Ethnically Ambiguous Casting: An act that involves casting actors whose ethnicity is not immediately identifiable to appeal to broader audiences and or avoid specifying ethnic roots in a story. Example: A famous fashion brand ensures that their spokesperson has mixed race features in order to appeal and profit from as Continue Reading
Posts
Inclusive Casting Practices
Inclusive Casting Practices: Practices aimed at fostering equity and opportunity in casting underrepresented groups. Example: Canadian Media Fund’s guidelines encourage diversity in hiring people who are LGBTQ, disabled, or racialized in any manner. Sources and Further Reading: “Inclusive Casting Guidelines.” Canadian Marketing Association, May 2023, thecma.ca/docs/default-source/default-document-library/cma-inclusive-casting-guidelines_2023.pdf.
Culturally Informed Casting
Culturally Informed Casting: A practice of selecting actors with deep understanding/connection to cultures in the story. Example: Making sure that the voice actor of an Indian character has an Indian ethnicity. Sources and Further Reading: “Identity Conscious Casting Statement.” State of Texas and Texas Tech University School of Theatre & Continue Reading
Reimagined Casting
Reimagined Casting: Reinterpreting characters or stories through innovative casting choices that go against traditional moods. Example: Swapping Hamlet’s gender with a female or non binary person. Sources and Further Reading: Gold, Sylviane. “What It Takes to Radically Reimagine a Classic Musical.” Backstage, 9 Feb. 2021, www.backstage.com/magazine/article/west-side-story-reimagined-what-it-takes-72627/. Stout, Madison. “A Chorus Continue Reading
Integrated Casting
Integrated Casting: Casting decisions that incorporate diversity naturally. Example: Hamilton casting Black artists in their production without making their race the focal point. Sources and Further Reading: Sierz, Aleks. “London: Integrated Casting.” The Theatre Times, 6 Sept. 2016, thetheatretimes.com/london-integrated-casting/.
Ethical Casting
Ethical Casting: A framework of casting practices ensuring fair representation while addressing Issues of equity. Example: Productions discussing with advocate groups before casting marginalized persons, such as racialized people or with disabilities. Sources and Further Reading: Pham, Vicky. “Ethical Casting in a Racially Realized Hollywood: A Framework.” Markkula Center for Continue Reading
Authenticity Casting
Authenticity Casting: Casting a performer who has lived experiences close to the character they are portraying. Example: An actor who is deaf or blind playing a character who is deaf or blind. Sources and Further Reading: “Best Practices for Authentic Casting.” NAVA, 9 Feb. 2025, navavoices.org/authentic-casting/best-practices-for-authentic-casting/#fullarticle. “Authentic Casting – (Ethnic Continue Reading
Performative Diversity
Performative Diversity: Appearing inclusive by making surface level diverse casting decisions without meaningful support (ex. Black best friend). Example: In teen dramas and coming of age stories, a Black character will often exist to support the white protagonist, without having their own well rounded storyline. Sources and Further Reading: Leonie, Continue Reading
Cross Cultural Casting
Cross Cultural Casting: Casting that deliberately involves performers from different cultures to create unique interpretations of traditional works. Example: Hamilton casting non white actors deliberately in order to provide a reframe on the Founding Father characters. Sources and Further Reading: Mondello, Bob. “The Only ‘new’ Thing about Cross-Cultural Casting Is Continue Reading
Spongebob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical and Erased: How Black Comedy Introduces Politics
Theatre offers us infinite possibilities for storytelling. From the raw passion of Angels In America, to the emotional depth of A Streetcar Named Desire, we are reminded that storytelling can challenge us, move us, and connect us to the shared human experience. Throughout my years as a theatre practitioner, I Continue Reading
“The Disappeared”
In the Spring of 2023, I participated as an actor in the Chorus of Erased for Open Heart Surgery Theatre’s workshop development of the play. Erased is written and directed by Coleen Shirin MacPherson, with movement direction by Alix Sideris. This internship was my first professional creative work outside of Continue Reading
Burlesque 101
Confidence, musicality, and “woah” factor are the three main components needed to become a burlesque performer. Anyone and everyone, no matter body type, background, academic or professional training, are capable of partaking in this performance art. I discovered this through the burlesque workshop hosted at York University, featuring four York Continue Reading
Enlightening Conversations and New Experiences: Women’s Innovations in Theatre and Performance
Theatre made its way into my life at a very young age and has opened the door to many opportunities. Writing and performing have always been my main passions. I never imagined taking theatre in university, creating amazing connections, being a part of theatre festivals, developing shows from the ground Continue Reading
From Serendipity to Discovery: My ‘Solo’ Research Journey
Theatre is magic for me! Even as a child I was fascinated by the interplay of lights, music, and the mesmerizing performance of actors effortlessly navigating the stage. Theatre became a spectacle when I saw a single woman on stage captivating the attention of hundreds of audiences. Since then, Continue Reading
Red Velvet, Ira Aldridge & the problems and possibilities of Othello
My field notes today are exactly that, paragraphs shaped from rough notes made after attending the December 1, 2022 performance of Lolita Chakrabarti’s Red Velvet directed by Cherissa Richards at Crow’s Theatre. Set primarily in 1830s London, bookended by scenes set in 1860s Lodz, Red Velvet stages the encounter between Continue Reading
God Give Me the Confidence of a Straight White Able-bodied Man: Cripping Up for Richard III
He has many names: Tricky Dicky, Richard Plantagenet, the Duke of Gloucester, King Richard III. He is famed for being scheming, manipulative, morally corrupt, and also possesses a nondescript disability commonly alluded to in performance through able-bodied actors feigning a limp, walking with a cane, and adopting a hunch-backed stance Continue Reading
Open Air Shakespeare: “a corrective to an overcitified and artificial life”?
To me, watching Shakespeare performed outdoors is a delicious novelty. I love sitting outside on a blanket or pillow, watching actors and musicians perform in a park alongside trees, rocks, grass, birds, bats, and mosquitos. Ok, maybe I don’t love the mosquitos. This summer I had the good fortune of Continue Reading
Anxious Danes – Anxiety and Surveillance in an Updated Hamlet
It is no secret that Stratford’s 2022 season has brought much attention to the Festival in its second year open since the 2020 COVID-19 closures. This season has seen the programming of three world premieres, adaptations of classic stories like Little Women and Molière’s The Miser, and a new version Continue Reading
“Himpathy” for the Devil?
Reflections on Hamlet 911. Note: I attended a matinee performance of Hamlet 911 in early August during previews. It is possible that some of the staging I reference below has shifted since then. The creators of Hamlet 911 have the best of intentions – or so interviews and related publicity Continue Reading
“As Cast”
“AS CAST”: A contract stipulation most often used in repertory theatre companies, which states that an actor will be cast by the director or artistic director as deemed appropriate during the rehearsal process rather than being cast in a specific role at the time of hiring. The “as cast” stipulation Continue Reading
Blackface
BLACKFACE: “Blackface” is the offensive practice of an individual darkening their skin tone with makeup or paint to perform a stereotyped version of Blackness in an attempt to mock, parody, alienate, vilify, and degrade members of the Black community. Blackface has a long and troubling history that dates back centuries, Continue Reading
“Black Out Nights”
“BLACK OUT NIGHTS”: Started in 2019 by American playwright Jeremy O’Harris for his play Slave Play, Black Out Nights are specific performances held during a show’s run where only Black audience members are invited to attend. In Toronto, companies like Theatre Passe Muraille have adopted this idea, hosting their first Continue Reading
Brownface
BROWNFACE: The offensive practice of a white/non-South Asian actor darkening their skin with makeup, and wearing clothing to appear South Asian in an attempt to portray racist stereotypes. The use of brown-voice often accompanies instances of brownface performance and it is most often used to mock people of South Asian Continue Reading
Brown-Voice
BROWN-VOICE: Considered an element of brownface, “brown-voice” is the offensive practice of a non-South Asian person performing an accent in an attempt to imitate a person of South Asian descent. This accent is often associated with an Indian accent, though it can often be considered what South Asian actors know Continue Reading
Casting
CASTING: Usually undertaken by a production’s director or casting director, “casting” is the process of selecting and hiring actors for roles in a theatrical production, film, television series, or other performance. By casting specific actors to play certain parts, the director or casting director can shape the story in their Continue Reading
Coalitional Casting
COALITIONAL CASTING: A term coined by Brown University professor Patricia Ybarra, “coalitional casting,” refers to a casting strategy that educational and training institutions can use when mounting a production with actors who may not align with the cultural identities and experiences of the characters they are expected to play. Ybarra Continue Reading
Colour-Blind Casting
COLOUR-BLIND CASTING: Although the terms “colour-blind” and “race-blind” carry ableist connotations, they are popularly used to describe the practice of attempting to ignore the race of the performers during and after the casting process. In shows that are cast using this strategy, the performers’ race does not change the race Continue Reading
Colour-Conscious Casting
COLOUR-CONSCIOUS CASTING: Also known as “race-conscious casting,” this is the practice of actively acknowledging the race of the performers during the casting/rehearsal process. This approach differs from “colour-blind casting” in that rather than attempting to ignore the actors’ race during the casting process, the actors’ race is actively acknowledged and Continue Reading
Colourism
COLOURISM: Prejudice, discrimination, or “preferential treatment” based on skin colour within a racial or ethnic group, often using skin tone as a scale to determine an individual’s proximity to whiteness and assign privilege and power accordingly. For more, see Emeka, Greenidge, Krasner, and “Shadeism.” Sources and Further Reading: Emeka, Justin. Continue Reading
Counter-Casting
COUNTER-CASTING: The practice of casting bodies in roles that they would not have played “traditionally” in an attempt to change the story that is being told and provide a different take on the same story by challenging the audience’s expectations. In her 2020 book, Shakespearean Futures: Casting the Bodies of Continue Reading
“Cripping Up”
“CRIPPING UP”: Coined by playwright Kaite O’Reilly, “cripping up” refers to the act of a non-disabled/ able-bodied person acting like they have a disability when they do not. In regards to casting, this often takes the form of non-disabled actors playing characters with physical disabilities (e.g. Kevin McHale playing Artie Continue Reading
Cultural Intimacy
CULTURAL INTIMACY: Although the term may carry various meanings elsewhere, in theatre, “cultural intimacy” can describe a strategy to approaching and working with plays from or about cultures one may not be familiar with. In this respect, it is not dissimilar from Ybarra’s concept of “coalitional casting.” Specifically in terms Continue Reading
Cultural Dramaturgy
CULTURAL DRAMATURGY: A dramaturgical approach currently being developed and practiced by theatre artist and dramaturge Sadie Berlin. This approach aims to create a higher quality of theatre by focusing on cultural intimacy, specificity, and authenticity for every performance. Although Berlin did not invent the idea of cultural dramaturgy, she has Continue Reading
Culturally Specific Theatre Company
CULTURALLY SPECIFIC THEATRE COMPANY: A term that refers to a theatre company established with a specific mandate to support the creation and production of theatre by and for people from a particular, often marginalized, cultural group. Culturally specific theatre companies are born out of a lack of representation and opportunities Continue Reading
Digital Blackface
DIGITAL BLACKFACE: Stemming from the offensive traditions of blackface minstrelsy, the term “digital blackface” refers to the online appropriation of Black people by white and non-Black users. This kind of performance can take many forms, with the most widespread being the overuse of GIFs featuring Black individuals, mainly celebrities. Critic Continue Reading
IBPOC/BIPOC
IBPOC/BIPOC: The acronym “BIPOC” originated in the United States and stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour. The term is used to highlight the specific discrimination and racial injustice that Black communities and Indigenous communities face and acknowledge that these communities face injustices that other groups may not. While Continue Reading
Identity-Conscious Casting
IDENTITY-CONSCIOUS CASTING: Recent scholarship suggests that conscious casting should go past the colour-conscious and instead use “identity-conscious casting.” This term refers to consciously acknowledging an actor’s identity in relation to the play text during and after the casting process. Using “identity-conscious casting,” directors and casting directors can use the actor’s Continue Reading
inthedressingroom
#INTHEDRESSINGROOM: Spearheaded by Black artists at the Stratford Festival, the #inthedressingroom conversation began in 2020 on Twitter as a platform for Black artists to have their voices heard regarding the racism and injustice they have historically faced and continue to face in the Canadian theatre industry. In early June of Continue Reading
Gatekeeper
GATEKEEPER: In a general sense, the term “gatekeeper” refers to someone with the power to allow an individual or group to do or obtain something. That same “gatekeeper” also holds the ability to restrict an individual or group from doing or obtaining something. In theatre, a gatekeeper may refer to Continue Reading
Gender-Blind Casting
GENDER-BLIND CASTING: As with “colour-blind casting,” this term has ableist connotations, though it has been used to describe the practice of casting actors to play roles whose gender identity is different from their own. The most significant difference between “gender-swapped” or “gender-conscious” casting and “gender-blind casting” is the director’s intention. Continue Reading
Gender-Swapped Casting
GENDER-SWAPPED CASTING: Also sometimes referred to as “gender-conscious casting” and “cross-gender casting,” this is the practice of casting performers of different genders in roles written as or traditionally played by someone of another gender, typically male. This concept is different from “gender-blind casting,” as “gender-swapped casting” reimagines the role using Continue Reading
Ghosting
GHOSTING: The term “ghosting” was first introduced by theatre and performance studies scholar Marvin Carlson in his book The Haunted Stage (2003). In it, he argues that an actor’s previous onstage roles will seep through to their current characters and influence how the audience views their performance. This can either Continue Reading
Non-Traditional Casting
NON-TRADITIONAL CASTING: A broad term for the concept of casting actors in roles that defy “traditional” racial, gender, and ability boundaries and encompasses four specific approaches to casting: Colour-blind Casting, Conceptual Casting, Cross-Cultural Casting, and Societal Casting. This concept was first introduced at the Actor’s Equity sponsored First National Symposium Continue Reading
Recuperative Casting
RECUPERATIVE CASTING: A casting strategy identified by scholar Lindsay Mantoan which works against the common whitewashing of canonical texts. Instead of recasting the same white characters from a specific show with a diverse group of actors, Mantoan suggests that directors can use “recuperative casting” to change the characters’ identities and Continue Reading
Redface
REDFACE: The offensive practice of white/non-Indigenous performers being cast as and portraying Indigenous characters. Redface performance is often achieved by non-Indigenous performers altering their appearance by darkening their skin and/or appropriating cultural clothing and imagery in an attempt to portray and/or mimic Indigenous peoples. Another form of redface performance may Continue Reading
Shadeism
SHADEISM: While most scholarship suggests that the terms “shadeism” and “colourism” can be used interchangeably and “colourism” may arguably be more prevalent, it is worth listing both terms as each have slightly different implications. “Shadeism” has been described as a type of intraracial discrimination where the darkness of one’s skin, Continue Reading
Stunt Casting
STUNT CASTING: In theatre, film, and television, the term “stunt casting” can be used to describe the casting of a celebrity in a production purely to create publicity and sell more tickets. In theatre, stunt casting typically takes the form of casting a movie star or television celebrity in a Continue Reading
Tokenism
TOKENISM: The act of casting one or a small number of individuals from a specific marginalized group to create the illusion that a show or organization is diverse. A tokenized individual in an organization is often incorrectly seen and treated as representing a monolithic idea of the culture or group Continue Reading
Typecasting
TYPECASTING: A casting strategy which has slightly different definitions depending on the context and intent behind its use. “Typecasting” can involve choosing actors for roles based on generalizations about their appearance or stereotypes about the cultural or ethnic group they identify as belonging to. It can also include casting actors Continue Reading
weseeyou
#WESEEYOU: A hashtag used on social media by We See You, White American Theater (WSYWAT), a theatre collective created by a group of BIPOC theatremakers. Beginning with the release of an open letter in June 2020 titled “Dear White American Theater” that accumulated signatures from over 300 BIPOC artists in Continue Reading