The Minutes & American Buffalo Will Now Start Performances in March — Page 3

toottoot said: "You're also not the cardholder to a monopoly on what matters, sorry to say. You're regularly insufferable and incorrect and narrow minded and short sighted and ignorant and stubborn on here, and once in a blue moon I'll let off steam reminding you of it."

SouthernCakes said: "Why not get into casting and change the issue or get into producing? Be active about it instead of posting on a message board that no ones gonna see and will change nothing.

I’m all for diversity! But as an actor I’m not gonna support firing half the cast to do so."

Not sure if this is directed at me, but if so, without giving away too much about myself - I work in the industry, and a corner of it that's all about making these very changes. Nobody is suggesting we fire white actors to give opportunities to POC folx, but instead are making waves to have the opportunities be first and foremost from the get-go. I don't work in commercial theater, however, and that's a whole other animal to be tamed.

RippedMan said: "Okay and good for you! Well, the shows you're suggesting are all fully cast. Maybe call out the casting directors, directors, and producers, instead of the actors. Everyone needs a gig!"

Again, I'm not sure if this is directed at me or not, but I'm guessing so considering the content. If not, forgive.

The point is not to fire the actors and rehire new ones. It's the idea that the shows should have never been produced in the first place. It's a "root of the problem" problem, so-to-speak, and so therefor is very much a producer / director problem. Casting folx don't *really* dictate these things, so I suppose some can be especially clever. Casting folx can deny jobs where there either aren't outlined opportunities for POC actors beyond a quote-filler number (or 0 in the name of authenticity), or jobs that say they're "open" but could easily lead them to ultimately going against inclusive practices, but most casting is done through Telsey & Co, Tara Rubin, or a select number of other CD offices that, generally speaking, either don't care or can't afford to turn down work right now (or some combination). Casting directors generally don't have a lot of power as far as the racial make-up of a show; a few can be clever in the art of persuasion, but it's not as common as people might think. The root really exists with the heads of the creative team on a production: the director, writer(s), and producers are ultimately the key holder. One can argue, as I have, that the NY audience is the phantom limb to the equation too.

Anyyyyyyway. Actors are there to do a job. They, like casting folx, can in turn deny offers if it's for a project that's fishy, but most aren't aware of the racial make-up of a show until much much later once rehearsals are about to begin. Also, as stated, most need a paycheck really bad. It sucks.

We're in the middle of a pandemic and nothing is being produced full-time. Shows can be canceled and those resources can be used elsewhere. This is as perfect a time as any for the industry to actually make a shift toward real, tangible inclusion. It's heartbreaking that the chances of this happening in any actual effective manner is next to none.

Thank you for attending my TedTalk, and I apologize if I explained things or talked about things you're well versed on.

toottoot said: "Sutton Ross said: "Broadway's history of pandering to wealthy white people is the reason a show like Flying Over Sunset will be produced. The reason The Music Man will be produced. I don't think there's any disillusion of how Broadway audiences work, there's simply a desire for them to stop being insufferable.

Yet....you are an audience member so I guess you are insufferable as well. Not like it took you admitting it for me to be aware of that fact, though. Wealthy people buy theater tickets, since it's a luxury item.Makes perfect sense. The Music Man and Flying Over Sunset will be produced which was the only thing that you mentioned that actually matters here."

I work for an off broadway company and get comps. I don't pay to see anything, actually. If I like a show and want to go back, I might spring for a discounted ticket somewhere. And duh they'll be produced. Nobody is arguing that. The idea that they'll be produced and illicit a rapturous response, or that anyone other than a select few who all look exactly alike are thinking about them with any serious interest or anticipation (especially during the pandemic), is likely not so. You're also not the cardholder to a monopoly on what matters, sorry to say. You're regularly insufferable and incorrect and narrow minded and short sighted and ignorant and stubborn on here, and once in a blue moon I'll let off steam reminding you of it.

"

!!!!!!

OffOnBwayHi said: "For y'all that are saying "Broadway is not going to turn on a dime and suddenly replace theatre of white folks with theatre of Black folks. Nor should it. Or need it":

1. This is not something new thatonly Black people or people of color have been asking for. Anyone who thinks "Broadway is not going to turn on a dime and suddenly replace theatre of white folks with theatre of black folks," arethe ones who need to be addressedbecause you are clearly just now seeing the problem. Not you checking the Black folks.

I'veonly been on this board for maybe a year and I've been talking about the lack of diversity in the theater industryfrom the jump. Many of y'all paid it dust or made fun of me, revealing your racism and reveling in your white superiority.

2. White people will always have spacein the theater industry. That's not true about people of color. I'm Black, but I also think A LOT about my Indian, Latino and Asian brothers and sisters, who are often nonexistent as major players in the theater industry. That's not their fault.

3. And there are only FIVE Black broadway producers. FIVE! And they are working their butts off and still struggling to mount productions because of a predominately white system that, if not racist, does not understand or fully believe in art that centers on blackness.

For example, Blue, the show that was suppose to open at the Apollo theater this year — directed byPhylicia Rashad, starringTony winnerLeslie Uggams and Emmy winner Lynn Whitfield, with musicby Nona Hendryx —was playing therebecause they couldn't get a Broadway house. The lead producer, a Black man, waited and waited and was given the run around by Broadway houses for a long time. After being tired of that mess, the Apollo accepted him with open arms.

Meanwhile, predominantlywhite shows that garner lukewarm reviews off-Broadway and out of town, with no major names, are effortlessly bookingBroadway houses. That deserves questioning.

You are entitled to your opinion on the first and second points -- but your third point is blatantly false. Who are the "five" BIPOC you speak of? I have no knowledge if BLUE's conversations with the Broadway theatre owners -- but if those producers have their ducks in a row in the Spring they will have their pick of Broadway houses.

Updated On: 6/30/20 at 07:37 PM

Thank you for your perspective, OffOnBwayHi - this board needs more Black voices, and more white people willing to listen to them.