What do you think of this casting listing?

I was looking through some auditions tonight online and saw a listing that stated they were taking submissions from "Any Ethnicity other than Caucasian". I am not going to give my opinion because I don't want to sway the conversation, but does anyone else see anything in this listing that some might find offensive? It's for a show that will be playing at NYMF

Updated On: 5/26/15 at 10:08 PM

Ethnicity other than caucasian may be an important characteristic of the dad.

Or the creatives may using ethnicity to make some other point.

So, no. I do not ascribe "offensive" motives to people I don't know about a project about which I know nothing.

So basically they want Norm Lewis without actually casting Norm Lewis?

Not offensive in the slightest. Didn't Hamilton's casting call also have a similar requirement?

"I just don't understand why we can't just ignore race and cast according to talent. Not looking to stir any trouble, just putting my opinion here. "

LOL. Go back to hugging your #AllLivesMatter sign.

It sounds pretty obvious to me that the character being a person of color is somehow meaningful to the show, but that what specific race the character is isn't as important.

The difference between this and "no black actors" is that black people are marginalized in society and underrepresented in theater. If the production were looking for a performer of a certain race, they would say they were seeking African American, Latino, Asian, white, Native American, etc actors.

"It sounds pretty obvious to me that the character being a person of color is somehow meaningful to the show, but that what specific race the character is isn't as important.
The difference between this and "no black actors" is that black people are marginalized in society and underrepresented in theater. If the production were looking for a performer of a certain race, they would say they were seeking African American, Latino, Asian, white, Native American, etc actors."

Again, I can understand a casting director wanting to cast a person of color. It's just weird that certain races are, as you put it, "marginalized in society". It just seems like, as a society, we should be over that by now. Excuse my hippie-ness here, but people are people for God's sake. Time to stop letting race be a factor in everything. I suppose this isn't the proper platform for this sort of talk, but I just thought I'd put it out there. Don't wish to offend anyone.

But that's not what happens. There's a dominant culture, see? And it dominates! And it's white. And since it is literally, as the kids like to say, impossible to "not see race," wise people try to take corrective measures to insure that there is more representation.

"Not offensive in the slightest. Didn't Hamilton's casting call also have a similar requirement? "

It did.

And no, I don't find Norm Lewis (who is clearly what they're looking for with that oddly specific breakdown) offensive.

I mean, imagine if this said, "Looking for all races except for black." People would be outraged.

This is exactly how I feel. If they posted "We are looking for a Black Actor", or "We are looking for an Asian Actor"... I would be fine with it. It's true that we don't know too much about the project but here is the synopsis...

SYNOPSIS: When Evan’s twin brother Charlie suddenly passes away, all Evan wants to do is forget their complicated relationship and move on, but the tangled relationships Charlie left behind keep Evan from truly letting go. As he falls into a spiral of self-destruction, Evan must make a stark decision: either accept and forgive his dead twin brother, or become him. Set to a lush, contemporary musical theatre score, Wearing Black explores how people grieve, and the different ways they accept and reject love. Death ends a life, not a relationship.

It seems to me it's a random casting decision. They want anyone but a White person. That's incredibly random. It certainly isn't specific

I think it is both offensive, and racist, to write "Anybody BUT...".

I think this thread itself is giving pretty good examples as to how the experiences of a white person vs. a non-white person can be different.

There is likely a very good reason these folks are looking for someone who isn't white (other than their hilarious attempt at saying Norm Lewis without Norm Lewis).

There were people here outraged at the multi-racial Billy Elliots.

SHOULD we be able to look beyond race? Yes. Are we there yet? Not even close.