Hair Color and You
Hair Color and You
ashley0139
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/3/05
#0Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/16/05 at 9:21pmThis has been bugging me for a long time. Why is it that hair color is so often associated with the parts you recieve? At least, I have always felt that way. I am a natural blonde. I always get the ingenue or air-heady nothing roles. While brunettes always get the more juicy roles. I will use Wicked as an example because it works the best. First of all, Glinda is blonde. Her character is associated with the blonde wig. When Elphaba describes her, all she needs to say is blonde. In addition, all the people that have played Glinda have had blonde hair (or red, JLT)- Kristin, Megan, Kendra, etc. While Elphaba has black hair, and every actress that has played her has brown hair- Idina, Shoshana, Stephanie, etc. In some ways, I sort of see why they cast this way. But in others, it baffles me and makes me angry. I feel like my hair color will dictate whether I get a part or not. That they would automatically rule me out for Elphaba because I have blonde hair. Anyone else have similar experiences?
"This table, he is over one hundred years old. If I could, I would take an old gramophone needle and run it along the surface of the wood. To hear the music of the voices. All that was said." - Doug Wright, I Am My Own Wife
#1re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/16/05 at 9:24pm
Well, you could be elphie, just because there hasnt been a blonde actress in the role doesnt mean its impossible. A black wig on stage..isnt that what they use anyway? Wicked is still a relativley fresh show..
"It's a great feeling of power to be naked in front of people. We're happy to watch actual incredible graphic violence and gore, but as soon as somebody's naked it seems like the public goes a bit bananas about the whole thing."
#2re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/16/05 at 9:27pm
not really. for guys it is much easier. but on audition sheets, or whatever i always put "I am willing to cut/grow/dye my hair for this production."
that sometimes makes them think about placing me in a role they would not associate with my current hair style/color.
Updated On: 5/16/05 at 09:27 PM
ashley0139
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/3/05
#3re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/16/05 at 9:27pm
EDIT: This was to sally
Oh I know I could. I meant in general. I just used Wicked as an example. It just happens so often. I didn't mean that it was a definite, no exceptions thing, just that it seems like that's how it is.
"This table, he is over one hundred years old. If I could, I would take an old gramophone needle and run it along the surface of the wood. To hear the music of the voices. All that was said." - Doug Wright, I Am My Own Wife
Updated On: 5/16/05 at 09:27 PM
#4re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/16/05 at 9:28pm
oh okay.
Well, I guess it just IS the way it is.. blondes being connected to frivolous characters I guess, if that's what you mean... not meant to offend or anything, it just sort of adds to the character and their personality..but I know where you're coming from
"It's a great feeling of power to be naked in front of people. We're happy to watch actual incredible graphic violence and gore, but as soon as somebody's naked it seems like the public goes a bit bananas about the whole thing."
#5re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/16/05 at 9:33pm
I am a blonde (a guy but still a blonde) and although I can see where you are coming from I don't think it really matters. Almost all roles nowadays have wigs anyway, and with dye and wash-out spray hair color really doesn't matter.
Have you possibly thought that you might be auditioning with the "air" of a dumb blonde (i.e: is your monologue ditzy/comedic/over-the-to and is your song something like "Popular" ).
David walked into the valley
With a stone clutched in his hand
He was only a boy
But he knew someone must take a stand
There will always be a valley
Always mountains one must scale
There will always be perilous waters
Which someone must sail
-Into the Fire
Scarlet Pimpernel
#6re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/16/05 at 9:38pmWhen I was in High School, I lost the part of Jack in Into the Woods to a redhead. I lost the part of Huck Finn to that same redhead in Big River - and I was cast as Tom Sawyer. The director, idiot that she was, was unaware that Tom was the "redhead".
"Do you know what pledge time is, Andrew"? said the PBS Executive.
"Yes", Lloyd Webber replied. "My 50th birthday special must be one program that gets done a lot."
"No", mused the man from PBS heedlessy. "Not so much. Our Stephen Sondheim Carnegie Hall concert. That's a big one."
Spoons, forks and knives seemed suddenly to suspend their motion in horror, all around the table.
kitkatgirl54
Leading Actor Joined: 5/19/04
#7re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/16/05 at 9:55pm
i am also a blonde and always get the crying / romantic ingenue roles. the sad truth is, hair color does matter. it will ultimately decide how the casting director sees you.
it really sucks because, yes, obviously anyone can dye their hair. and they will in some cases ask you to do so if they really think you are right for the role. however, if you walk into the room and they think 'ingenue,' that is what they will most likely cast you as, whether or not your hair color is what is giving them that perception.
but hey .. i have no problem being the ingenue .. there are worse things to get typecast as, that's for sure.
#8re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/16/05 at 10:10pmI;ve seen it happen, the blonde casting, but it's never happened to me, and I'm blonde.
http://medialiciousmusings.blogspot.com/
DefyingPopular
Featured Actor Joined: 4/10/05
#9re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/16/05 at 10:43pmKristy Cates covered Elphaba and she was blonde at the beginning of Wicked.
#10re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/16/05 at 10:45pm
Ana Gasteyer...............
This is my signature.
#11re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/16/05 at 10:59pmSince with acting, appearances will always play such an important role, I think the hair color thing will always be something that bugs people but won't really ever go away. It has been getting better recently what with dyes, wigs, etc but I see where you are coming from. I'm naturally VERY dark brown (almost black) and asian and one of the roles I want to play in the future is Audrey from LSoH so I'm not sure how many problems I'll run into with that although I can imagine that it would be harder since, even with a blonde wig, it doesn't look too natural on an Asian woman. But we'll see.
I wanted to get something that an "ex"-junkie like him would really appreciate and cherish....it's a brick of heroin shaped like a heart.
-Scrubs
#12re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/16/05 at 11:02pm
I find me and my friend who is also a blonde get type casted not just in shows but in life. I think I have come to accept it though.
On the same hand I have a friend who is older than me but looks very young. She ALWAYS gets cast as a child--when she has the voice and the talent to be THE STAR!!!
we do a thing called Senior Seminar and for MT majors you get cast as a lead in a show-My young looking friend's senior sem is Urinetown and we were all PISSED cuz we thought she was gonna be Little Sally *little again!* but she was cast as Hope so we don't have to kill anyone! :)
and all that I could do because of you was talk of love...
#13re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/16/05 at 11:05pmYeah I have a friend who's a very talented actress but she looks about 12 or younger so she's always being cast as the little girl or whatever. But again, its yet another one of those things you have to deal with in a business where looks are so important I guess. As for everday stereotypes, again same thing, our society is all about looks these days it seems. For example, I'm always getting associated with anime and the bubbly japanese Anime cartoon girls who giggle behind their hands and wear ludicrously short schoolgirl skirts (when in fact I'm Korean) and people are consantly asking me to do imitations but what are you going to do? It's how people think these days unfortunately.
I wanted to get something that an "ex"-junkie like him would really appreciate and cherish....it's a brick of heroin shaped like a heart.
-Scrubs
#14re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/16/05 at 11:05pm
OK first of all, totally jealous that you guys are doing Urinetown, and really really jealous of your friend who is Hope.
I am blonde, and I have always played the ingenue or ditzy character, and now its become almost a comfort zone for me. If ever a director asks me to step out of the box I get nervous, b/c I am like "I am not comfortable with this!!" Which is a shame, b/c as an actor, you need to always be challenging yourself or playing something different. If I continue to get the meek, starcrossed lover, dimwit parts, I am never going to grow. Plus I have a little sqeaukyish voice, so its really hard for me to play anything that is brazen, fiery, sexy or bold.
When I was in Footloose, my director was constantly telling me to lower my voice, and get sexy to play Ariel, and I had a hard time.
Updated On: 5/16/05 at 11:05 PM
#15re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/16/05 at 11:20pm
LittleFish---I AM TOO cuz some of the leads are pre-cast since it's for Seniors BUT not all of them and if not a lead I would LOVE to be in the chorus but---I'll be in london that semester so I can't be in it!! Sooooo mad...and I miss one of my best friends' LAST shows in College!
I have found out sooo many things that I want to be home for that happen while I'm in London..it's a curse, honestly. But i won't feel that way while I'm there I'm sure!
and all that I could do because of you was talk of love...
#16re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/24/05 at 11:10am
i'm bringing this thread back because i think i agree. looks do matter, no matter how much we want to deny it. i have dark brown hair and i also look very young. i'm a senior who's 18 but people constantly think i'm a freshmen. for some reason i've been getting cast as the older womanly character(i.e. meg in damn yankees). don't really know why...
anyway, i think hair color definitely matters in certain cases. and when you walk into a room to audition, everyone will start judging you imediately, based on your looks alone. there's nothing that you can do to stop this. it's human nature. but when you sing or act, that's when you can change everyone's opinion.
i guess i'm kinda just rambling now. but i'd like to hear other cases of this!
TheColorOfFlame
Featured Actor Joined: 8/31/04
#17re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/24/05 at 1:18pmOmg I love the title of this thread. It sounds like a Power-of-Now-type self-help book. So cute!
"I am the sound of distant thunder, the color of flame."
CARRIE the Musical
TheColorOfFlame
Featured Actor Joined: 8/31/04
#18re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/24/05 at 1:22pm
One more thing - LittleFish, does your name refer to the Michael John LaChiusa musical of the same title, starring Jennifer Laura Thompson, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Marcy Harriell, and other stars? It was at Second Stage several seasons ago, and I really liked it, even though I understood the criticism it received. Haha, maybe I should create my own post . . . sorry for the digression :)
"I am the sound of distant thunder, the color of flame."
CARRIE the Musical
Updated On: 5/24/05 at 01:22 PM
pndmnd
Broadway Star Joined: 4/3/04
#19re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/24/05 at 1:30pmI know that hair color does get in the way for some people, but I've been pretty lucky in it not hindering me. I have dark red hair (red-brown, not red-blonde like JLT), and I've played serious roles, ditzzy roles, ingenues, and teenagers (I got carded trying to check e-mail at a library recently--you have to be 18... I'm almost 24). I think if you look a certain way, it can impact your type (for good and bad), but it just means you have to prove yourself even more if you want something that goes against your look.
Di2
Broadway Star Joined: 11/18/04
#20re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/24/05 at 1:53pm
I have been both blonde and brunette.
I find that when I am blonde, I am always looked at for Revues, cruise ship shows and showgirl-type material.
When I am brunette, I am looked at for straight plays and more serious type work.
andyf
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/12/04
#21re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/24/05 at 4:05pm
Edited to rephrase:
I see what you're saying, but Wicked is less than a flawless example:
Like someone said, Kristy Cates used to be blonde and as of a few weeks ago, Ana still has has really light, orange-y hair
As for Glindas, Stacy Morgain Lewis has really dark brown hair.
Andrew, tonight isn't about you! It isn't even about me!!! - [FD]
Updated On: 5/24/05 at 04:05 PM
ashley0139
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/3/05
#22re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/24/05 at 6:46pm
Obviously Wicked is not a perfect example, and there are probably no perfect examples. But you get my point. 
And thank, TCOF, I try with the title thing.
I actually just died my hair brown after wanting to for years. I did it a couple days ago and haven't had any auditions since then, but we'll see how it goes.
"This table, he is over one hundred years old. If I could, I would take an old gramophone needle and run it along the surface of the wood. To hear the music of the voices. All that was said." - Doug Wright, I Am My Own Wife
#23re: Hair Color and You
Posted: 5/24/05 at 6:57pmMy theatre dept is really small, and I was gonna dye my hair a little darker but I think I'm gonna keep it in the blonde family for the sheer fact that I'm one of two blondes and that may come in handy. We'll see how it goes for the rest of my career though..ahah.
and all that I could do because of you was talk of love...
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