Bias. Typecasting. Stereotyping.
These are some of the issues North Texas performers say they face in the audition room. While the performing arts has made strides in recent years to be more inclusive, Dallas actors from underrepresented communities still face barriers that make them feel overlooked or unseen.
That’s why some Dallas performers and a local producer say it’s important for performing arts organizations to take the lead in making auditions more equitable. Here are the tips they outlined to make auditions more inclusive:
1. Reach out to performers from underrepresented communities
Charles Jackson Jr. is an associate producer at Jubilee Theatre in Fort Worth who scouts talent for the theater and helps cast performers. The Fort Worth native is also a playwright, actor and director.
“It's just looking to make sure that we are finding every avenue of discovering talent that represents the community that we're serving,” he said.
He said it’s important for performing arts organizations to be proactive in seeking talent from underrepresented communities.
Often, he said theater companies will post an audition notice on their website with DEI buzzwords, but fail to do the work to actually connect with communities personally.
“We can't place the blame on the misrepresented communities on not showing up when we have never had a place at the table for them,” he said.
Jackson said he consistently makes an effort to attend shows around North Texas and looks through pamphlets to identify performers who might be a good fit for future Jubilee productions. If someone catches his eye, he’ll personally introduce himself and ask them to fill out an online submission form so they’re added to Jubilee’s network and notified when auditions happen. He also uses Facebook groups and sends out individual emails.
Actress Natalia Gutierrez-Borja has struggled with sizeism in the industry. She wants to see the performing arts evolve and have more spaces for plus-size actors where the storyline isn’t about their weight.
Gutierrez-Borja, who’s also been on the other side of the table as a casting director, said she agrees engaging with communities is essential to quality casting.
“I think getting to know the communities you pull from is so important,” she said. “I think if you're going to do a show about a certain community, you have to have ways to communicate and to get in touch with them. So you can say, ‘I have this opportunity and I would love to do as authentic casting as I can, and I want your help with it.’ ”
2. Consider how the selection of shows and creative teams shape casting
Jackson said the foundation of all casting is the selection of shows and creative team, including the director.
“When you're picking the shows you need to be aware of, OK what room do we have to explore? What room do we have that can affect the story differently?” he said.
Meanwhile, production teams and directors can bring their own biases and opinions and shape the vision of the final production.
“We know that statistically you are more likely to hire someone who looks like you and that's anybody,” he said. “You're more likely to hire a person that you can relate to on that type of level.”
3. Evaluate whether casting decisions are being led by bias or story value
He said it’s particularly important to decide what a story is about from the start, so that there’s a way to weed out bias.
“Figure out the things that are required and the things that are just the biases,” he said. “So then when we get into the audition room, you aren't shutting people out for a role just because they don't fit the traditional mold.”
Jackson goes by this rule of thumb: “Does it affect the core of the story in a way that isn't the intent of the story? If it does not, then it should not matter who you cast.”
For instance, Jackson said “A Raisin in the Sun” is a play that’s written for a specific community and will require certain actors due to the social context of the work. Meanwhile, he said other shows like Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” provide more opportunity for open casting.
4. Designate an accessibility advocate on audition notices
Marianne Galloway has been a working actor and stage director in Dallas for the last 20 years and has learned to navigate audition rooms as a deaf person. She returned to auditions earlier this year after being diagnosed with transverse myelitis, which is inflammation of the spinal cord. The performer also has frontal lobe lesions, which affect her working memory and planning abilities.
For Galloway and other performers, conversations about accommodations need to happen far in advance of the audition so her needs can be met.
Earlier this year, Galloway auditioned for a show at WaterTower Theatre. She explained some of her neurological diagnoses to a staff member and was able to get a video of the choreography ahead of time.
“It meant that I was able to review it and to start to get the skeleton of the movement into my brain and let my brain figure out how to translate that into my body before I was in the pressured situation of the actual dance itself,” she said.
In the future, Galloway said she’d like to see audition notices clearly indicate an accessibility advocate who can discuss accommodations ahead of time.
“That person has to be open to hearing what the artist is trying to say and providing options and asking intuitive questions,” she said. “There is no ‘one size fits all.’ So I think that having that person who is specifically there to be an advocate for that individual artist or those individual artists is imperative.”
5. Take steps to make all performers feel safe and seen in the audition room
Ultimately, Jackson said performing arts organizations must support performers so that they feel safe and seen in auditions. He said that starts by being empathetic and flexible.
“In general, we try to make sure that the artist doesn't feel judged in the audition, making sure that they feel like they have an opportunity because they do,” Jackson said.
That includes having forms in the lobby where performers can share how they identify, so they’re not misgendered and can list any accommodations they may need during the audition. Still, he said there’s always ways the theater can do better.
Jackson said there’s no quick fix for making auditions more equitable – it’ll require tough conversations and going back to the drawing board. That’s why he said it’s easy for performing arts organizations to give up on more inclusive casting.
“ ‘Oh, we tried to cast a diverse show. We want anybody to come and audition, but nobody came. So, you know, we tried.’ It's very easy to feel that mindset and it's very easy to blame the artists for not coming in to audition instead of blaming a society that has made it where you are rarely represented,” he said.
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