Theatre Cancels Show Over Racial Discrimination Claim Regarding Casting
by Chris Peterson, OnStage Blog Founder
A community theatre in Arizona is facing backlash today over canceling a show due to a complaint of racial discrimination over the removal of a non-Mexican-American performer cast in a role written for that heritage.
The play ‘Roosters’ by Milcha Sanchez-Scott features an all-Chicano/Mexican-American cast. Desert Stages Theatre in Scottsdale planned to open the show in March. When the audition notice was released, it stated,
This is an adult production. No roles have been pre-cast. Casting 3M/3F. All abilities and ages are encouraged to audition. All of the characters are Chicano/Mexican-American.
One of the roles is Angela, described as “ANGELA – teen’s; female presenting; Hector’s religiously occupied sister; simple; possibly miraculous.”
Nowhere did it state that only Mexican-American performers could audition.
Once the audition process was completed, the director sent out a email to the cast. Director Chris Chavez stated how proud he was to be directing all-Latine cast, a first in the local theatre’s history. Latine is used as a gender-neutral alternative to Latina or Latino.
The actress who was cast as Angela, a 16-year old girl, replied to Mr. Chavez and notified him that she was not Latina. Given this information, Mr. Chavez told the actress that unfortunately he would have to rescind her casting in the role based fulfilling the playwright’s intent for all-Latine cast.
Mr. Chavez told me that “within two hours I was able to find another actor to replace her, which I thought was the correct solution.”
However, the young actress's mother complained to theatre leadership, claiming that her daughter's removal from the show was a violation of the theaters racial discrimination policy.
That policy states,
“Desert Stages Theatre does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of governing board, volunteers, actors, and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, governing board, clients, volunteers, subcontractors, and vendors. This will include the casting of roles, unless otherwise required by the contract agreement for the production.”
Given that Mr. Chavez stated that he would stand with his new cast and not reverse his decision on rescinding the casting of the young actress, the board at the theatre sent an email to everyone involved that they were considering canceling the show. Mr. Chavez asked the board to notify everyone in person, if they were going to cancel the show. According to him, that's when the board went “radio silent”.
On Jan 29th, according to Mr. Chavez, two cast members sent letters of concern to the Executive Director, Stephanie Yampolsky, who then deferred them to the board. These cast members also asked to be told in person if the show was to be canceled. The next day, the board sent an email to the cast, letting them know the show was canceled.
The email read,
“After original casting offers were made, the director became aware that one cast member did not meet his intended casting criteria. He chose to rescind the offer and then recast the role based on someone’s nationality, which is in violation of DST’s discrimination policy.
Because DST and the director were unable to come to an agreed upon solution, and because the situation created potential legal and ethical liabilities, for not just DST but the Director as well, the Board of Directors had to make the tough decision to cancel the show. “
Mr. Chavez told me that, at no time did the theatre board offer any other options or solutions, nor did they attempt to seek input from the cast or creative team. “They did not communicate with me, my production staff, or the cast to have any of our input,” he said.
Mr. Chavez was slated to direct a production of ‘Spring Awakening’ later this year; he has resigned from that production.
He released a statement on his Instagram,
In a statement on their website, the theatre board defended their decision to cancel the production and to whitewash a Mexican-American role,
“While the Board would have preferred the show continue as originally cast, the Director did not support this approach. Therefore, the Board concluded the only path forward was to cancel the show.”
The board also states that if anyone has any questions or comments, you can email them at board@desertstages.org.
Good luck with that inbox.
Alright, time for my take. Sadly for the cast and creative team involved in the show, this is another example of a local theatre completely mishandling what it takes to produce shows that feature BIPOC roles written for BIPOC performers.
As much as the young actress’ mother wants to complain about this, in my opinion, this does not rise to the level of racial discrimination. Instead, it fulfills the playwright’s intent for the cast to be Mexican American. I haven't seen the licensing materials yet, so I don't know if that’s listed as a requirement, but the playwright’s intent should always be followed. Other shows, such as ‘Hairspray’, do have requirements that the roles be cast as written.
This tells me that the theatre has a gross misunderstanding of its own policies.
What makes this situation even more ridiculous is that included in the theatre board’s statement they said,
“DST understands the emotional impact this outcome has had on those who wholeheartedly desired to bring this story to life which represents their unique culture and identity.”
If the theater board felt that way, they would have absolutely made sure to cast these roles authentically and not let any of them be whitewashed.
They also state that “DST is committed to creating an atmosphere where all members of the DST community feel safe, valued and represented.”
My question is, how can the board truly do that if they have no problem whitewashing roles written for Latine performers? That doesn’t come close to valuing their representation. Also, by not informing the cast in person or seeking their input on solutions, the board failed miserably.
I also put some of this on the young actress and her family for having her audition for a show that she should never have in the first place. In 2023, after everything that’s been written and said about authentic casting representation, a white actress auditioning for a BIPOC role is no longer acceptable. I hope that the young actress learns from this.
In the end, this whole situation is unfortunate and infuriating. It all could have been avoided if theatre leadership did what they were supposed to do when producing such a show and did not defend whitewashing. They’re welcoming “constructive” feedback; I suggest reaching out to them and providing it. Once again, their email is board@desertstages.org.