Size? Age? Beauty? Should it make a casting difference?- Page 3

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 11:36pm

"I am 4'8" tall 80lbs and have never gotten the lead role because..."

80 pounds?
Although 4'8" is kind of short, isn't 80 pounds very underweight?

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 11:38pm

>> "Casting a very heavy person to play a starving waif just wouldn't work. "

Except in opera. Which lends credit to your favorite Christine.

Dont hold your breath on that one. There has been a trend, especially in the last decade, to cast singers not by their talent but by their looks. Given the choice between a Seigfried who looks like he never missed a meal but has a glorious voice and a Seigfried who has a personal trainer and a mediocre voice -- well, the personal trainer will win, hands down.

Face it: audiences want to see "pretty" people. Look at the two boys mentioned in the thread on Star Trek's online "gay episode". They're gorgeous in a plastic kind of way, but you know they were cast *because* they're gorgeous in a plastic kind of way. Were either of them *ordinary*, the fanbots would be howling, just as the fanboys around here would be giggling like crazy over a short, dumpy Galinda.

It's the way the business is these days.

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 11:38pm

well said, tinkerbell

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 11:39pm

Honestly, I need actors who fit the roles physically. I feel the same way about opera.

Oh, and re: the comment about a black or Asian Elle someday: I don't think that would work because Elle has to be a walking blonde bimbo stereotype.

[buffyactsing]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 12:27am

I have to say that being overweight does not automatically make one unhealthy...

I hate the term "healthy people" as if thin people and fat people are automatically unhealthy.

They look for what most of society would consider attractive. Not always gorgeous, but still attractive.

Then again, I'm going to be sick if I hear anyone else say Katie Clarke was too chunky in the Live from Lincoln Center's Piazza.

Me? I'm 23. I look like Tracy Turnblad (seriously, except I'm 5'4") with voice in the same vein as Audra McDonald or Shirley Jones. I know I'm not getting roles until I'm middle aged and even then it it'll only be the Mother Abyss or Cousin Nettie.
Is it fair? Well, maybe not. There are roles I COULD play but find that casting directors merely want to cast how the roles always have been cast. Then again, I also don't expect to play Juliet or Helen of Troy anytime either.

What I wish would happen is that roles were not so conventional, and more roles were written where the actor could be fat/short/ugly/whatver and it not be a big deal. Not a role FOR a fat/short/ugly/whatever person, but a character role that was fully fleshed out.

Does anyone think it's interesting though there are tons more roles for chunky men/unattractive men or roles where their attractiveness is not essential to the piece than women? I guess not suprising but interesting.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 7:14am

>> Does anyone think it's interesting though there are tons more roles for chunky men/unattractive men or roles where their attractiveness is not essential to the piece than women? I guess not suprising but interesting.

Unless they're catering to a gay audience, that's the way theatre has been since OEDIPUS REX. But if you *are* catering to a gay audience, then you'll find that the lesbians dont have to be gorgeous, but the men damn sure better be. No different, not at all.

[DirtyRottenGirl]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 8:56am

I think it does have to matter sometimes. Let me give you an example. Can you see Lucy in You're A Good Man Charlie Brown being 50? Can you see the strippers in Gypsy being slim and gorgeous?

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 9:06am

Who wants to pay to see ugly, fat people?

[Jon]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 9:09am

What's the difference between a 25 year old playing Lucy and a 50year old? Either way, it's an adult playing a child.

[singingshowgirl]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 9:17am

i think that it tends to be easier in straight theater than musical theater to break away from looks stereotypes. it's hard in musical theater because there is so much "typing" that goes on so only people who "look" the part get it.....usually

i think there are exceptions to everything.....but it would be weird to see belle be some overweight 50 year old haha....

but i don't think everyone has to be thin and beautiful

[bbonstage]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 10:30am

i would say 70% of the dance auditions i go to there is a type out. whether or not it's announced, the first cut is generally "do they look right? can they move well enough?"

in some instances, it is possible to say that it's harder to break the mold of typecasting in the ENSEMBLE than in the principals... take crazy for you, for example. polly can be short, tall, fat, thin, mayyyybe black or white, but all she NEEDS to do is sing well and carry a southern charm. the ensemble however, the women need to be at least 5'8, thin, showgirls.

but to be honest, as an audience member, it's easy to enjoy typecasting. if someone was cast that we would consider "nontraditional" - a black Elle for example, we'd spend the entire time wondering if she really is "good enough that they went with her instead of a blonde." there's just so much more ground to cover for your eye to accept it rather than just sitting back and enjoying the show. and that's where i think casting directors justify their typecasting tendencies...