Color-blind casting is the practice of casting roles without regard to the actor's ethnicity or race.[1] Alternative terms and similar practices include non-traditional casting, integrated casting, or blind casting,[a] which can involve casting without consideration of skin color, body shape, sex or gender.[citation needed] A representative of the Actors' Equity Association has disputed the use of "color blind casting", preferring "non-traditional casting". Non-traditional casting "is defined as the casting of ethnic minority actors in roles where race, ethnicity, or gender is not germane".[2] Race-reversed casting is one form of non-traditional casting.
The Non-Traditional Casting Project was founded in 1986 to examine problems of racial discrimination in theatre, film and television.[95] The Actors' Equity Association is a co-founder.[96]
In the theatre community, there is significant debate over the concept of color-blind casting vs "color-conscious casting".
In 1996, Pulitzer-winning playwright August Wilson, who is black, used his Princeton University address on black culture in the United States "The Ground on Which I Stand" to attack the notion of color-blind casting.[97]
"Colorblind casting is an aberrant idea that has never had any validity other than as a tool of Cultural Imperialists who view American culture, rooted in the icons of European culture, as beyond reproach in its perfection ... We do not need colorblind casting; we need theatres." – August Wilson
In 2017, Associate Editor of American Theatre magazine Diep Tran declared "color-conscious" to be a preferable term. "Color-conscious means we're aware of the historic discrimination in the entertainment industry ... and we're also aware of what it means to put a body of color onstage.".[98] The idea promotes intentionality and race-conscious affirmative action to avoid racially homogeneous casts, and has been supported widely across the theatre community.[99][100]
In 2018, the Harvard Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law published the article "There's No Business Like Show Business: Abandoning Color-Blind Casting and Embracing Color-Conscious Casting in American Theatre". The article discussed the implications for US employment law and mooted that color-blind casting has not produced its intended result. "Race is still a determining factor in American society, and it is counterintuitive to argue that problems related to race can be fixed by ignoring race altogether".[101] The Broad Online calls a color-blind casting "a superficial solution to a deeper problem."[102]
Popular shows that employ color-conscious casting include: Hamilton: An American Musical, the BBC's Les Misérables, and the film Mary Queen of Scots (in which the black actor Adrian Lester plays a 16th-century ambassador). In 2017, director Michael Streeter made a color-conscious casting decision for his production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, believing "the decision would add depth to the play".[98] Edward Albee's estate denied permission for the production, stating the casting "would fundamentally change the meaning and message of the play".[103]
Because he gave the best audition, a black actor, Duane Jones, was cast as the heroic lead, a role never intended for an African-American.
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