

If you have been reading along, you might guess that The Fairy Princess has a problem with this, and the answer is – within parameters, The Fairy Princess does not have a problem using an accent of any kind.

Yes, some people just flat out refuse to do them, due to personal mores (which is fine), but The Fairy Princess comes from a family built by immigration and the accents she heard growing up – Irish, Australian, Chinese – and by marriage – Korean -, and through friendships – too numerous and international to be counted – means that she is well aware that accents exist on the planet, and it would be completely ridiculous not to acknowledge that when one is acting.

In her own opinion.

This post is not really for Actors, who kind of ‘get’ what the job is, but it is more for the “Activists’ out there, who I have noticed, seem to lose their mind when an Actor of Color has to use an accent.

So The Fairy Princess is going to share her very simple rules for when a Minority Actor or Actress should/can use an accent without getting flack for it from the general public, bloggers, and those who share their every thought on social media.

You know – people like me. 🙂

THE FAIRY PRINCESS’S EIGHT SIMPLE RULES FOR USING AN ACCENT

1. If the character is an immigrant.

Asian Americans will not like this first one, but the truth is, though the API population is growing rapidly, we still get most of our population numbers from immigration. It would be ludicrous to assume that someone arriving in America is going to get off the plane speaking “The Queen’s English”, one or two – likely, every single one? Not possible.

Immigrants have accents because they have not assimilated to the new country – and this is not just an Asian accent thing, immigrants from Australia, Britain, Ireland, Wales – they all have accents to American ears – accents are not ‘owned’ by any particular group. We all have them – look at New York vs. Chicago – Fuggitaboudit!

2. If the character comes from a region where a specific dialect is well known and expected

Examples would be, of course, the American Deep South, or Australia, or Norway. Or a particular city within the USA that has well known regional flavor…or Canada. There are lots of regional accents out there, and if a play is set in a particular city, one would expect to hear them.

3. If the character and the play are set in a historic time and the entire cast is using an accent –

Well, for example, Shakespeare – even Americans sound vaguely British-y when they do Shakespeare, perhaps it is psychological or perhaps it just sounds better that way, who knows – but it is hard to say “Out damn spot!” without trying to Dame Dench it.

Those are my top 3 reasons of why an Actor would choose to do them, but having said that, The Fairy Princess has rules, for herself (but she is sharing now), of what she expects of herself when doing an accent as part of her work, so here are 4-6….

4. It must be authentic.

If the character is Korean – then the accent must mimic someone from Korea who has just learned English – likewise for Hispanic, Cyrillic, Celtic, just ANY accent – it has to be authentic. If you are supposed to be from Japan, you cannot sound like you are from the Philippines.

By being authentic, you are being respectful. Which brings me to my next personal rule:

5. It must respectful.

The Actor should not allow the accent to wear them, they should ‘wear’ the accent. In practice, Actors often need to find something about a character to like, in order to do the character justice. If the accent is being used for comedy, that is fine- but have the joke be funny by performance, not by accent alone. It is a fine, fine line – yes, but the benefits are that one does not feel that one has taken a bath in sewage after every performance.

6. It must serve the play, television show, or film

Having an accent ‘just to have one’ does not really, to The Fairy Princess, have a point to it. Given that the world is getting more diverse, one expects to hear more accents on our screens and stages – or that is the dream, in my mind. The accent has to be given to the character for a reason other than to play into stereotype or to serve as a foil for debasing the character who has it.

Those are The Fairy Princess’s rules for personal use of an accent – but there are a few exceptions and we are going to go into them right now:

7. Caucasians do not get to use accents to mock the Immigrant character.

We have seen it in film,

television,

The Cast of How I Met Your Mother

and Broadway,

Revival of The Mystery Of Edwin Drood with Andy Karl and Jessie Mueller

– it is not what is supposed to happen in this day and age.

Let’s all agree to be better than that.

Otherwise what good are theater conferences and diversity panels? None at all if you are going to turn around and give us a tv show or musical without employing Actors who can take the stage/screen without browning, yellowing, or blacking their faces.

8. Other Minorities, likewise, should be judicious with assuming that because we ‘share’ minority status, that it’s ‘allowed’ to put on accents of other races.

Not so much, Folks – not so much.

Just because you are not Caucasian does not mean you get a free pass. Because you are not Caucasian means you know what it feels like when you are mocked by a stereotype that you do not embody – so let’s be kind to one another.

If, for plot’s sake, your character has an accent because it fit the ‘regional’ requirements listed above, that is, of course, different kettle of fish. Plot points are plot points.

Are there exceptions to any and all of these rules?

There are to most rules, but these, not really.

Accents are part of the costume that we Actors wear, and they will always be a part of the profession – unless we decide to get dull and boring and lose all sense of reality and humor – some are already there.

Ahem.

However, it is not the accent that makes the performance, it is the execution by the actor and the intention behind the employment OF an accent within a role.

If you hate the accent, so be it – turn the channel. But let us not flay actors who are gainfully employed by taking away their tools to do their job – if they are playing an immigrant, they WILL have an accent – and uber sensitivity is NOT going to help the great strides being taken by both Networks and Actors in breaking down the doors that have been closed to diversity.

The Cast of Fresh Off The Boat

Got it?

Yeah, I thought you did.

Tags ABC, accents, Activism, Diversity, erin quill, Fresh Off The Boat, jessie mueller, Racism

Categories Diversity

Fresh Outta Bullsh*t

May 18, 2014 //

The Fairy Princess eagerly awaited “Up-fronts’ this year like a small child whose dreams of sitting on the lap of a costumed man of girth had not yet been dashed by the commercialization of the holiday in question.

LUCKIES? Seriously Santa, WTF?

And, unlike when someone wanted a BB gun….

She got what she has wanted for every major holiday and wish upon a star for a long time….

The Fairy Princess heard tell of 4 new shows with Asian Americans featured prominently and thus, she did NOT want to shoot her eye out – which is usually how she feels after hearing what got picked up at the Up-fronts.

How many IS that Feist?

Let’s, for the heck of is, just list them:

Madame Secretary:

Set in Washington, DC – unlike other shows set in that fair city, this one has a diverse cast that does include Asian Americans like Actor, Geoffrey Arend – who was so great in Body of Proof. Also in the cast, Yale Grad, Mozhan Marno, CMU Grad & TONY Winner Patina Miller, and of course, from the Musical Theater, Mr. Erich Bergen, who is also going to be appearing in the feature film directed by Clint Eastwood, Jersey Boys coming out in June.

The cast in exceptionally diverse in gender & ethnicity & most likely, sexual preference (because why would they leave that out?), and The Fairy Princess looks forward to this show. It seems smart, quick, and topical, and when looking at the bios of the cast on IMDB, quite a few are fluent in several languages, and that can only add to the portrayal of a dynamic White House with a Madame Secretary of State.

Selfie:

The Fairy Princess likes this trailer for several reasons –

1. it takes it’s concept from Pygmalian by George Bernard Shaw.

2. It looks like it is going to examine our current obsession with all things superficial

3. Stars John Cho as the Romantic Lead. Yeah, I said it – ROMANTIC LEAD. JOHN CHO. ROMANTIC.

GET INTO IT.

Fingers crossed for you, Mr. Cho – I hope the show knocks it out of the park.

STALKER:

The Fairy Princess is going to like this show – it is going to scare the s##t out of her, because it will remind her of friends who have gone through this problem, and it will remind her of when someone did not like her blog and threatened to hurt not only her, but her kid….but she will watch this show, for sure.

The Fairy Princess is particularly partial to Hapa Actresses whose surnames end in Q.

(You may have heard that before….)

Quigley? Quill? Get it? Get it?

And finally….drumroll please…

Fresh Off The Boat

Now Fresh Off The Boat, is the story of a little guy named Eddie who grows up to be this guy:

Celebrity Chef, Eddie Huang. It’s based on a book that he wrote, and it is, for all intents and purposes, his ‘brand’.

The term Fresh off The Boat is giving some in the Asian American Community agita, and here’s why – because we, Asian Americans, use it amongst ourselves to denigrate one another.

We totally do.

We do. Not anyone else. We, us.

It is a term used to separate ‘cool’ Asian Americans, with an emphasis on American, from those who were freshly arrived immigrants who probably had accents, and perhaps lacked some fashion sense, according to American Asians. We are very judgy, Asian Americans – no wonder we suffer from depression – right, Kristina Wong?

So now, APIs who have been gleefully disdaining one another for YEARS, are worried that “White People” are going to hear the term, “Fresh Off The Boat’ or “FOB” (sometimes said, fob, as in watch fob and not just the initials), and they are going to add it to the pantheon of insults to call Asian Americans as they walk harmlessly down the street.

It should be acknowledged that ABC Network wanted to change the name of the show to “Far East Orlando”, but no one liked that title either – particularly not Chef Huang, and he lobbied fiercely to get it changed back to match his title and his brand.

The Fairy Princess is not disavowing that racism happens – she could not possibly when she herself has harmlessly walked down the street and been called all sorts of racial names by ignorant people driving by safely in cars, or heard what was yelled from a school bus while she rode her bike to school, or even, just you know, well, for example this is a conversation she actually had, but it is repeated at least twice a week, somewhere in her week:

ME: Bagel and Coffee Please

COUNTER GUY: Where are you from?

ME: New York.

COUNTER GUY: No, where were you born?

ME: Manhattan.

COUNTER GUY: NO, I mean, where is your Family from?

ME: Ireland.

Never got that bagel and coffee. A bit of Hapa Humor – because what he really wanted to hear was China…or Japan…or Korea…or some other Asian country that he would then be able to tell me he either wanted to visit, was once stationed there during a war, or perhaps, he wanted to tell me to go back to there.

These are all things I have heard throughout my lifetime. And worse. Much, much worse.

The Fairy Princess gets that APIs are concerned about the title – but growing up in New York, she can assure you of one thing – we all borrow from other languages to express ourselves, capice?

Even if FOB makes it into the vernacular – is it really worse than ‘Chink‘? Or “Jap“? Or “Gook“? Or “Slant“? Or “Hey, Love You Long Time“? Or “Bitch“?

Or any combination of those with added slanderous words concerning my perceived place of origin, my Parents, or my very existence, is it?

Given those variables, The Fairy Princess would relish simply being called a FOB. Because she has been called all those other things throughout her life – being a Viking explorer would not actually be that insulting.

These Folks are Fresh Off the Boat as well….I dunno, they look pretty fierce

So I’m newly arrived? So what?

Is that, in a nation of Immigrants, really a big deal? That one arrived by boat? Shouldn’t one be glad that someone in his or her family took a giant leap of faith and left everything they knew, in order that we, Asian Americans might wallow in hypersensitivity and yell about titles of television shows that have not even aired yet?

My Forefathers took a boat to get here – they were escaping oppression and war, and they took a boat.

It was from Dublin.

Everyone has suffered from Xenophobia in America – Everyone

My point is – at one time, any transoceanic travel was only accomplished by boat – Asian Americans do not have a monopoly on arriving anywhere via ocean.

The uproar over FOB is because we are the ones that turned it ‘into something’ and now, we do not want to reap the consequences of that. Too bad.

This show has not only been trashed talked because of the title, but because the lead actress, Constance Wu, has a accent. Which, she should – because her character is from Taiwan. Asian Americans do not get their increase in numbers from birth rate, we get them from immigration.

Let me put it another way – if the character were Caucasian and from Dublin, and had an Irish accent – would you have a problem with it?

Colin Farrell would probably play the part with an Irish accent, but then everyone would be upset he was playing a Mom

Colin Farrell has an accent. I am ok with it- Ladies? How about you?

No. Because it would make sense for a character from another country to arrive in America and speak with a slight accent. As it does in this case – it makes sense for the character.

The complaints keep coming though, and they are getting more and more upsetting…

I read a comment that said they were upset that lead actor, Randall Park, who is of Korean heritage, is playing a Chinese American.

Really?

REALLY?

34griwx

The Fairy Princess says NO!

Absolutely NOT!

Do not project your own issues onto an unsuspecting sitcom. Do you have ANY idea how GREAT it is to have not one, not two, but FOUR television shows on major networks with Asian Americans, showing a panoply of the depth of Asian America? DO YOU?

The Fairy Princess does.

It has been a long, hard struggle for those both in front and behind the camera to get to where we are now – twenty years have gone by since an Asian American family was the subject of a sitcom on a Major Network.

DO NOT BLOW THIS FOR US!

Or just do us all a favor and just watch kitten videos for the rest of your life. ONLY kitten videos.

The Fairy Princess will NOT listen to any more of your idiotic complaints….

The Fairy Princess is going to challenge Asian America – here goes:

I want you to watch, DVR, On Demand, Internet – however you watch television now – I want you to watch the above four shows.

I want you to prove to NBC, CBS, and ABC that Diversity matters.

I want you to prove that Diversity = Dollars.

What you are doing, by going to town with these complaints is proving that Diversity = Damage Control.

This is the wrong message to send.

The end result will be less Asian Americans on television, because you will have effectively told the Networks that you are going to raise hell every time an Asian Family hits the air, and you will make it ‘too much trouble’ to have an Asian American family hit the air at all.

Are you hearing me?

All this bickering and in-fighting and you know what? No one cares about your insecurities except you, your Family, and a trained Therapist that you should definitely call after reading this.

The Fairy Princess does care if your internet hashtag war it is going to give a network exec pause before greenlighting another sitcom about an Asian American family that may be coming down the pipeline. Or if it gives ABC second thoughts about where it places Fresh Off The Boat come mid-season.

The Fairy Princess thought the trailer was funny. The end. Funny trailer, it deserves it’s shot.

Pull it together, Asian America – you are acting like someone who needs a Snickers bar cuz they are having delusions that they can see Russia from their backyard.

I am going to leave you with these final words, Hunties….think about them, because all these ‘protests’ seem to come from deep rooted insecurities and perhaps a smidge of self-loathing, what scares you about this show? Really? Because, it’s a comedy. It is not supposed to send you to your ‘dark place’, but if it is – you have other things to think about.

Because as Mama Ru says:

Can I get an ‘Amen’?

Tags ABC, Actors, CBS, CMU, Diversity, Eddie Huang, Erich Bergen, FOB, Fresh Off The Boat, John Cho, Madame Secretary, Maggie Q, NBC, Patina Miller, Protests, Selfie, Sitcoms, Stalker, Tea Leoni, UpFronts, Yale

Categories Diversity

The Not so Future…King #OperaAustralia

April 23, 2014 //

The Fairy Princess has been writing about diversity in theater for close to two years now – and the message had been heard around the Globe – except, apparently by Opera Australia.

Luckily though, after reading this blog by Diva Knows Best, she knew that all was not completely lost – it just feels that way sometimes.

This is what was puzzling – Director Christopher Renshaw won the Tony Award for directing The King & I on Broadway, and as the King, he cast Lou Diamond Phillips, who is of Asian Heritage.

The Fairy Princess had several friends in that production, which was beautiful and award winning, and who inhabited the Small Musical of Rogers and Hammerstein with their usual professionalism, grace, and ability.

It is to their credit that the production was so well thought of, that Lincoln Center is planning another revival of it in 2015, which has not been announced officially, but which everyone knows is coming.

Even Playbill.com – who, no, has still not issued an amendment to their Twitter Contest to ‘name the next King” when they egregiously overlooked the fact that they published 4 Caucasian choices as potential Kings. (All talented men, all not of Asian Heritage).

The Fairy Princess is waiting, Playbill.com for that new article she suggested. Ahem. Seriously, where is it?

Anyhow, The Fairy Princess was troubled to see that though Director Renshaw had worked with talented Asian American leading men, when casting the new Australian National Tour with Opera Australia, he…ummmm…forgot?

It seems that everyone forgot that the King of Siam was a real person and this is what the King of Siam looked like:

Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthra Maha Mongkut Phra Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua (Thai: พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรเมนทรมหามงกุฎ พระจอมเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัว), or Rama IV, known in English-speaking countries as King Mongkut (18 October 1804 – 1 October 1868), was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1851–1868. He was one of the most revered monarchs of the country.

How do you work on a musical that once won you one of the highest honors in your profession, and forget who you worked with and why the show ‘worked’ in the first place?

Seems odd.

Because here is who Opera Australia chose to go with for The King, and of course, they insist it had nothing to do with the fact that he is dating the woman who is currently playing Mrs. Anna:

Teddy Tahu Rhodes

He looks more like he would be the King in some kingdom we have not reached yet on Game of Thrones because we are trying to read the books in conjunction with the television show so that we do not ‘spoil’ it for ourselves.

He does not look like this:

King Mongkut of Siam, now Thailand

The Fairy Princess was upset, not only because she knows this is a huge cultural mis-step – but because…wait for it…The Fairy Princess is an Aussie.

In Cairns, with my Grandma, I am the baby.

Oy vey, oy vey, oy vey.

Yes, and my Chinese Australian Family has been part of the Australian Cultural Landscape since the 1870’s.

Yes, I said the 1870’s. We have all sorts of fun folks in the Family – War Heroes, Artists, Business People – people who have helped shape Australia, so it seems odd to me that in all of Australia – which, I know personally, has been diversifying since, well, the late 1800’s, that they could not find ONE person of Asian descent to play The King.

Not one?

But they found a Tuptim (Jenny Liu), a Lady Thiang (Sh-Cheen Yu), and a Lun Tha (Adrian Li Donni) ?

Just no King.

In all of Australia, with all the Asians, and Eurasians, and Asian influx….not one? Really?

Ruh- Roh

Dear Opera Australia, I guess you missed my speech last year.

And just between us, Opera Australia – The Fairy Princess could have informally polled her rellies, quite honestly, and found someone. Her Grandmother was one of 13 – she has hundreds of relations. Tons of musicians.

However, I will say this for Opera Australia – they had a bit of a backlash when they announced Mr. Rhodes as their King – (and by the way, this is not an indictment of Mr. Rhodes or his abilities, no performer hires themselves after all) and they listened to it – because people spoke up!

Way to go Oz!

The Fairy Princess is going to imagine that they did not understand that by hiring Mr. Rhodes they were doing this:

Why yes, they ARE all Caucasian Actors in bad makeup and NO, they do not look Asian AT ALL

Why NO, they do not look Asian AT ALL

Perhaps they did not understand that Diversity = Dollars.

Which means, that quite a lot of people, theater bloggers and so forth, loudly stated that the casting of Mr. Rhodes was not something they were eager to see.

So when it dawned on Opera Australia that they were being ‘culturally insensitive’ and more importantly, that it would cost them money – they very quickly did this thing that they should have done in the first place when they decided that no one in Australia would ‘suit’.

They sent an email.

Isn’t technology amazing?

And they hired this guy:

Jason Scott Lee.

Beginning the tour in Melbourne.

He was in Hawaii. The Fairy Princess can tell you from many flights from the USA to OZ and back – Hawaii is actually a fairly reasonable flight Down Under- once we were in Hawaii, we were halfway there.

Right on, Opera Australia! (You should have done it in the first place, but…at least you paid attention)

So you see, my fellow Thespians – there is always hope. If people speak up, if people write, if people stand up for things that are simply right (diverse casting, freedom from captivity for cetaceans, no child trafficking), things CAN change.

My Friend, Anderson Jones always used to say “If they knew better, they would do better” and The Fairy Princess would like to acknowledge that Opera Australia and Director Christopher Renshaw have demonstrated that while, yes, it is too late to change the first leg of the tour, they can adapt to our more modern sensibilities about Casting.

As The King himself sings “Every day I do my best for one more day’

So, break a leg, Jason Scott Lee – we are all pulling for you, and that flight from Hawaii is not so bad…maybe you’ll get to fly over with these guys…

Tags Australia, Casting, Diversity, Jason Scott Lee, King and I Australia, musicals, Opera Australia, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Touring

Categories Diversity

The Once and Future King…and WHO DID THEY PICK?

April 13, 2014 //

The Fairy Princess has had a terrible bout of food poisoning, shared by her toddler. Recommendations include never, ever eating again at a mall in Glendale. Even if you have successfully eaten there in the past.

The Fairy Princess is recommending to just say no, or if you are, as an actor, going to eat at a mall in Glendale, do it before Pilot Season because then you will be almost the exact rate beloved by television execs everywhere, which is about 30 per cent under the recommended daily weight for your personal height.

The Fairy Princess vows to not eat at a mall in Glendale till next January at least. And then she hopes to book a series regular. Other than that, this bout of food poisoning is totally wasted on me.

Although, I must say, my collar bone looks fantastic right now.

A singer who moves well, after several days of food poisoning….just LOOK at my collar bone! IT. IS. GORGEOUS!

So to say she was feeling a bit ill, was, honestly, gilding the lily at this point – but I should have suspected that it would not be long before I was feeling like I was witnessing gilding the TIGER LILY, because then I read an article from Playbill.com on who should be the next King in the as yet, not officially announced, (but every Asian American Actor knows it’s been coming since War Horse was going to move), production of Rogers and Hammerstein’s The King and I. At Lincoln Center.

Who doesn’t love The King & I?

Ummm, from what I hear tell, people from Siam. (Now Thailand). The film was banned because it was disrespectful. And likely, people from Burma. (and you have to hiss when you say Burrrrma, because that is how it is done in the show) (Burma is now Myanmar).

Of course there are all sorts of reasons for that, but the musical is based on a book by Anna Leonowens (who was, actually Eurasian of mixed Angl0/Indian descent born in India) which posits Anna as the great white savior-ess of the poor, befuddled, savage-adjacent King of Siam. So already, you know you are in for a bit of white-washing, ahem. There are all sorts of historical errors in the book, but you know, it was a ‘memoir’ technically, so if that’s what she remembered…?

Did you know that Tuptim was later reported to have actually married Chulalongkorn, who had 36 wives, so…no death by beating? History is so tricky, right?

But people in the United States love The King and I, and truly, The Fairy Princess loves The King and I because it was my first big ‘gig’, playing Lady Thiang, first wife, opposite Debby Boone as Mrs. Anna. (I had very good quotes, even though we tend to say we do not read reviews, actors love good quotes about the work)

With Debby Boone & Julie Garnye @ Jim Caruso’s Cast Party

But this is what is made me thing my food poisoning was making it’s return:

Playbill.com playfully tweeted “who should be The King and tweet us your answers‘, and people of the general public gleefully avoided ‘nominating’ anyone that was Asian American!

NOT. A. ONE.

NOW THAT IS AN EFFIN’ PUZZLEMENT!

EXCEPT for Asian American Musical Theater Actors who actually took the question seriously and gave real answers based on both star power and those who had played the role before, some several times.

So LET’S SEE who the General Public picked which was PUBLISHED by Playbill.com as viable choices that should potentially be considered to play The King in the next up and at ’em production of The King and I:

Hugh Pannaro – who starred as both Raul and The Phantom on Broadway was chosen by a Twitter Fan

Three Twits chose Michael Cerveris from The Who’s Tommy and Titanic – possibly because of the hair?

And a Twit chose Raul Esparza who is currently on NBC’s Hannibal, but who also starred on Bway in a number of shows including Company and Leap of Faith

Paulo Szot who earned a TONY Nomination for 2008 ‘s South Pacific

These four gentlemen are, yes, all brilliantly talented.

The Fairy Princess has seen each and every one of them live and in digital form, and they are Musical Theater Masters, each in their own way. So, to a certain extent, she does understand the General Public ignoring one glaring fact about any of them taking the iconic role of The King, because they are Broadway Superfans and fans tend to, you know, be FANS, and ignore things like –

NONE OF THESE TALENTED MEN ARE ACTUALLY ASIAN HERITAGED MEN.

Which, in this day and age, does make them ineligible to play The King of Siam. On Broadway.

Because we of ‘The Broadway’ do not find this:

acceptable.

The Fairy Princess was dismayed, to say the very least, that an esteemed theatrical news outlet like Playbill.com would actually publish Caucasian faces as ‘potential’ Kings for The King & I. The reason she is so dismayed is because Playbill.com has been covering the change, in the last two years, of the way ‘yellowface’ is regarded in the Industry.

Change you say? Oh yes, The Fairy Princess gave a speech about it at LA Stage Day

Playbill.com has, actually, been covering the changing attitudes in Casting, and doing a very good job of it, for the past two years. For example: They covered the uproar at La Jolla Playhouse over “The Nightingale‘, they covered the protests at the last “Miss Saigon“ tour, they have even quoted The Fairy Princess!

(Which, btw, I was very moved by, because I read it all the time)

As one can see it is not as if Playbill.com was unaware that Caucasians playing Asian is, thankfully, turning into a big ‘no no’.

So, they are familiar with me, and let’s face it, It is not like I have ever refrained from saying this:

So if you are aware, Playbill.com, of the changing attitudes why publish this list as you did?

Wouldn’t it be a stronger editorial choice to say “look, yes, there are superfans that tweeted names that are not Asian American, and that is all well and good, but let’s concentrate on promoting and sharing potential Kings who have both the resume and the heritage to make this ‘tweet contest’ a list that Casting could look at seriously.”

Because if, say, there were going to be a revival of, oh, I don’t know, an August Wilson play, and someone tweeted you a photo of Tom Hanks – would you publish it?

Would you, Playbill.com?

The Fairy Princess is being serious.

Because of all publications, Playbill.com is in the best position, better than almost any, to know the percentage of Asian Americans on Broadway, and to know how rare it is to have a show that can encompass a mostly API Cast, and what potential that has for us, as a group.

With all the coverage when there is a bi-lingual West Side Story, or of All The Way, which focuses on Civil Rights, or After Midnight, which so gorgeously highlights the music of an era and a people, why, when it is Asian American, is it ‘ok’ to publish a list that includes Caucasian faces?

The Fairy Princess doubts that you would do that to any of those shows, Playbill.com

The Fairy Princess is willing to bet that this was a light-hearted attempt to get everyone excited about a revival of a show that is a Musical Theater staple, as most Twitter things are, but there needs to be editorial responsibility.

While The Fairy Princess is grateful for the coverage that Playbill.com has given to Asian American representation on Broadway, and the various Casting issues that have arisen over the last two years, she does think that in this case, they could have done better. They could have drawn a line in the editorial sand and said “we are going to stand with Asian American performers because it is the right thing to do’.

Because Asian American Performers who are delighted that they may get a chance to audition or be in the new cast of The King & I did not need to flip through that list, and see that General Viewing Public would be just as glad to see this revival if there were no Asian American faces in it.

We did not need to see that.

We see that every day.

We read Playbill.com all the time, and we rejoice for any and every friend and acquaintance that has mention, and we get delighted for any and all coverage on musicals because we love them so much – but we did not need to see one of ‘our’ industry ‘papers’, ‘zines’, etc, etc, etc, throw up NINE potential “Kings’, with FOUR of them being Caucasian.

C’mon Playbill.com – you published it. Which is…kind of endorsing it, doncha think?

We did not need to see that.

We see that every day.

The Fairy Princess does not want to get into a hashtag war with Playbill.com – there is no point to it, they do good work, and she is sure that there is a way to fix this.

In fact, she has thought of one:

The Fairy Princess thinks there should be a ‘revised’ list by Playbill.com reporters – who take into account the last time the show was in The West End, on Broadway, Regionally, who amongst API Actors started in Musicals and perhaps have gone on to popular television shows, things of that nature. They should compile this list and publish it.

Publish THAT list.

The Fairy Princess thinks that Playbill.com should lead the way in enlightening the General Musical Theater Going Public as to HOW MANY Asian American candidates there are for The King – and if there are 10, or 20, all the better.

The Fairy Princess is not going to debate who, now, should be the once and future King in the revival in 2015. Mainly because she knows most of them, and no matter what order they are put in, or how they are listed, she will hurt someone’s feelings.

She is going to trust that Casting, the real Casting Directors, will do their job wonderfully well, and put together a new and inspiring production of this show.

She wishes all of the potential Kings well – may the odds be ever in your favor.

Look, to quote the show, “Every day I do my best for one more day” – so come on, let’s just do a bit better

because if not…

Tags Asian American, Broadway, Diversity, Kelli O'Hara, La Jolla Playhouse, musicals, Nightingale, Playbill.com, Racsim, Revivals, The King & I

Categories Diversity

Hashtag Not Your Mascot, Hashtag Not Right, #NotYourMascot

April 9, 2014 //

The Fairy Princess is not a sports fan.

Well, she is not a football fan – mainly because she was in the Color Guard in High School and got pneumonia waiting for those endless games to end.

The Fairy Princess likes gymnastics, ice skating, and dressage. Yes, dressage.

Lee Cheng Ni Diani of Malaysia riding Antschar in the Asian Games

The Fairy Princess could not care less about football.

Which is why, of course, she would go on to marry someone who plays Fantasy Football on a competitive level. (She doesn’t get that either, it’s a fantasy! It does not exist! Picking names of superstars that are already superstars does not make y’all Mr. Roarke! It makes it another reason to ignore taking out the garbage.)

You know what is a fantasy?

This:

Here is The Fairy Princess on her yacht, cruising the islands of somewhere where there is no mobile phone access

You know what is a nightmare?

This:

Here is some asswipe trying to explain why he gets to mock someone else's culture because he likes to drink and watch people in way better shape than him, make millions of dollars, even when they miss

This is NOT ‘being a fan’. Trust me, I’m in Entertainment, I know what ‘a fan’ is. THIS is being an ASSWIPE – I also know what that is from working in Entertainment. Ahem.

This is not ok.

Or this:

But THIS is not ok either:

Because it took away the focus of what Stephen Colbert was trying to say – which was that the name of the

Football team is offensive to Native Americans and should be changed. Steven Colbert’s comedic sketch was implying that the team in Washington knows that they should change the name, but that they are stubbornly refusing due to some innate sense of white privilege.

He was saying that trying to hide the fact that they know that they should change the name by establishing a charity is bullshit. And then he pointed out that to call the charity you are funding by the very name that is most offensive to the people you say you are going to help with this charity is, to put it in the mildest way possible – absurd.

This week, Asian American Bloggers have been asked to join with Native Americans whose opportunity to be the subject of a national conversation on the continued use of derogatory sports team names was co-opted by some folks very quick to hashtag.

The Fairy Princess joins this conversation, not only as an internet observer, not only as an “Asian American blogger’, but she joins the conversation as someone who has visited a Reservation.

She joins the conversation as the daughter of a man who was “Tribal Council Judge” to a Native American tribe.

My Father represented two Native American tribes as their lawyer in their quest for state recognition prior to a debilitating stroke that left him unable to work during the last five years of his life. It was one of his greatest regrets that he was unable to continue his work for those Tribes due to his illness.

You see, The Fairy Princess, as she has stated before, had a Father who was an excellent man. He was a man of learning, a man of science, and he believed in Native American rights, not because he was Native American – but because he was Irish.

My Father was an Irish American Lawyer, who grew up in New York City.

Himself

He was a Labor Attorney and he always considered himself an advocate for ‘the little guy’. My Father was a single practitioner of the law – he never joined a firm, although they were always after him to do so – he was not comfortable with the idea of ‘a firm mentality’ deciding who he should represent, he had his own moral code.

My Father, when asked by me, why he chose to devote so much time to helping these two tribes told me that Americans – particularly he felt, Irish Americans who had done so well in this country – had a responsibility to the Native Americans, because we decimated their cultures to make way for our own.

My Father, who was an avid student of history, often compared what Americans did to the Native Americans, to what the English did to the Irish with their ‘invasion’, although he would of course, say that the Native Americans had it far worse.

An image from the battle at Wounded Knee

A rendering of the battle at Wounded Knee

My Father would go up to visit the Tribes he represented – not often, so much can be done on the phone – but frequently enough to be a part of their councils. When he came back, he would be both energized and depressed – energized to help more, and depressed that so much needed to be done.

The Fairy Princess is not a casual observer of the fights that Native Americans have been involved in, she has been an participant – helping with paperwork and research, phone calls and so on. She has actually been to “The Res”, where she felt the wind whip through her bones. She has met and talked frequently with Native Americans in her life- obviously the ones her Father represented, and others whom she met and worked with in a show business career.

(The Fairy Princess does not believe this makes her better than anyone, she just wants to note that this is not her first time observing the way we ignore Native Americans and their issues.)

While The Fairy Princess is not Native American in any way, she understands, as a student of history and as a Person of Color in America, why images and names of sports teams, matter.

They matter because they hurt.

They matter because they are rooted in cultural misunderstanding.

They matter because they were created to substantiate the supremacy and the “Manifest Destiny’ of Caucasians in this country.

They matter because a President of the United States said this about them, to justify his attempt at extinguishing them:

“After a harassing warfare, prolonged by the nature of the country and by the difficulty of procuring subsistence, the Indians were entirely defeated, and the disaffected band dispersed or destroyed. The result has been creditable to the troops engaged in the service. Severe as is the lesson to the Indians, it was rendered necessary by their unprovoked aggressions, and it is to be hoped that its impression will be permanent and salutary.“ — Andrew Jackson

The Fairy Princess is standing with the Native Americans in their quest to have the name of sports teams changed because she is following the example set by her Father. My Father gave of his time, he gave of his intellect, he gave of his knowledge of the law.

All that The Fairy Princess can ‘give’ is a blog of encouragement, and sign a petition or two.

It is not really enough, now, is it?

The Fairy Princess has this to say to say to ‘fans’ who believe wearing face paint and bastardized Native American head dresses is not offensive to Native Americans….get ready:

You are wrong.

A Football Fan

You are offensive.

You denigrate the sacrifices of the Native American community so that you can play ‘dress up’.

The Fairy Princess has said these words before, in regards to Asian American representation, but she offers them to the Native American community, to use as they wish, for she believes that it applies to their situation as well.

The Fairy Princess will stand with the Native Americans – and she believes that Asian Americans have a responsibility to do so as well – because once again, some who believed they had ‘a right’, took away one more thing from the Native Americans with no regard for how it would affect them.

And it was us.

#NotYourMascot

Tags #APA, #API, #NotYourMascot, Diversity, fans, offensive, Washington Redskins

Categories Diversity

Good Things Thursday!

April 3, 2014 //

The Fairy Princess has observed people having a bad week or so – and she wanted to take a moment and publicly state that she stands firmly, in regards to the issues of the last two weeks, behind Jeff Yang, Phil Yu, Kristina Wong, Calpernia Addams , and Greg Watanabe and the positions they have taken.

There is no need for any community of any kind, that acknowledges in fact, that they are a community, to turn on one another and try and destroy it based only a need to be ‘right’.

Maturity can admit mistakes, in as much as immaturity cannot be self- aware.

On to #GoodThingsThursday – here is what is going on:

1. The Fairy Princess is Co-Hosting Celebrity Doodles this coming Saturday, April 5, in Palm Springs with this handsome fellow –

International Magician of Mystery, Matthew Dowden

Celebrity Doodles is an Art Auction/Fanciest Cocktail Party you have ever been to, type thing, and it is a blast! This year, they are honoring Suzanne Somers and Alan Hamel, Taylor Dayne is singing, and the artwork is amazing. Click here for more information. There ARE still a few tix left.

Special THANK YOU to The Frank DeCaro Show on Sirius XM Radio for having me on to talk about Doodles and all sorts of other things – Frank and Doria Biddle run a great show, broadcast around the Globe, that focuses on Pop Culture, LGBT Issues, News and it is always a fun time. If you have not gotten a chance to hear them, you can click here for more information.

2. YELLOW FACE, the play by David Henry Hwang, is having another go-round in London! The last time it ran, just a few months ago, it had a four star rating. It will be at The Park Theater – and I encourage you, if you missed it the first time, to run off and view a great display of British Talent.

May 21 – June 16th. Break a leg, Everyone!

Gemma Chan & David Yip in DHH’s YELLOWFACE, re-opening in May 2014

This is great, because DHH’s Kung Fu, at NYC’s The Signature Theater

Cole Horribe as Bruce Lee

must close on April 6, 2014, so it is nice to know that his voice continues to be heard around the globe.

3. HERE LIES LOVE is back at the NY’s Public Theater

AND…they have a Cast Album! Which you can Order!

Is anyone else ‘trippin’ just looking at this artwork?

4. Tiananmen, a new musical, under the aegis of director, Stafford Arima (who also directed Allegiance), made it’s NY Concert Debut in the best room in town – 54 Below.

Cast of Tiananmen, the musical, backstage

5. The API’s of the new Broadway musical, IF/THEN made their Red Carpet Bows:

The lovely Ann Sanders

IF/Then Cast Members Marc DelaCruz, Pearl Sun, and Charles Hagerty

Alongside these Superstars –

LaChanze, Anthony Rapp, Idina Menzel from the Cast of IF/Then

Speaking purely from a Diversity standpoint – this show looks to be a standout. This is one of the more diverse casts I have seen, the show is set in New York City, this is exactly what Diversity means.

The Fairy Princess says YES, this IS what New York City looks like!

Good job, Telsey + Company!

6. This next one is pretty exciting – especially if you were one of those who were sad to see the end of the TV show, NIKITA – Maggie Q, one of the most bankable API’s on Television, is back in a new pilot by Kevin Williamson.

(Doesn’t that just make you want to SCREAM!)

Meet ‘Detective Beth Davis” from the new pilot by Kevin Williamson

In addition to that, Maggie Q is also in the DIVERGENT Trilogy and a bunch more stuff. The Fairy Princess is particularly partial to Hapa Actresses whose surnames are Irish and start with Q, so many congrats to her.

7. And finally – a shout out to BD Wong, who appeared in a comedy sketch on The Colbert Report.

To put a period at the end of the Great Hashtag Wars of 2014.

Thank you, B.D. Wong, our only Asian American TONY Award Winning Actor.

And there you have it – seven (or 8, you can count HLL 2x if you want to) things to feel good about as we wend our way out of Pilot Season and into Broadway – Happy Thursday, Folks!

Tags #CancelColbert, BD Wong, Broadway, Calpernia Addams, Celebrity Doodles, Colbert, Divergent, Diversity, Doria Biddle, Frank DeCaro, Frank DeCaro Show, GoodThingsThursday, Here lies Love, IF/Then, Jeff Yang, Kevin Williamson, Kristina Wong, Kung Fu, Maggie Q, Phil Yu, Pilot Season, Sirius XM

Categories Diversity

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Hashtag Not Your Mascot, Hashtag Not Right, #NotYourMascot

Good Things Thursday!

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