For today’s blog, I am diverting from my typical current event theme. I would like to discuss a topic that concerns a world that I’m sure many of us are unappreciative of—theatre. The other day, I had a rather interesting conversation on the bus with one of my friends who is pursuing a theatre minor. Initially, I discussed my opinions on some of the shows I have seen at Penn State for my Theatre 102 class. Prior to this conversation, I had no idea that Penn State had on of the top theatre schools in the United States. Looking back I guess I should have assumed this was true after watching “Titanic” “You’re Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine” and “Sweet Charity” in which were all fantastic productions. However, the most riveting part of our conversation did not consist of praising Penn State’s theatre program. In fact our conversation spiraled into the concept of typecasting, something that many theatre students fall victim to. For those of you that don’t know, typecasting is the concept of assigning an actor or actress repeatedly to the same type of role, as a result of the appropriateness of their racial, ethnic or physical appearance. Some may argue that typecasting often benefits actors because it will be easier for them to land roles based on characteristics that they can’t change such as their race or physical build. However, others argue that typecasting is a large obstacle present in the theatre industry because it often limits or completely eliminates actors from an array of role opportunities. This concept of typecasting made me question if this was the product of the taboo nature associated with race in our country. Or perhaps typecasting is done to make the play seem as authentic as possible and to ultimately make the audience feel like they are getting the full experience they are paying for. Whatever the case may be I think that typecasting is somewhat complex and nevertheless an ethically challenging process. Sure an audience would probably feel uneasy watching a short, skinny, blonde-haired male play Othello. However, there have been instances where actors that did not fit the character description of their role have been very successful on Broadway. For example, Brandy Norwood starred as the lead character, Roxie Hart, for Chicago on Broadway and the production sustained rave reviews. Despite this example, I do believe that typecasting is sometimes inevitable for certain shows and oftentimes its done for the sake of preserving the true nature of the show. However, as we are living in somewhat progressive, times I am curious to see if typecasting will gradually fissile out when the next generation of leading casting directors emerges.
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I personally would LOVE to see typecasting fall by the wayside. The best actor/ actress should get the part. Side note Had to google who Brandy Norwood was as I had never heard the last name. If you had just said Brandy I would have identified right away, I’m so old..Hello 1998
Kennedy, as an acting major I know all about how frustrating typecasting can be. Once at a workshop in Los Angeles, I was told by a famous Hollywood casting director that I should learn how to speak Spanish if I ever wanted to work in television, regardless of the fact that I have absolutely no Hispanic or Latinx heritage (I’m half Asian and half Jewish, but to her brown was brown, I suppose). When I had long hair, I was always cast as either “the sexy one” or “the ingenue” and now that I have a pixie cut I am more-or-less pigeonholed into other types of roles. In some circumstances knowing your type is fun and advantageous; in others, it feels limiting.
And yet, I never feel that casting a play with actors of the traditional race for the role is particularly limiting if the play is about racial dynamics (like Othello). In fact, I think that doing so is actually honoring the play and the playwright’s intentions in making a statement about race. Especially in a racially charged piece like Othello, or even in Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine (which featured many of my friends and my acting professor).
There have been many instances in our School of Theatre and in professional productions when plays have been cast without any regard for type. In our own production of Twelfth Night last year, for example, Olivia and her uncle, Sir Toby Belch, were both played by African American actors, while Sir Andrew Aguecheek was played by an Arab actor. In this case, the “typecast” of the actors was completely unimportant and irrelevant to telling and honoring the story because of the nature of the play.
This is certainly a fascinating and nuanced topic, and I’m glad you brought it up!