Friday, January 16, 2015

Diversity in entertainment: it's worth the mess

Today many circles are atwitter with disappointment about yesterday's Oscar nominations, which were significantly lacking in diversity (particularly in the acting categories).  I've also seen frustration expressed about Eddie Redmayne's nomination for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking, which many (and not just people with disabilities) think perpetuates the stale-and-too-frequent Hollywood trope of "play the disabled person and you'll get an Academy Award."

I thought I'd use my first blog post of 2015 to weigh in with a few thoughts.  But first, some context on where I'm coming from.

As some may know, I have just started a yearlong contract as a professional actor with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF). Some may hear "festival" and assume OSF is a small outdoor community theatre that nobly puts on a couple of Shakespeare plays during the warm summer months for picnicking, wine-drinking older folk.  While the wine-drinking may be accurate, the reality is that OSF is a year-round theatre that produces 11 plays and musicals each season, and is one of the most prominent and well-regarded repertory theaters in the country. It's also one of the few theaters that still hires a full company of actors for the entire season, each of whom works on multiple plays or musicals beside other artists who are practicing at the top of their craft (playwrights, designers, directors, stage managers, and others).  The plays that premiere here in Ashland, OR often continue on to top regional theatres, or even Broadway (such as the play that won the Tony this year, ALL THE WAY.)  Essentially, OSF is Broadway or West End calibre, but instead of NY pizza or fish and chips down the street, you have an organic food co-op with countless natural greybeards that rival Gandalf the Wizard.

For a theatre actor - or any actor - an OSF contract is a big deal, and a dream.

And for me - an actor who uses a wheelchair full-time after being paralyzed in a car accident nearly 13 years ago - it's an even bigger deal, and bigger dream.  After all, I am the first wheeling full-season repertory actor the company has ever had. EVER. In hundreds of actors who have graced the stages since the company was founded in 1935.  Eighty years.

I did learn that one other wheelchair-using actor, Kenneth Littleton Crow, played Snout in the 1993 summertime production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.  And Howie Seago, a deaf actor, has worked at OSF in multiple seasons.  Still, That makes 3 of us with different abilities, and only 2 who have been cast in the classical "rep actor" style where an actor is in more than 1 show during the season.  This is important - especially for actors who are "different" - because it means that the company is committing to you as a versatile artist who can handle the rigor of playing multiple roles that are often contrasting in nature...not just bringing you in for one show where you fit enough.

Fitting enough: that is often what we "different" actors have to do to get the role.  You could call it the "Othello conundrum," similar to where black male actors are not called to do Shakespeare until a theatre decides to do OTHELLO and needs a black actor. (Even Othello used to be played by white actors until people realized that, oh, wait, there are amazing black actors out there who can more aptly play the role.  And blackface is shitty and racist.)

OSF doesn't just cast based on where people historically fit into theatre.  It's ubiquitously apparent on stages up here, from PERICLES to GUYS AND DOLLS.  The company's mission is to reflect the diversity of the world around us in the plays it produces onstage.   (Gee, I would say that makes a lot of sense.)  There are colors and genders and creeds and sexualities and ethnicities galore, playing all sorts of roles that weren't necessarily intended by Shakespeare or other playwrights to be embodied by such identities.  And, considering that the World Bank's estimate of PWDs around the world is about 1 billion people - or 15% of the world's population - I'd say OSF has made the right decision in adding actors with different abilities to the mix.

Now, this isn't to say that it's easy.

When I first talked with Bill Rauch, OSF's Artistic Director, about their decision to hire me, we agreed that there might be some bits of mess involved.  People might say the wrong thing.  Not know how to help.  Be less skilled in directing or designing for a wheeling actor...a foreign experience for many, even the pinnacle artists who work at OSF.  But we both agreed that MESS is an unavoidable - and necessary - part of change.  Experiencing firsthand triumphs and mistakes is the only way to learn and progress.

And within week 1, we've had our first bit of mess.

It involves understudying.  Aside from being cast in multiple shows (usually 2-3 at a time), OSF actors are given understudy assignments.  You learn another role in case the primary actor cannot go on.  I was given an understudy assignment for a couple of roles in ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA.  However, as Bill (who happens to be directing A&C) began delving into the show and its design logistics, it became clear that the roles I was assigned would have to be on multiple levels of the stage that are not accessible to wheelchairs.

He was devastated.  And as much as he tried to find a workable solution, it became clear that the amount of energy and effort it would take to accommodate for the slight (emphasize slight) possibility that I would ever have to take the stage simply wasn't common sensical, for the show or for me.  And I agree; so I will be sticking with my 2 primary roles this season, and most likely not understudying.

In the future, this may require a system change in how the understudy assignments work.  Perhaps I won't be assigned my understudies until after the shows begin to take shape, so they know which shows will work for wheels.  Or, shows will be designed with a greater focus on universal accessibility.  Or, maybe a time will come when there are multiple wheeling actors in the company who can understudy each other.

Regardless, in my mind, this "mess" equates to 1 step back, compared to the 99 forward steps OSF has taken in hiring me.  After all, the roles in which I was cast for the season were NOT conceived for a wheeling actor.  Don John in Shakespeare's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING is usually played by a man, and the text has no reference toward any physical difference.  The Mysterious Woman in Stan Lai's SECRET LOVE IN PEACH BLOSSOM LAND also has no indication of physical difference.  But in both cases, the casting team and directors opened their minds to what COULD BE POSSIBLE.  In doing so, they realized that it makes perfect sense for both of these roles to be played by...moi.

Some people say that everything in the arts - theatre, music, visual art, dancing - is just a re-creation or re-envisioning of something that's already been done at some point, somewhere in the annals of human history.  I understand this argument, but I also disagree.  I can say with a good deal of certainty that what OSF is doing with me this year in these plays has never been done.  (If anyone can find evidence to the contrary, I am all ears.)

Which brings me back to the Oscar nominations, and what I personally find disheartening about them.  It's not that white able men (or women, depending on the category) shouldn't be nominated; people who distill the issue down to this absurd conclusion are just being bombastic and ridiculous. I thought some performances by the nominated actors were exquisite.  In particular, I thought BIRDMAN was inventive and refreshing, and Michael Keaton was extraordinary. (Important note here: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu who conceived and directed BIRDMAN is Mexican.)  And I have not seen it, but I imagine that Eddie Redmayne pulls off an impressive performance in THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING.  Plus, regardless of him, I was happy to see that a movie was made about Stephen Hawking, one of the most fascinating and important PWDs in history (who is unfortunately also the frequent butt of many discriminatory disabled jokes, even though he could mentally smackdown just about any bloke on this planet...talk about Professor Xavier!).

The problem is that Hollywood, Broadway, and much of our popular entertainment are STUCK: in ignorance and cowardice.

I was going to say that they exemplify madness, as defined by Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra in DON QUIXOTE: "...maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!"  But this is being too generous; they don't even deserve the designation of madness, because they aren't even fully portraying LIFE AS IT IS.

Those of us who pay attention out there in the "real" world - and the real America - SEE how it is.

It's a world where stories like those told in the Oscar-nominated films - of valiant soldiers, heroic deeds, despicable actions, tragic diagnoses, fantasy worlds, or the mundane details of life - are not EXCLUSIVELY lived by white people.  Or men.  Or people who are all "normal" physical specimens without some physical difference that indicates how they've been marked or injured by life.  It's a world where people of all kinds, colors, languages, and physicalities fill different roles: soldiers, teachers, parents, CEOs, McDonald's workers, doctors, or the dude next to you on the bus.

To not acknowledge and reflect this reality is ignorance.
To not actively strike out to start changing the human make-up of popular American storytelling is cowardice.

And so I understand the frustration with the Oscar nominations.  While there have been successes in recent years with Oscar diversity, there's not a stopping point.  The world doesn't stop becoming more diverse, so why do we think that entertainment can "take a break from diversity" for a year, as though we're just trying to fill a quota before we go back to tunnel vision?

The pathways forward are there, and to some of us, painfully obvious and doable.

Yes, there might be some mess as TV shows have to arrange for an accessible dressing room for a wheeling actor (something I've experienced).  But shouldn't they have one anyway, especially because it can work for ANY actor coming on set?  Doesn't it make sense?

Yes, there might be some extra cost to retrofit actor housing for a deaf actor who needs a light to flash when the doorbell rings.  But with production budgets that often factor in the millions (some of which goes to frivolous expenditures anyway), will a couple hundred or thousand really be that big of a deal?  Particularly if you're getting an exquisite performer that will enhance the company and its artistry?  (Btw, in my own situation at OSF, they had to renovate an apartment to make it wheelchair accessible, but I've heard that it was in need of a renovation anyway...I just happened to be a good excuse. :-)  And aside from a portable ramp and maybe one or two pushbutton doors - all of which benefit every employee and patron who come to OSF - the accommodations needed have been minimal.)

If an opportunity exists to move forward into uncharted and exciting territory, why hesitate, especially if it makes perfect sense?  Does it not make sense that Hamlet, a war vet, could have some sort of permanent war injury and be played by an actor with an amputation or wheelchair?  Does it not make sense that Idris Elba, a magnificently classy and talented black actor, would play the next James Bond? (Especially because, frankly, you want me to believe that a white boy spy will be able to infiltrate a terrorist cell in Yemen, or the Boko Haram outfit in Nigeria, or other contemporary spy-worthy locations?  Good luck white boy 007.)

Diversity does make sense.  And it's reality.  And even for those who focus on the profit bottom line, it's risky and thrilling.

For those of you who think the reason is that the actors don't exist, they do.  I know hoardes of them.  Actors who are Nigerian, Puerto Rican, have cerebral palsy, amputations, are Chinese, have spinal cord injuries, are deaf...you just don't know they exist because, in most cases, they haven't been given a widespread opportunity to share their stuff.  And, in many cases, even when the casting team and directors and writers know about someone "different," and in their heart-of-hearts genuinely WANT to make a more diverse choice, they don't.

Why?  "We're not ready."  "It's too expensive."  "Maybe next time."
Translation?  "We're a bunch of wussy-ass cowards who don't actually know enough to write diverse stories, and we're afraid to put our own necks on the line for the integrity of art and entertainment." (I'm really good at translating.)

Thankfully, my new colleagues at OSF are not wussies.  They realize the risk and reward of creativity, change, and diversity.

And when it comes to Oscar-worthy films or Tony-worthy plays, I'd rather see and hear about the unique artistic solutions invented to allow my actor friends with cerebral palsy or paralysis to play Stephen Hawking.  What greenscreening would they use?  What cool wheelchair contraptions would they make?  What camera angles and makeup would be necessary to give the appearance of withered legs when someone actually HAS withered legs?

And what messy situations came up on set or backstage?!?!  Because those are always exciting.

9 comments:

  1. All for it and congrats on your OSF contract, though I am curious of your opinion on one thing. I will preface by saying this is not an attack, nor an attempt to defend the good ol' boys club that is the Hollywood landscape. I am genuinely interested in your opinion:
    I myself am involved in the arts, and I have found that yes, while there is a lack in the diversity of the industry as a whole, there is also a lack of people willing to generate new content of diverse backgrounds. Is not the point of art to create? And yes, while the studio systems cater to a certain demographic, why are there not more "artists" who are willing to be artists. Write, produce, act, do what artists are supposed to do and create. The entire industry is on the precipice of such a shift from the old ways, that now more than ever are there opportunities to produce new content. I am personally seeing a lack of that, and more and more a shifting a blame to the old warhorses who still run the show (a show, might I add that is on the brink of cancellation). If there is a demand for something, then supply that demand. Now, I am in no way claiming to know you or others you have spoken of, however I do know what I personally see working in Hollywood. You can't watch what isn't produced.

    Once again, I hope you don't take this as an attack. This was a lovely piece and I wish you luck on your season with OSF.

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    1. Thank you, sir or madam or else (not sure which) for your reply. And I agree: we need more material and content to produce. I don't know if it's an issue of artists not being "willing"; based on just my network of friends in theatre, film, and TV, I know "diverse" folks who are attacking the issue from a multitude of fronts, including those you mention: Writing shows/pilots. Writing plays. Auditioning. Self-producing shows at fringe festivals or comedy clubs. Taking classes. Doing webseries. All of it.

      For my own part, I wrote, directed, produced, and acted in a show last summer at the Hollywood Fringe (if you're interested, check out www.sorethumbgroup.blogspot.com). I have submitted multiple times as an actor and writer to the network diversity showcases. I recently pitched a series with my co-creator to multiple big studios, but no bites. I have continually auditioned and put myself out there. Now, maybe they just didn't want me. But, you can't say it's for lack of trying (or, hopefully, for lack of talent.) :-)

      I realize it's a process for anyone to get seen, heard, known, etc. so that producers will take a gamble on them. And, that there's an aesthetic for every industry, and you have to be aware of how to mold your product for the right aesthetic.

      And of course, the content has to be "good" (even though that's not always the case in what we see on TV...collar pull). Often, what makes it "good" is having writers who can script it well, because they have lived it in some regard. And I don't think there are enough writers out there in the system with the experience. Or, maybe they think it's a long shot, so they stick to what's "safe."

      I think sometimes producers are nervous about edgy material that is necessary to make it "good."
      A couple of cases in point: IRONSIDE, an NBC remake that used a non-wheeling actor to play a wheeling police detective. It was cancelled quickly...from my P.O.V. and that of many critics, it didn't have to do with people not wanting to see a wheelchair. It's that the content was a little general, not specific enough, not edgy. And from my perspective, not based in the nuance that a wheeling detective would know intimately. Like, being pissed that he can't get to the crime scene because the elevator isn't working. (If a wheeling writer had written it, this may have been more present. And, they would have stuck to one wheelchair, rather than having him in multiple different chairs over the period of the first few episodes.)

      Case in point 2: THE MICHAEL J FOX SHOW. Great idea. Amazing actor. But in my opinion, it didn't get edgy enough to make it work. Maybe if it had been on cable.

      Another article definitely worth reading is about one of the recent success stories: Eddie Huang's FRESH OFF THE BOAT. He provides insight into his own process with having his material produced: http://www.vulture.com/2015/01/eddie-huang-fresh-off-the-boat-abc.html

      So, I think there are folks out there. I ALSO definitely think there need to be more. And that starts with parents telling their young kids who have disabilities that they, too, can be actors, writers, producers. That people care about their story (mind blown), and not just in a Sunday morning inspiration-fluff kind of way. And it requires some of us setting the example so that our younger brethren can SEE that it's possible. And it starts with training programs and mentors opening their doors to diverse young-uns, which is happening more and more.

      It's a multi-faceted issue, and I think you're right that progress is being made. But, my own perspective is that it's not about a lack of artists creating content. There's some block between the artists and what gets chosen for production. And unfortunately I'm not privy to those decision rooms. :-)

      Thanks again for your thoughts!
      R

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  2. Beautifully written! I look forward to seeing you this summer.

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  3. Great article! I am also a PWD actor. It's great to see an actor having success. I have auditioned for several TV shows and "mainstream" movies and have had some success with indie projects. I was intrigued by your reply above regarding network diversity showcases. I too have submitted to these (got as far as callbacks). One of the networks had posted a call for a diversity showcase but only listed ethnicity. I emailed them and they then updated the call to include PWDs. This seems to me to indicate that PWDs are sometimes an afterthought for at least some diversity showcases. I try to research the showcase cast(s) to see if they include PWDs but it's not that straight forward. You and I both know not all disabilities are readily apparent. I'd be curious to find out if PWDs are typically included in the showcases. It's nice to make contact with "Like" actors working to do what we do.Thanks for reading my ramblings. Oh, My daughter (a past Semi at OSF) and my wife will be seeing you in Much Ado in June.

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    1. Hi Rich! Thanks for your response, and for sharing your experience.

      As for the showcases, I, too, have seen instances where disability is not included in the "diversity" mix. I believe this is improving and that they showcases are actively seeking PWDs; though, I'm not sure how readily actors with disabilities are chosen for the showcases compared to other diversity categories. As far as what I've been able to SEE, a couple of recent ones had 1 of about 15-20 actors that appeared to be PWDs. However, with many of the showcases, disability seems, at least visibly, not to be represented.

      As you say, perhaps non-visible PWDs have been represented, and I wholly agree that they are important to acknowledge and include as well. I think that people's willingness to self-identify such identities would help the industry to better track representation of various abilities. Some of us don't have a choice in disclosing our PWD identity, and I would hope that those who DO have that choice will feel empowered to do so, especially if they are utilizing an opportunity based specifically on that facet of themselves. Plus, it empowers others to say, "Oh, so-and-so is blind in one eye, and doing THAT? Amazing! Maybe I can too!"

      One final note: I have been disheartened a couple of times about reports that some actors of other "diversity" identities have a problem with being associated with PWD actors (such as in the diversity showcases, or the diversity statements on breakdowns). Their feeling (and hopefully it's just a select few, not the majority) is that they are "different", but that doesn't mean they "can't do things"...which is apparently how they see PWD actors, or PWDs in general. I would hope that as we PWD actors get out and do our stuff more frequently, our artistic brethren will not see our unique physicalities as representative of ineptitude.

      Cheers!
      R

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  4. Thank you SO MUCH For sharing this!

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  5. "worth the mess" says it all for me. awesome!

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  6. Regan, I'm so happy you wrote this and even happier that we are a part of a company that acknowledges that changes need to happen and will take the actions to do so. Can't wait to read more from you. ♡

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