tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post116498969351999830..comments2024-01-07T06:59:04.212-05:00Comments on The Playgoer: Casting Calls & Civil RightsPlaygoerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02994724588504353485noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-1166464443726952722006-12-18T12:54:00.000-05:002006-12-18T12:54:00.000-05:00There hasn't been so much obsession with race in c...There hasn't been so much obsession with race in casting since the days of the Third Reich. In a free society theatre and film artists must have COMPLETE FREEDOM to cast as they see fit. If they want an all-black, all-Asian, all-white, or a mixed cast for a particular production it's an artistic choice, not a political one. Bitter busybodies, mind your own business.<BR/><BR/>You wouldn't let the Ku Klux Klan tell you who to cast in your show. Nor should you let the "multi-cultural" bullies tell you. Would you take orders from President Bush when it comes to casting? No more should you take orders from every self-appointed "activist".<BR/><BR/>No one has a right to play a part just because of their racial bloodlines. Artists must stand strong against hacks who cry "racism" any time they don't get a part they want.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-1165007960842050762006-12-01T16:19:00.000-05:002006-12-01T16:19:00.000-05:00At the limp "debate" between Robert Brustein and A...At the limp "debate" between Robert Brustein and August Wilson at Town Hall some years back on related issues, a person in the audience shouted out, "Why don't we just go back to the origins of western theaer and use masks?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-1164995441037864622006-12-01T12:50:00.000-05:002006-12-01T12:50:00.000-05:00Stories like this always piss me off. Granted, I'...Stories like this always piss me off. Granted, I'm a white male, but that's beside the point. Should we go into museums and put blackface on peripheral characters who aren't part of the main narrative, or should we accept that an artist has the right to create whatever sort of ambience he or she wants? I mean, if you don't like it, don't go to see the show. <BR/><BR/>Now, I've seen "South Pacific" and "West Side Story" performed with all sorts of ethnicities, and it doesn't really affect the story, so there is an argument against profiling for a certain type of character to fit the stage directions, but both shows made efforts to hide (either through stereotypes) or makeup the distinguishing features, and is that any better than what Spike Lee was talking about in "Bamboozled"?Aaron Ricciohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05003634532469211190noreply@blogger.com