A Miscast Motherf--ker by / Marisela Treviño Orta

Background
It started with a Facebook status update in late November. Someone I know posted the following:

Note from Stephen Adly Guirgis:

IN HARTFORD CONNECTICUT, THE MAYOR IS PUERTO RICAN. BUT IN THEATERWORKS PRODUCTION OF MY PLAY IN HARTFORD -- THE 2 LEAD PUERTO RICAN CHARACTERS ARE PLAYED BY WHITE ACTORS. THE PLAY WAS CAST IN NYC & CONN, AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE BREAKDOWN HERE, YOU WILL SEE THAT NOT ONLY DID THEY NOT CAST LATINOS, THEY DIDN'T EVEN SEEK LATINOS FOR THE 2 LATINO LEADS!!! IF THIS DISTURBS YOU, PLEASE REPOST. NOTHING AGAINST THE ACTORS CAST, BUT THIS IS INDEFENSIBLE BULLSHIT. PLEASE SHARE MY HEADSHAKING ANGER. THANKS! STEPHEN

You can read a much longer version of the playwright's thoughts on the matter on the HOLA (Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors) blog. The HOLA press release explains that the playwright attempted to address the situation in private with the theatre, but decided to go public when he "came to the unfortunate conclusion that TheaterWorks would never cop to any responsibility."

But if you want it quick and dirty, here are the main points:
- The two leads in "Motherf**ker With the Hat" are Puerto Rican, written specifically by the playwright as Puerto Ricans from New York. And their ethnicity is a part of their role in the play, meaning they speak Spanish (which would mean knowing how to do so with a Nuyorican accent) and their ethnicity was very much a part of who the characters are in the play.
- When casting for the production, TheaterWorks' casting breakdowns didn't specify that that two leads were Latino.
- With casting done in NYC there would have been a surfeit of Latino actors to choose from.
- Not including the ethnicity of the two leads in the casting breakdown essentially shut out Latino actors from being considered, as agents wouldn't have known to submit them for contention.
- Interestingly, the character breakdown for Julio did specify him as a Latino.

The Aftermath
There's been a lot of chatter online since Stephen Adly Guirgis went public, lot of impassioned comments and tweets out there.

The incident has raised larger questions about color-blind casting, casting transparency and ethics, respecting the playwright's intent, and even the lack of roles for Latino actors.

The one question that I have about all this is: Why did the theatre leave out the lead characters' ethnicity? Especially when, as the playwright says, their ethnicity was integral to their roles. Was it an oversight?

The Cousin Julio Scenario
But they specified Cousin Julio as a Latino in his casting breakdown.

This reminds me of those logic grid puzzles I had to do in middle school where you have to deduce answers based on clues. (See lead graphic above.)

If they described Cousin Julio as a Latino…then they knew they would be considering Latino actors for the role. Then, if they didn't list the two leads as Latinos…see where I'm going with this?

They omitted the ethnicity of the two leads from the breakdown. The only clue we have to understanding their intention in all this is that the fact that they listed Julio's ethnicity. If this were a logic grid puzzle I'd say we could safely deduce that they must have known that by not listing the ethnicity of the two leads on the character breakdown, by doing the opposite of what they did with Cousin Julio's breakdown, they knew they wouldn't be considering Latino actors for those roles and ergo were looking for a casting outcome opposite or vastly different from the Cousin Julio Scenario.

But why? Why would a theatre decide to purposely not consider Latino actors for roles that required the actor to speak Spanish? For roles that referred to their ethnicity?

Looping Back to Authenticity
Earlier this week I was pondering the idea of authenticity, specifically thinking about it from a playwriting perspective. What does it mean to write with authenticity about something that is outside your experience? The conclusion I came to was that you needed to find an entry point into the subject, find some resonance that would allow you to approach your subject with respect, empathy and earnestness.

The "Motherf**ker With the Hat" imbroglio has me thinking about authenticity again, this time in terms of casting.

Now I'm not a casting director. But I do know there are few out there that, inspired by what happened with this particular production of "Motherf**ker," are working on developing a statement of ethics regarding casting.

I will say I do have some experience working with theatres and producing organizations when it comes to casting roles for my own plays. I was brought into these discussions and the search for actors for two reasons: 1) the vast majority of my characters are Latino, and 2) the casting director was relying on my own knowledge of the Latino acting community in the Bay Area to help them find actors to bring in for auditions.

In one past search it was clear to me that there was a commitment on the part of the theatre to try and find Latino actors to fill the roles. Why? Mainly because the roles required knowledge of the Latino cultural experience and having actors who have their own life experiences to draw on is helpful. That doesn't mean that all Latino actors are experts on Latino culture. But who is? The Latino cultural community is a wide spectrum of experience. But I digress.

I appreciated the commitment on the part of the theatre to reach out to Latino actors for auditions. It wasn't easy, because at the time I was new to playwriting and was still getting acquainted with the Latino acting pool in the Bay Area.

At one point in the process we had a discussion about what to do if we couldn't find a Latino actor to play a role. The role in question was a teen. In the end I fished out a headshot of young looking guy and suggested we invite him to audition. I didn't know him. And to be completely honest I was making my suggestion based off the fact he had dark hair and a last name that was a Spanish word. It wasn't a Spanish surname I was familiar with, but I felt 85% sure that it was a Spanish and not an Italian name.

Interestingly, when I fished out his headshot and suggested we bring him in for auditions, the response was a little bit of incredulity as to whether he was Latino. Sigh. Yes, this was one of those teachable moments. Latinos come in all shapes, sizes and variations of skin tone. I see this even in my own family. I have three cousins who are redheads (and since my aunt has jet-black hair there are some crazy genetics odds at work there).

Long story short, turns out that fair-skinned, dark-haired lad was Latino. Who'da thunk it? Well…I did.

The point of this tangent is that the theatre I worked with was genuinely interested in trying to find Latino actors for me to work with and they made a concerted effort (even including me in the process) to reach out and find actors for the roles in my play.

So I guess when it comes to the "Motherf**ker" production, the question is: did the theatre make a genuine effort to find actors that were right for the part? "Right" in the sense that they would be able to play the roles as the playwright intended them to be portrayed. In this case that means portraying Nuyoricans.

And in my mind the best people to portray Nuyoricans are...well...Nuyoricans. Second to them would be Latinos who can do a Nuyorican accent. And considering that the casting was done in NYC…well, they no doubt had a large pool in which to find their Jackie and Veronica.

Lost Opportunity, or Why People Are Annoyed, Mad and Downright Pissed
So why all the brujaja (yes, I know that's not the best pun and the word in Spanish doesn't lend itself to the pun, but you know what, screw it)?

Why are playwrights, actors, producers and other theatre artists annoyed, mad and downright pissed?

- The theatre ignored the playwright's intent. The characters were written as Latino and based on the evidence and what the playwright has said about his private conversations with the theatre, no effort was made to cast actors who were actually Latino for the lead roles.
- Because the theatre didn't list the two leads as Latino, agents submitting their clients' headshots most likely didn't put their Latino actor clients into consideration, which essentially means that Latino actors were shut out of a process of casting roles of Latino characters.
- If you go see theatre often then you'll know that there aren't a lot of roles on stage written specifically for Latino actors, so being shut out of that opportunity is über frustrating.

I thought this tweet I saw yesterday pretty much summed it up regarding that last bullet: @spinstripes (Nella Vera): "My people are 25% of the population. We are not 25% of actors on the stage. 2 parts written for us—why deny us those parts intentionally?"

Precasting Revelation
When I first began writing this blog post I was making an attempt to ask pointed questions about how TheaterWorks conducted its casting process, but acknowledging that I didn't have all the information to completely know its motives I tried to avoid any absolute statements.

However, I will let others involved in the process shed more light on the matter.

On Dec. 2 I was forwarded an email with a HOLA press release entitled, "Casting Director Named in TheaterWorks of Hartford, CT's Production of 'The Motherf**ker With the Hat' Stands with the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors":

"TheaterWorks Executive Director Campo's statement to the New York Times, in which he names McCorkle as the theater's casting director, read "... the decision not to specify any ethnicity for actors to play Jackie and Veronica was made by Mr. Thompson and the theater's casting director, Pat McCorkle.... I know they deliberated hard on the casting breakdown language and on the casting decisions." In her statement to HOLA, McCorkle states, "The entire casting breakdown was written by Tazewell Thompson along with TheaterWorks' Hartford without our involvement. I was in no way involved in writing the breakdown for 'The Motherf**ker With the Hat,' and no actors were seen for the roles of 'Veronica' or 'Jackie' in our New York auditions. Offers had been made by the theatre prior to our appointment auditions." [emphasis mine.]

Here's a link to an article that includes the quote by McCorkle. Unfortunately I don't have a link to the full press release online.

For many the casting director speaking out was a sort of smoking gun. You see, there had been speculation circulating that, despite the fact that casting breakdowns were written, no actual auditions were held to fill the roles of the two leads. Meaning that the two leads were precast.

Lost Opportunity, or Why People Are Annoyed, Mad and Downright Pissed, Part Deux
Knowing now that the two leads were precast makes me want to reexamine my bullets from the first iteration of this subsection. Let's review, but now apply that we know the roles were precast.

- The theatre precast the two roles and in doing so ignored the playwright's intent, ignored the fact that the characters are written as Latino and in fact made no effort to even audition and consider Latino actors for these roles.
- The casting breakdowns don't mention the two lead characters are Latino, but the breakdowns themselves are meaningless since the roles were already precast before auditions began. Latino actors were most definitely shut out of the audition process.
- If you go see theatre often then you'll know that there aren't a lot of roles on stage written specifically for Latino actors, and here we have a theatre deliberately shutting Latino actors out of an opportunity.

The precasting revelation it raises questions around casting transparency and ethics, a conversation that many theatre artists are continuing to have on and off line. Yep, this is beyond frustrating.

TheaterWorks Tries to Put Out This Fire with Gasoline
Quickly following the casting director's announcement that the roles were precast, TheaterWorks' artistic director Steve Campo responded to the entire brujaja with the following statement:

"It is a tribute to his skill that Stephen Adly Guirgis, though not Hispanic, is able to so credibly depict a culture not his own, as he does in 'The Motherf[------] With the Hat.' How gracious it would be of him to allow that actors (of whatever heritage) might succeed in acting, much as he has in writing."

Wow. In my opinion that statement is like trying to put out a fire with gasoline. Here's this playwright's opinion on what he said:

- First, this is statement sidesteps the real issue: the fact that it's become plainly clear they precast these roles, that they never even auditioned actors, let alone Latino actors for these roles. Yes, unfortunately this sort of cronyism happens in casting. And they were caught red-handed because they miscast roles so obviously.
- Second, based on the evidence that's come out that the roles were precast which means Latino actors never had the opportunity to audition for a role written specifically for Latino actors to play. Like I said earlier, there are not tons of roles out there written specifically for Latino actors and to deny them the opportunity to audition is just truly beyond the pale.
- Third, and here's the gas Mr. Campo adds to this firestorm, the idea of equating writing/creating roles outside your [the playwright's] own cultural experience and performing those roles is outright ridiculous. Please know that I think playwrights can most definitely write outside their own experience, be that culture, gender, nationality or economic background. It's called using your imagination. Granted we all succeed at different levels, but there are scores of playwrights out there who can write roles for characters who are not of their own culture with an authentic and genuine voice. Now, as for performing: yes, actors too are using their imagination to create a performance. But when casting you are trying to find the person who can best bring that imaginary character to life. And who best to do that than someone who shares the character's cultural background, who can tap into their own personal experience to create their performance? Granted, not all Latino actors may succeed the way you as a director want them to when creating that performance, but that's why you have auditions—so you can give those actors a chance to show you what they can do with the character, so you can find the actor who can best bring that character to life. And if you don't find a Latino actor who can do that, then at least you can honestly tell the theatre community that you looked. You looked, you auditioned, you vetted. But don't try and pass off your misstep, your shortsighted vision, your laziness [I'm not sure which is to blame, so let's just put them all out there] onto the playwright, by trying to call out the playwright as somehow culturally insensitive.
- You know what would be "gracious"? If people who have clearly messed up just took responsibility for their mistake.

Silver Lining
Perhaps there is something we can do to turn this fracaso into positive action for the future. As a result of this casting scandal ('cause let's face it, the way the social networks blew up, and with the coverage in online theatre forums, that's just what it is) there's been a lot of conversation on casting ethics. I know a few directors who are putting their heads together to try and draft a statement of ethics around casting.

Also, the fact that the theatre is coming under fire from its artistic peers hopefully means this incident will become a cautionary tale for other theatres to look to when they themselves are beginning the casting process.

After all, all the impassioned comments, tweets and Facebook status updates and threads are spurring conversation. Much-needed conversation. Because as the Stephen Adly Guirgis said, keeping silent is a sin of omission, and if we keep silent, if we don't engage in a dialogue about TheaterWorks' "Motherf**ker" casting choices, then how will we ever be able to encourage change and how will theatres like TheaterWorks know that we, their artistic peers in the theatre community, expect more of them when it comes to their casting process? To be the change we want to see we have to speak up. And if enough of us speak up, it will be pretty hard to ignore us.

Marisela Treviño Orta is a Bay Area playwright and poet. This article originally appeared on her blog, Variations on a Theme, as part one in a series of posts on "Issues of Authenticity." Visit the original post here and its sequel on "Much Ado's Latino Window Dressing" here.

The views represented in this Chatterbox Art & Opinion post are those of the individual author, and do not necessarily represent the views of Theatre Bay Area or its staff.