Pros And Cons Of Color Blind Casting

So what exactly is color-blind casting? In the past many people believed the term “color-blind casting” means casting their characters without their race and ethnicity. Throughout the decades, American theatre has experienced issues regarding the relation between race and gender, and their effect on casting, and the discussion particularly focuses on actors’ skin colors. Nowadays colorblind casting does not truly exist, it is known more as “color-conscious” casting . Through some research I found that in 1997, August Wilson and Robert Burstein had a debate about colorblind casting in New York Town Hall. The scholar Herrera supports Burstein’s point, but he evolves his opinion that we can not avoid race because we automatically see it when

He often wrote in public places on any surface he could find. He had scraps of different papers with thoughts. He could hear a character talking and would make his words come alive on paper. Once he got the character talking it was hard for him to shut up. He did his writing like a collage. Collecting all his scraps of writing and compiling them into something special. He valued the writing process. He treated it spiritually by washing his hands before. His rituals and natural impulses show how he took writing seriously but because he loved it. Reading “August Wilson: The Ground on which I Stand” gives you a face to the man you are learning about. He is described as a storyteller, truth teller, and a visionary. Upon reading August Wilson’s “The Ground On Which I Stand”, it is imperative to first assess, analyze, and acknowledge the general assertions that Wilson makes about the condition of theater as a whole and the role of African Americans in that theater condition. Wilson’s beliefs come across quite clearly. The role of the minority, especially African Americans, in American theaters is neglected, ignored and kept from proper development; the supposed solution of colorblind casting actually comes off insulting and further impairs the black playwright from creating original work. According to Wilson, this stems from a sense of perfection and entitlement in the works derived from well known and respected white artists. By utilizing color blind casting, Wilson believes that the people in charge of productions (predominately white) are not actually exploring a multiracial view of the stage but instead giving minority actors a pat on the head and saying that they can participate, too. To Wilson, it is the ultimate easy way out of the situation. By not seeing race, a fundamental part of one’s self, a casting director also ignores one’s race. Therefore, I agree with this assertion. Wilson does a competent job