“Last week, I reported that an Australian theatre company had opened their production of ‘A Chorus Line’ but had removed the role of ‘Richie’ from the show. Drew Anthony Creative, has now apologized for the situation, but their apology fails to offer an explanation of why they thought it was acceptable to cut the role and does not offer any type of atonement to the Black performer community of Perth.”
Read More“This past week, I reported that a theatre company in Australia had opened their production of ‘A Chorus Line’ without the role of Richie, a role written to be played by a Black performer. Well, there have been some updates. The Australian theatre company, Drew Anthony Creative, announced today that they have cast the role. But questions remain about how all this happened in the first place.”
Read More“This past week, the Bradley Playhouse had the licensing rights for their production of ‘A Chorus Line’ revoked because they had removed the character of “Richie” from the show when they weren’t able to find an actor to portray him. Now a theatre halfway around the world may have done same the same thing.”
Read More“A local theatre in Australia is under fire from members of their community after their decision to whitewash their upcoming production of “Little Shop of Horrors” after pledging that they were looking for a diverse cast.”
Read MoreAs an actor in community theatre in a city in Australia I come across some… interesting directors. As a director of youth theatre I’ve definitely made a blunder or two. Thus I watch and analyse directors I work with in order to improve my own practice. This series will explore the various downfalls I’ve experienced or witnessed and how to fix the situation. In part one we’re looking at casting calls. These have needed to evolve over the years to move with the times. Unfortunately, we have directors in community theatre (and probably professional too) that haven’t kept up.
Read MoreWe’ve seen some interesting casting controversies in Australia over the past couple of years. However, the most recent issue seems to be over the fact that a lead role went to an American actor over a local Australian.
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