There have been some super cool things that have happened for Asian Americans in the past few weeks – let’s start off with the biggest – Marriage Equality!
TFP is very, very, very happy she has lived to see Marriage Equality – and she thanks the Supreme Court, who did the right thing, even if not everyone in the Court was particularly happy about it.
This is a fun time to be a person with liberal thoughts and social concerns – right, Y’all
Passing Marriage Equality benefits the whole country, and guess what – if you do not have LGBT friends in your life, it will not affect you at all, and also…Congratulations to all whose marriages were validated by this decision, and she looks forward to all the marriages that are to come.
Also in the news, and of personal interest to TFP because her extended circle includes the Bailars, is the emergence of Schuyler Bailar as the first Transgendered Swimmer to swim for Harvard’s Men’s Team.
TFP extends the warmest of wishes to Schuyler as he starts his newest journey, and as always, is delighted to know this incredible Family. #HapasRule
DANCE BREAK!
Thus we are done with the Political and the Social news – and now on to Entertainment, which is NOT, for once, completely bleak.
FRESH OFF THE BOAT was renewed for a second season on ABC, which is history making. Yes, we will have a second season of the Huang Clan as they navigate the tricky streets of Orlando.
More exciting news…the trailer of the new DR. KEN show on ABC has just dropped – and it is funny!
TFP is very happy to see…wait for it…a secondshow about APIs hit the Network. Bravo ABC!
We have FRESH OFF THE BOAT, and now DR.KEN – proving yes, Asian Americans are funny folks, and that there is an audience for these stories.
Take a Look:
Did anyone notice the Katy Perry song “Eye of the Tiger” on the trailer?
Funny cuz it’s a play on the whole “Tiger Parent” thing- hey, if she can use ‘our’ stuff, we can use hers.
Finally, in some theatrical news…there is a new play being developed by writer, Daniel York over in England called “The Forgotten of the Forgotten” that is on the fast track to a full production.
Daniel has been a vibrant and staunch advocate for BAME Actors in the UK. As a Equity Union Representative and as an Individual Multi-talent he has helped push forward the #ActForChange movement which is has made the British Entertainment Industry aware, for the very first time on a country-wide level, how the disparities in representation on television and in films only add to discord and racial tensions.
This is a great movement, because it started with Actors but it has grown bigger than they ever thought and should it continue to have the influence TFP believes it will, it will effectively change the British entertainment landscape.
Now, with Producer Gemma Lloyd, the hardworking Mr. York is in the final stages for a play that he has been working on about the Chinese Labor Corps in World War 1.
This is a fascinating subject, one he has put tremendous time and effort into researching, and which was put up in a workshop format by The Bush Theater in London.
What is most exciting to TFP about this project is that it is one of the unsung stories of Asians in the world, not just in Asia, and how their participation helped shape the world we live in today. This project is in full development. TFP could not be more excited to hear about Mr. York’s version – it was an idea that originated with him, and as such, will be as unique and special as he is.
TFP asks all the BAME Actors and Artistic Directors in the UK to support this very special project by purchasing a ticket to any future presented performances. Mr. York clearly is changing the theatrical landscape over there by bringing this subject to the foreground, providing a new voice and a new story for British East Asians to tell. He is the living embodiment of someone who lives a ‘life in theater‘, and to have such a visible contributing member is a good thing for all of us.
There you go – just a few “good things” that have happened in the past week for Asian Americans – let’s keep it going!
(Ed. note: The following interview series builds on Seema Sueko’s report on the Diversity: Through the Director’s Eye panel, “Jump into the Gaps.” Diversity & Inclusion online curator Jacqueline E. Lawton shared a series of questions with attendees of the panel to expand and continue the conversation.)
JACQUELINE LAWTON: First, tell me about the work you do as a theatre artist or administrator.
ERIN QUILL: Primarily I am a Performer – I hold a BFA from Carnegie Mellon in Vocal Performance. I was in the Original Broadway Company of Avenue Q, the 50th Anniversary production of Flower Drum Song, toured as Lady Thiang in King & I, your general musical theater resume… On Los Angeles stages, I am known for my work with Lodestone Theatre Ensemble’s productions of The Mikado Project and Closer Than Ever. I have been a sketch comedy performer in New York and in LA, and have studied quite a lot of improv. I have had recurring roles on two television shows that shoot in NY – Damages and NYC 22, and appeared in the film, Man on a Ledge.
As a writer, I have a blog that I started right before my son was born, called www.fairyprincessdiaries.com where I write about Diversity in theater and anything else that tickles my fancy. In 18 months, I have over 50,000 views from all across the globe.
I have produced, worked in casting, written screenplays turn into features – I have done just about everything I could do to maintain life as a theater artist. As Sondheim wrote – Art isn’t easy…
JL: In a conversation about Diversity, identity and representation is important. How do you identify? How has this identity influenced the work that you do?
EQ: Ethnically, I am Chinese, Irish & Welsh, and am a dual citizen of the United States and Australia. My Parents strived to make sure that I understood both the joys and the burdens that being multiracial encompassed – we celebrated Chinese New Year and St. Patrick’s Day with equal fervor. I studied the histories of my diverse heritages, as well as the fairy tales, the music, things that were cultural touchstones.
As my Mother is Chinese Australian, we spent a great deal of time traveling back and forth to Australia in order to maintain family relationships – so I would say that I feel I am a world citizen.
Everywhere I travel, I try to visit a museum and grab a sense of where I am in that city’s timeline. I read histories, biographies, I hang at the ‘local’s’ spot – I look for differences and similarities no matter where I go.
I think that travel and study open your mind, and in terms of being an actor, to be exposed to various accents and ways of viewing the world – it all helps. In my writing, I pull from my world view, which is perhaps the reason my blog has hit such a nerve in the international scene.
JL: Why was it important for you to attend the Diversity: Through the Director’s Eye panel discussion?
EQ: I wanted to attend the Diversity Panel, because I was the first one to write about what was going on at La Jolla Playhouse and it’s production of The Nightingale. I wrote a blog post called “Moises Kaufman can Kiss my Ass and here’s why“, and within a few weeks, it was at 25,000 views. And the resulting ‘fallout’ from that blog post caused quite a stir, and a rush to have panels to discuss diversity – none of which I was invited to. People, many many people gave interviews, based on the fervor surrounding that post, but no one asked me to speak on it, or why I wrote it – so…I wanted to attend the Diversity Panel because I wanted to see where the chips had fallen, so to speak, a year later. Did my work have any influence? Were people willing to ‘get it’ in regards to casting Asian Americans on theatrical stages?
JL: Can you share one or two moments of discovery that happened for you during the panel discussion?
EQ: The first is that East West Players theater, and its Artistic Director, Tim Dang, are ahead of the crowd. They really are – here is an ‘ethnic’ theater that decided to broaden its horizons with a multi-racial cast and do the musical, CHESS. They took a leap and the audience was there for it. They are thinking outside of their comfort zone, they are creating space for the next wave of theater goers to feel welcome. Which means, thankfully, that East West Players is going to be here for many years to come, which makes me happy.
The second is that out of the four Caucasian men on the panel – there are two that are actively embracing Diversity, one who seemed to be shamed into having Diversity, and one who does not, absolutely does not give a damn about Diversity. I think we, of the “Diversity’ camp have to look at is as a win – we have 2 out of 4 for sure, perhaps 3 – and let’s face it – you cannot win them all. 2 out of 4 is progress. They know who they are.
JL: What is your biggest take away from the panel discussion?
EQ: My biggest ‘take away’ from the panel was that people who are concerned with Diversity and with building their audience are going to practice Diversity. And then there are those that seem innately satisfied that having a’ liberal upbringing’ and proclaiming it loudly on a panel negates them from any obligation of serving the Diverse community of Los Angeles. You cannot force a horse to drink, and you cannot force people to open their minds when they have been quite comfortable with the status quo.
My biggest question coming away from the panel is ‘Why?’. WHY are we continuing to have panels? Why hasn’t everyone ‘gotten it’ yet? Because they do not want to. They do not SEE Diversity. They will NOT see Diversity and we cannot MAKE them.
How could we sit for 90 or so minutes and hear NY’s Public Theater lauded for Diversity and Art and choose not to see what makes The Public Theater so great? It is the theater of New York City – and it reflects New York City. In Los Angeles, it is equally, if not MORE Diverse than New York – and yet, when we look on our stages, you would think it was 1950′s America. It’s embarrassing. No wonder Los Angeles does not have a National reputation for theater – how can we? We do not reflect the Nation.
Do you know what happened after the panel?
A Director in the crowd, who sat through an entire 90 minutes of talking about diversity approached Chil Kong, and demanded that he give her the ‘go ahead’ to do a show about Chinese history. She was very angry – which both I and Terence McFarland can vouch for – were ‘we’ (and by that I assume she meant ‘we Asians”) going to stand in the way of the play she was intent on producing just because it was a play about China that was going to be performed entirely by Caucasians in Chinese dress and manner?
Because you see, as she told it, this play is ‘allowed’ to be performed by Caucasians in Chinese dress, because this play she is doing, was written by a Caucasian man who adopted his daughter from China and wrote it for her – to help his Chinese born daughter learn the history of China. As performed by Caucasians in Los Angeles.
We had JUST exited the Diversity panel. We were at the reception. In the courtyard of The Pasadena Playhouse!
So my ‘take away’ is that Diversity is only going to happen when Artistic Directors ‘get it’ – it is not going to happen otherwise – what will happen, is that there will be a division of theater in Los Angeles – there will be the ‘white’ houses that will only play to Caucasian audiences, and there will be “ethnic theater’ which will appeal to everyone else. And eventually, one type will die out – and we will then, and ONLY then, know the winner.
May the odds be ever in our favor.
JL: What areas still need to be addressed in your community? What conversations still need to be hand?
EQ: There have been enough conversations to sink a battleship. There needs to be less conversation. There needs to be action – who cares if people are talking if they are not doing? Actions, as every actor knows, speak louder than words.
JL: What practical action steps would you recommend to local, regional and national theatre companies to address issues of Diversity and Inclusion?
EQ: Begin with your Boards – Diversify your Board of Trustees. Those are the people that raise money for your theater. Oddly, money tends to influence what shows are produced – if your Board is diverse, the theater company tends to incorporate Diversity.
Theater Staff – if your staff is multi-racial, they are going to think in a different way – they are going to suggest different types of plays – because their background will make them open to different kinds of playwrights, directors, actors. Listen to your staff.
If you have a larger theater, then you have to start your own casting files – have ‘meet and greet’ auditions or open calls specifically targeting one group at a time. Look at your season – look at where the play is set, which city, which time period – who would be there? Then go out AHEAD of time and LOOK for those people. Call companies known for having Diversity and ask for recommendations – both for Actors and Directors. Share. Grow. Act.
If you are an Artistic Director, then plot the direction you want your company to travel in. You cannot sit back and say “I’m the AD, the Director I hired is in full charge of this play” – you, as the AD are ultimately responsible for your theater company and every show that you produce. If you, as the AD are not helping guide your guest Director, as to the whys and wherefores of your company – then you are not an AD, you are Human Resources.
Finally – stop being lazy. You know why your company is not Diverse in it’s material or staff or board or casting? Because of laziness. It takes effort to change. You have to want it – you have to want it just as much as when you wanted to be an Artistic Director, or an Actor, or a Set Designer, or a Choreographer. If you want something, you act upon it. If you want change, you make it happen.
Stop “having conversations about diversity every day” – just practice it. Stop talking. Start doing.
If you don’t do anything, I know you are not serious – don’t waste my time. Excuses are so 2013.
ERIN QUILL holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon. She was on Broadway in the Original Company of AVENUE Q, as Madame Rita Liang in the 50th Anniversary Production of FLOWER DRUM SONG at AMTSJ, toured opposite Debby Boone as Lady Thiang in KING & I, other productions include THE MIKADO PROJECT, CLOSER THAN EVER, ANYTHING GOES and so on. TV Credits: Damages, NYC 22, NYPD Blue, Movie Club w/John Ridley, Bravo pilot DISHIN’, Screening Party, Feature films: Man on a Ledge, The Mikado Project. Her blog www.fairyprincessdiaries.com has had over 50,000 views since it’s ‘birth’ 18 months ago – she has spoken about Diversity at LA Stage Day, on Speak UP with Jimmy, appeared in Network Diversity showcases, and most recently, was a Finalist in the Writer’s Program at NBC for the Diversity Showcase. She has written 2 screenplays that went to feature production, and is exhausted about talking about Diversity. She also has a sense of humor and a toddler.
Jacqueline E. Lawton received her MFA in Playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was a James A. Michener fellow. Her plays include Anna K; Blood-bound and Tongue-tied; Deep Belly Beautiful; The Devil’s Sweet Water; The Hampton Years; Ira Aldridge: Love Brothers Serenade, Mad Breed and Our Man Beverly Snow. She has received commissions from Active Cultures Theater, Discovery Theater, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of American History, Round House Theatre and Theater J. A 2012 TCG Young Leaders of Color, she has been nominated for the Wendy Wasserstein Prize and a PONY Fellowship from the Lark New Play Development Center. She resides in Washington DC and is a member of Arena Stage’s Playwrights’ Arena. jacquelinelawton.com
The Fairy Princess actually thought she was going to have a good day….after all, one of her old bosses is up to be an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) Award winner today, and she has EVERYTHING crossed for Kristen Anderson Lopez and Bobby Lopez to win for Best Song – LET IT GO, from the film, FROZEN
Bobby Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez
The Pasadena Playhouse has announced that under the direction of new Associate Artistic Director, Seema Sueko, they are going to produce a workshop of playwright, Philip C. Chung’s play, COME DOWN IN TIME, as part of their Hothouse series. They will co-produce with East West Players, and it will take place on March 20 & 21, 2014 at 8:00 PM at The Vault, 60 Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101.
The HOTHOUSE Series is designed to highlight and develop plays that ‘authentically align with the Playhouse’s commitment to Diversity’ and will be focusing on playwrights whose representation in American theater are traditionally under-represented.
The Fairy Princess has known Philip C. Chung for a long time, and she is absolutely thrilled that his work is getting the recognition by two venerable Los Angeles Arts Institutions. Philip has been working on his You Offend Me, You Offend My Family Website and it’s accompanying YouTube Channel, as well as his career as a screenwriter, but I knew that he missed writing for theater.
So there you have it – a hit! A palpable hit!
And…as good news comes in threes – she found out that Philip Anthony Rodriguez is going to have a cool story arc on the NBC Show, GRIMM! He’s going to be a Henchman for the Royals!
New Royal Henchman on GRIMM
Three good things in the past few days! Thus the Fairy Princess was unprepared for her emails this morning about…well, for a moment let’s go back…remember this guy?
Gregory Doran, Artistic Director RSC aka The Great Conqueror
He was the chappie who brought us that production of The Orphan of Zhao, which was the oldest play from China, about a Chinese subject, and has been called The Chinese “Hamlet’, and he did THIS to it –
The Orphan of Zhao…by way of Exeter.
All coming back to you? Sounding familiar? The Fairy Princess gave him a bit of a trouncing in her blog, and the past year has been fairly quiet on the Western Imperial Front from RSC. In fact, the British East Asians celebrated/… the year anniversary of that controversial show, and we were kind of thinking everyone had learned their lesson.
Because it is damn tiring to have to keep teaching it.
And honestly, isn’t everyone tired of reading it yet?
Well, they have not gotten the message at The Wooster Group yet, and THAT is lying heavy on the head that wears my tiara. The Fairy Princess has long been an admirer of The Wooster Group, and in general, she believes that they are a fairly sensitive, arty crowd, who do their utmost with their liberal political underpinnings to do groundbreaking work. After all they were founded by Spaulding Gray!
He’s got stories, right here in New York City
Or that is what she thought they did.
Then, they decided to team up with the RSC for a production of Troilus & Cressida, and examine, how did they put it? I’d better just pull the quote:
“CRY, TROJANS! originated as a co-production with the Royal Shakespeare Company of Troilus and Cressida at the World Shakespeare Festival in conjunction with the London 2012 Olympics. In that collaboration, the two companies took opposite sides in the Trojan War: the Wooster Group staged the Trojan scenes while the RSC staged the Greek ones. Scenes with both Greeks and Trojans were staged by both, each side developing its own version. The companies worked separately and without consultation until they met a few weeks before performances to sew the two halves of the show together. The seam was intentionally left rough so that the contrast of artistic approaches remained a foreground feature of the production, accenting the face-off of warring cultures in the play.
Seeking a decidedly American angle from which to encounter the RSC and the language of Shakespeare, the Wooster Group reimagined the Trojans as a pastiche fictional tribe of early Americans struggling to assert its dignity as doom closes in.
Following the special engagement with the RSC, the Wooster Group returned to New York and converted the collaboration into an independent piece. The spirit of the absent collaborator/enemy still manifests in various ways, but CRY, TROJANS! concentrates on the Trojan side of the story: the corruption of sincere love and the downfall of a noble hero.”
Ah yes they are going to examine ‘the corruption of sincere love and the downfall of a noble hero”.
Yet it winds up seeming to The Fairy Princess to be a corruption of Culture exchange and the downfall of Compassion. It seems odd that in the spirit of the Olympics, which is supposed to be all nations coming together and sharing and learning, the Wooster Group has fallen back artistically – perhaps with encouragement from RSC, perhaps on their own. Who knows how they came up with their concept, but it allowed the British to remain Caucasian and the Americans to don ‘war paint’ and ape the Native American experience – with no Native Americans seemingly visible on stage or in the artistic planning.
This is the issue – and it’s long enough that we actually have a subscription, but here it goes – Native Americans are not a pastiche to be bandied about with when you think you have run out of ideas as to how to play cultures at war with one another.
Does this look ‘right’ to anyone?
Photo by Paula Court from CRY TROJANS!
Probably to Gregory Doran, because, after all, he pulled one of these:
Still from RSC’s Orphan of Zhao
Well, I guess he told The Wooster Group to bang a gong and get it on, because….
Photo by Steven Gunther
I mean, SERIOUSLY?
I had to learn about this on Oscar Sunday? Hmmmm why does Oscar Night and Native Americans seem so aligned in my head already? There must be a reason….
Oh right, who stuck up for Native Americans once upon a time on Oscar Sunday?
Marlon Brando
He was awarded an Oscar, but instead, he sent this message:
Now, tis true, that perhaps The Brits do not ‘get’ the long, bloody and shameful history that America has with it’s Native Peoples – although WHY they would not, I have no idea, as they set the ball in motion – but Americans know. Though Americans are not taught the history of most minority groups in their classrooms, they are taught of our shocking and bloody, full scale war upon the Native Americans. We are. Every one of us.
Not to mention dozens of other ways we decimated Native American tribes – blankets from people who died of smallpox, anyone? Putting them in camps? Creating and then taking back Reservations?
Bury your heart at Wounded Knee?
General rape and pillage for absolutely no reason at all except a desire to push West?
Yep, those were covered in our classrooms.
But if one needs to catch up, one merely needs to go on the world wide interweb and do a search on American Genocide and you can find THIS documentary which I first saw at a film festival many years ago:
We also know that Native Americans are not one peoples – there are 566 listed Federally Recognized Tribes in America!
566!
That is not a ‘pastiche’!
What is a pastiche? Technically? It’s a pie filling.
It is from the Italian word pasticcio, which is pie filling mixed from diverse ingredients. It is also an piece of work that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more artists. It is not a parody – which mocks others.
Imitation or Parody?
The Fairy Princess is very, very sad about this new production from The Wooster Group – and she is even sadder that they are running it again in Los Angeles at REDCAT – without RSC.
How, in the City of Los Angeles, the City of Angels, where we have been swimming in Diversity panels like they are pools in a Beverly Hills mansion, could they have invited THIS production to perform in LA? Did no one say “Hey wait a minute, we are under fire here for bad casting decisions in the past which highlight our apathy and cultural insensitivity, so perhaps we should not invite a production where all the Native Americans are being portrayed by Caucasians?”
Ya Think?
As a country, we cannot – can not – apologize to certain groups ENOUGH for what we, as a country, have done to their people. We all know who those groups are – African Americans, Native Americans, Japanese Americans.
Unless The Wooster Group is comfortable doing this:
Yeah, remember when people thought THIS was ok? (TOTALLY NOT OK!)
Then they should NOT be doing this:
Still from the Production they did with RSC
Because IT. IS. THE. SAME. THING! Get it? GET IT?
If you are so artistically bankrupt that you need to go and paint your actors because you cannot come up with a new concept for a Shakespearean drama – then quit. Seriously. Time to go. You cannot think of anything better than Rome-pan or Rome-many Nations – you are done.
Not because the concepts do not work – but because you are letting down your concept.
You cannot continue to mine the cultures of other peoples and then refuse to cast people that represent that culture. If you want to make a statement about Native Americans and your support of them and their journey in a Shakespearean way – go ahead – BUT CAST NATIVE AMERICANS!
I spy with my little eye…
If you want to set a show in a Rome that has been conquered by Japan, then you better have some Asian American faces in that cast. If you try to find members of that group and insist that you just cannot or that you have not found talent that you are excited to work with… change the concept. Set it in Norway, set it in France, set it in Russia, set it in Ukraine, set it in South Africa, set it in New Zealand, set it in Australia, set it in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, there are lots and lots of places one can possibly set a Shakespearean play where the actors will not have to actually paint themselves. (Unless you want them to paint Celtic Blue – because you know, the Celtic Warriors did actually paint themselves for battle – and there you go – one interesting concept, go ahead and take it)
Why? Why? Because you, the Director, look more intelligent. Because you, the Director, look more educated. Because you, the Director will then look like you know more about the world – both the one you are trying to create and the one we all live in.
Now, there have already been reviews of this production – and one of my favorites was reading that this production is “Wooster-lite“. The reviewer did not feel this play lived up to the reputation of The Wooster Group. Which means what? Here is a quote: “The result is an uncharacteristically tame production, one that left me time to ponder the awkward politics of an overwhelmingly white ensemble horsing around with cultural caricatures of race.”
It means that it is no longer acceptable to critics, or to audience members, or to the theater community to continue to insist that Caucasian actors can paint or clothe themselves to portray other ethnicities. You know that when theater critics start talking about the the casting versus the concept, as opposed to the casting working with the concept that this is a problem.
The argument for Diversity is ongoing, and it is uphill, even with Critics like Wendy Rosenfeld speaking up.
The thing that gets to The Fairy Princess, is the theater establishments resistance to using full mental capacity to notice that the world has changed, is changing, will continue to change. The reason that The Wooster Group’s production is so shocking is that they were considered the cultural elitists in New York City for a very long time – melding acting, concept, technology, and new ideas.
And now, I guess I would consider them…well…behind.
I actually consider them a Horse’s…er…zebra’s behind!
Far, far behind – behind The Pasadena Playhouse, behind East West Players, behind NY’s Public Theater, and part of me thinks “my goodness, how very sad that is.” It is like seeing Dorian Gray’s portrait hidden in the attic when you have been having a delightful sherry with him in the parlor all evening.
So 10 smacks of the wand to The Wooster Group – you went to London to share, and you came back with the worst kind of Imperialism running rampant in your production. What, precisely did you ‘learn’? How to totally ignore what you know to be right, and walk all over the culture of Peoples of Color – well, you seem to be an excellent student.
Next time they ask you to do something like that, just say
Even if you think they are the totally fancy, culturally elite, Royal Shakespeare Company and you want them to be impressed by you.
The Fairy Princess had a pretty busy few weeks – she helped raise funds for The Actors Fund, & Desert AIDS Project, via the concert series, SPARKLE.
Yes, I was a Sparkly Triple Threat
The Fairy Princess went to Candy Cane Lane with friends…
Every year, just us nuts! (60 degrees in LA, fyi)
She was invited to do an interview with Entertainment Guru and Advocate, Jimmy Nguyen on his show “Speak UP with Jimmy”
(This is not The Fairy Princess, her interview is not up yet, but keep checking back)
The Fairy Princess talked about Diversity on Television, specifically about Asian Americans on Television with Jimmy, and when asked, forgot to mention some people, because she was going off the top of her head, and she has “Mommy Brain” which IS a totally real thing….let’s face it, when you spend most of the day saying “No, don’t touch that” or “Did you poop?” you may be a bit slow on the uptake.
Photo by Dr. Michelle Ko
Frank apologies to Reggie Lee (Grimm), Maggie Q (Nikita), Deborah S. Craig (The Blacklist), Ellen Wong (The Carrie Diaries), Liza Lapira (Super Fun Night), and any other Asian American Actor that she was asked to name and totally blanked on….I should be able to rattle names off like the alphabet, and sadly, I blanked. I am so sorry, I apologize.
You know I love all of you and am big fan!
Great work y’all!
All combined, this trip to Los Angeles has been delightfully exhausting and nothing more so than this final activity attending the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers “Diversity through Directing” Panel Discussion at The Pasadena Playhouse.
Or as I like to think of it, when I see Panel discussions:
Here is what the “Panel” said – not quoting, just summing up:
1. If they have been successful with Diverse casting – such as South Coast Rep, The Old Globe, East West Players and The Pasadena Playhouse – they gently chided the other theaters – and, justifiably so. If one theater can garner Awards and increase sales by casting Diversely, then ALL theaters can.
The Cast of Allegiance from The Old Globe – they had hella nominations, y’all
2. Some ‘blamed” the lack of diversity in their productions on the Director’s vision and/or The Playwright – but if the Playwright or Director in question is not told that Diversity is a goal of the Artistic Director, or something that the company stands for – then they do not really HAVE to open their mind TO Diversity, do they?
Kinda Chicken Vs. The Egg
They will commit to Diversity, but they cannot find Diverse people to hire, so they hire all the same people, and when they hire them , the same people that they always hire, they will not instruct them that their mission statement includes Diversity, because that would impede the Director in their vision, so consequently there is no Diversity on their stages – but they have a mission statement.
Did I get that right? Is YOUR head spinning too?
When people do not have to look at Diversity, it’s like when a teenager has to do a term paper and their Parent decides to do the weekend out of town – yeah, it doesn’t happen.
You know what happens? Stuff like this:
Clearly not the most diverse of thinking here…
3. Some said they were open to Diversity, both using Diverse Directors and Actors, but said in that they have problems finding directors of Diverse background who have the resume for them to invest in a full scale production.
May I suggest looking harder?
In this day and age there is a wonderful thing called THE INTERNET and it is available to do ALL sorts of things.
You could look around at The Ovation Awards,see what productions are winners & go from there:
4. Some said to find Directors with Diverse Background is a growing thing, that they are planting the seeds in Universities local to where they are in California.
This, I am sure, will be news to the Directors of Diverse backgrounds graduating from Yale, Carnegie Mellon, Julliard, Northwestern, etc, etc, etc – but guess WHAT Diverse Directors? You now know that some California based theater companies do not know how to FIND you, so how’s about you send them a resume and a head shot and they will call you….
5. Some of the Panel did not know that when they post “All Minorities Welcome” on their Castings, that it means little to nothing to Actors of Color, because though they are seen – as per Union guidelines and general human decency – they are so rarely cast, they do not bother going.
None of these were new and exciting revelations. The ‘excuse’ for not showing a stage that is representative of America is often “we cannot find the people’. The ‘excuse’ for not finding more Directors of Color is that they cannot find any.
However they have all double pinky swore that they are looking for you.
Well, I guess then, they REALLY mean it – maybe…
Double Pinky!!!!!! What a relief, I was so worried this was going to be pointless.
The Fairy Princess raised her hand, repeatedly, at the end of the discussion to ask a question. Whether through design or accident, she was pointedly ignored – in fact, no Asian American was given the go ahead to ask a question.
Here was my question: ‘According to AAPAC, Asian American roles on Broadway have grown from 2% to 3% in the last year. While this is not New York and we have not done a study like that here, can you, individually give me a number – because I am Asian and we like numbers – on how much your percentage of casting Asian Americans has risen from last year to this? You may guess or approximate.”
And here is what – if any of the ADs from that panel, with the exception of Tim Dang and Barry Edelstein cannot answer that question with pride, then they must go immediately to a mirror and make a vow to THAT person in the mirror, that
until it is fixed. Because part of the reason we call you an Artistic Director, is that you Direct Artists.
The Fairy Princess does not buy into the ‘we hired this director and they can cast and do whatever they want.’ because I know, from many years in theater, that that is NOT the way it works. The Artistic Director and their strength and knowledge and sometimes, yes, insistence on a point or two is what shapes a company. Individual ‘guns for hire’ are not allowed to willy nilly run roughshod over the theater and those whose vision helps raise money and standards.
If you cannot talk frankly to a Director or Playwright about the need for Diversity in some works appearing on the stage, on YOUR stage, you are not an Artistic Director – you are Human Resources. You just hire them.
As a DIRECTOR or CHOREOGRAPHER to not be open to seeing people of different backgrounds in the world of ‘your’ play – that is a FAIL.
Yeah, I said it. It is a fail. And the worst/best part? You already KNOW it – no one defends something as staunchly as people who already know that they have missed the boat.
Directors, Can you hear me?
(The reason I made my question Asian American specific, is that the audience was diverse, and other people who represented other minority groups were allowed to ask questions. I am not myopic enough to believe that only casting Asian Americans makes a show diverse. That would mean I am a cloistered ignoramus…and despite Internet aspersions, I’m not. )
The Fairy Princess has had enough of talking. The Fairy Princess wants to see some action. The Fairy Princess is EXHAUSTED by the need to have to constantly have panels and explain Diversity – it is pretty clear at this point who is committed to it, and who is not. The Fairy Princess’s spirit animal remains The Honey Badger
Instead of patting ourselves on the back for yet ANOTHER panel – why not just up your game?
Why does a room full of Directors, Choreographers, and Artistic Directors who live and work in California need to learn MORE about Diversity?
Have they not been paying attention?
Were they at the cheese plate?
Is that cheddar? Delish
Some good points were made at the Panel –
Tim Dang said that to direct a play that is for a particular minority, you do not have to go to a ‘minority’ theater to direct it. In fact, it would be a stronger choice to direct that play with a theater company that services an audience who perhaps has not been to a ‘minority’ theater company. He also said that Southern California is “Ground Zero” for diversification and diversifying theater – good points, Tim.
Sheldon Epps said that he looks forward to LA stages representing America in every production, not just in individual productions. For example, when he directed 12 Angry Men, a fairly famous play, he allowed the murder of Treyvon Martin to influence his choice to cast, and find out what his audience’s reaction was.
Jessica Kubzansky of Boston Court said that because Boston Court is smaller, they are allowed to take more risks, not less – and that the discussion of how to bring more actors and directors of color to their stages is a daily question – one she hopes is answered by actors, at least, at the Open Calls they have.
Seema Sueko, who is the incoming AD at The Pasadena Playhouse said that having a diverse staff and listening to them and what they bring to the table, informs productions across the board if one can listen.
Barry Edelstein said that he wants his stages to look like the city in which his theater company has it’s home – that one should be able to imagine a cast on their stage simply by walking through one of the beautiful parks.
Marc Masterson said some good stuff about how he has managed to diversify his stages dramatically….look, everyone said some good stuff.
The Fairy Princess doesn’t care about stuff.
Stuff is the routine George Carlin used to do.
THEATER is what the people in the audience and on the stage of The Pasadena Playhouse do – so if that’s what you do….get to doing it.
So let it be written, so let it be DONE! Because….
Last Saturday, The Fairy Princess took a coach and four horses (of the theatrical Apocalypse) to LA Stage Day, which was hosted by LA Stage Alliance, and she just wanted to reflect on a few thoughts from the day.
The Fairy Princess was extraordinarily touched to have been asked to be a Keynote Speaker – particularly because no one has ever asked her to comment on what she, in fact, wrote about…nor has she been asked to be on Panel Discussions or anything of that nature in regards to her thoughts on Diversity in theater.
She needs to thank the CEO of the LA Stage Alliance, Mr. Terence McFarland, someone that she has known for a long time, and admired, for inviting her to attend and be provocative.
The Fairy Princess knew exactly what she was going to say, and how she was going to say it, which was why she had hoped that there would be more Asian American faces in the audience…to say that my blood pressure was under control as I watched the audience file in, would be a lie. When she did not see that many API faces attending, it just resonated how far removed most API Actors and Actresses feel from the mainstream Los Angeles theater crowd, I hope most of them missed it because they had a matinee to attend.
However, I was grateful to see Michael Seel, Exec. Dir of The Boston Court Theater,
Drama Desk Winner (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) Deborah S. Craig,
Andy Lowe, Production Manager at East West Players,
and of course, Chil Kong of The Ovation Awards Nominating Committee,
out in the audience, looking at their faces calmed me down.
There was a comment made in a review of the day by Don Shirley, that I was ‘visibly choked by her fervor’, and The Fairy Princess just wanted to comment on that – it was not the ‘fervor’, it was looking out at the crowd and seeing Deborah S. Craig tearing up and Andy Lowe nodding yes, yes, yes at what I was saying, that had her a bit shaken.
Because she knew that they were representative of the friends who had gone through similar experiences that were named towards the end of the talk – being asked to be ‘more submissive’, told that they were ‘too bold’, told to “act more Asian”, and finally, one friend was told to change her makeup’s base color to gray, so that she would appear less ‘yellow’, and seeing them nod and agree, made her very emotional.
The Fairy Princess has been told all those things – well, not the makeup thing, but the other stuff for sure – and when you are repeatedly told those kind of negative things, it takes a toll on you. So as she looked at Deborah and Andy, and by their reactions ‘knew’ that they too, had had those experiences, the emotional response was overwhelming. Through her mind ran all the messages from friends who, throughout their careers, had had some really amazingly awful things said and done to them, in an attempt to ‘make them more Asian’ for theatrical purposes…and a moment had to be taken.
So…’fervor’…I don’t know…maybe?
The Fairy Princess could take a huge professional ‘hit’ for her comments, but if this was the one and only time she was to speak – she wanted it to count. Many people, after reading the blog, will tell her that “you are just saying what everyone else is thinking’, but it is one thing to blog, and it is quite another to stand in front of a few hundred people who may or may not choose to hear what you are saying with an open mind.
The Fairy Princess came to LA Stage Day a bundle of nerves, a bit nauseated, and she was truly humbled by the reception that she received. So many hugs, so many well wishes, so much was overwhelming…who would have thought?
The other Keynote Speakers were engaging and all spoke in their own way, about changing the way theater and the practitioners of theater, think. On inclusion, on fundraising, on innovation, on staying true to their own mission – it was a great group of speakers and I congratulate them all.
The text of the speech has not yet been posted – yes, it was recorded, perhaps it will be released in parts, at this point, The Fairy Princess is waiting to hear about it.
Thank you to all who contacted The Fairy Princess via Twitter and otherwise to let me know you were still thinking about what was said the next day – hope it will keep us all thinking the day after that. And the day after the day after that….
Thank you for listening. The most overwhelming part of the day was being able to say what I have thought in the past – and have it seemed to have been heard, it is an extraordinary feeling.
As you know…The Fairy Princess has had some things to say about casting, particularly theatrical casting – both in the USA and abroad.
I’m thinking…I’m thinking
Ahem.
Just a few things (thing 1, thing 2, thing 3). We’ve gone from Chinese people being eliminated in Mythical China, to Chinese people being eliminated from a Chinese play that is set in real, actual China but shown onstage in the UK, to South Asian people being mocked on Broadway…it’s been a busy year for neglect racism.
Or as I call it in terms that render it more a medical condition, and therefore treatable – Lazydirectitum aka Castingidiotum aka Artisticdirectorless
There have been several theater conferences on the issue – a forum hosted by the venerable East West Players in Los Angeles, “Open Door” in the UK hosted by British Equity, and most recently one held in Chicago hosted by Silk Road Rising Theater Company.
There was also a ‘talk back‘ at La Jolla Playhouse, and an upcoming March ‘closed door’ meeting at The Roundabout theater company, and now, FINALLY there has been some real, definitive action – a Master stroke has been dealt and it is a doozy.
A.C.T. – the American Conservatory Theater has taken aim at that pesky windmill of neglectful racism and in two, bold and daring moves, they have put the theater community on notice.
What is this you say? Wait, could it BE? Could there be a light at the end of the railroad tunnel? Is it possible?
The light shines brighter in San Francisco
YES, my Children, they have done it.
ACT is doing 2 shows with…wait for it….Asian people.
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!
President George W. Bush can’t believe it EITHER
Boldly going where few have gone before in recent memory, ACT is doing Stuck Elevator in April 2013 – a new work based on a real undocumented Chinese Delivery Man in New York, who was stuck in an elevator for 81 hours. Poor guy.
(The Fairy Princess was stuck in an elevator once, in New York City, but it was only for forty five minutes and no one wrote a musical about it because all it would have entailed was The Fairy Princess sitting her butt on the elevator floor waiting for someone to realize she was missing, so it is good that no one ever optioned that particular story from her life.)
The Fairy Princess is gobsmacked! She even knows two of the folks in the cast – Raymond J. Lee (He’s in The Mikado Project trailer, rapping A Wandering Minstrel )
and Joseph Anthony Foronda.
Joseph Anthony Foronda & Erin Quill in 50th Anniversary Production of Flower Drum Song at AMTSJ
Both of whom are exceptionally talented, and with whom The Fairy Princess is very honored to have shared the stage and screen with.
What? What you say? I KNOW, I know…you are very excited.
DANCE BREAK!
Ok that’s enough. Stop now. Because you will never, ever, never ever EVAH guess what ACT has planned!
They are going to take that same translation of The Orphan of Zha0, yes, the VERY one that The Royal Shakespeare Company had commissioned from James Fenton –
RSC’s Poster
and….AND.…They are going to put a Chinese American Actor in the lead role!
DROP MIC! Grab a towel and let a peon wipe your brow, ACT, THIS is Victoria Beckham ‘MAH-JOR’!
Gregory Doran must be so pissed! (And not in the British ‘pissed’ = ‘drunk’ way, but pissed off)
He’s saying “What, what? The Colonies? They’ve done what? And who is in the Cast? Who? Shown me up, have they? Made legitimate casting decisions based on text, have they? Upstarts! Well I NEVER!”
Yes. We know that, Mr. Doran.
You never. Because you did not feel that British East Asians should be in a repertory season, so you just thought it was better to not bother with them at all in a show set in China, that you went over to China to do research on. Because even though there are conservatory trained Actors in the UK, no one would ‘buy’ them in a Brecht play, in your opinion, so you just felt…eh, why bother?
Oh, you are back Mr. Doran, sorry I was doing a gig of happiness – well, I’m Irish, sometimes you have to…
You know what? When The Fairy Princess puts them one under the other, the photos, doesn’t that little boy seem like he could possibly grow up and be TONY Winner BD Wong?
OH.
OH.
You see, Mr. Doran, That’s the point. The point is – is that there is going to be an Asian American Actor portraying an Asian person!
He’s not going to be a dog puppet….
Joan Iyolia & Chris Lew Kum Hoi in rehearsal Playing the dog, sorry, dog puppet at The RSC’s Production of The Orphan of Zhao
He is not going to have to ‘learn’ how to tape his eyes…..
Or use a terrible accent…..
He is just going to get to be the Lead, in a production that is set in a country, where, historically, his Family may have been from.
It is mind-bogglingly simple. It is the Casting that need not speak it’s name. It’s a home run.
So what, Dear Reader can we do to support this bold and brave casting choices?
We can all buy tickets and go.That’s how you vote in theater, with your dollars and common sense.
Look, you may be reading this as an Asian American Actor, or you may be reading this as a theater fan, or you may be reading this because you are going to post on the comments how awful I am and how I know nothing (opinions are indeed like a**holes, everyone has one) but for whatever reason, you are here. Don’t waste this beautiful opportunity to be part of the change of American theater. Buy at ticket to these productions – and you know what?
KEEP BUYING TICKETS – go to the theater, go to film festivals – GO, GO, GO! Even if you don’t like the first thing you see, or the second – when you see that the theater community is reaching out, reach back.
One of the biggest obstacles in including Asian American performers more into our Theater culture is that ‘no one‘ will buy tickets to see an Asian American as a lead. Prove them wrong. You’re someone, aren’t you?
I don’t have a crystal ball
I borrowed it. (Photo by Dr. Michelle Ko)
But if I did, I would tell you to keep your eyes open because this is a very encouraging and exciting thing.
Jacqueline E. Lawton received her MFA in Playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was a James A. Michener fellow. Her plays include Anna K; Blood-bound and Tongue-tied; Deep Belly Beautiful; The Devil’s Sweet Water; The Hampton Years; Ira Aldridge: Love Brothers Serenade, Mad Breed and Our Man Beverly Snow. She has received commissions from Active Cultures Theater, Discovery Theater, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of American History, Round House Theatre and Theater J. A 2012 TCG Young Leaders of Color, she has been nominated for the Wendy Wasserstein Prize and a PONY Fellowship from the Lark New Play Development Center. She resides in Washington DC and is a member of Arena Stage’s Playwrights’ Arena. jacquelinelawton.com
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