Let Hamilton be Hamilton, let it live, let it breathe, let it be successful…without you.
Tory Bullock, Actor/Writer/Director
The hit Broadway musical Hamilton is causing a bit of a stir because of their verbiage in a recent casting notice. For those of you who are unaware, Hamilton is a play that explores the story of our founding fathers re-told with a primarily Black and Latino cast. The open call for the touring company called specifically for “non-white actors.” Lawyer and human rights activist Randolph McLaughlin cited “this preference for one racial group over another” is against the law in New York City. (You can read the news article published here: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/03/29/hamilton-casting-call-non-white/)
This is a very interesting argument. I am a Mexican-American actor based in Los Angeles. I can’t even count how many roles I am not allowed to audition for because I am not white. Most Broadway shows, most TV shows, most roles in general are written specifically for Caucasian actors. So I do indeed find it “odd” to criticize a Broadway hit that has opened the door for so many actors of color. The lawyer, Randolph McLaughlin, says, “Imagine if a casting call was for WHITES ONLY. Al Sharpton would have a picket line.” Well, perhaps Mr. Sharpton and Mr. McLaughlin should peruse the casting calls of nearly everything currently being produced in Hollywood. Mr. McLaughlin might change his tune and see he’s barking up the wrong tree.
If this is a case based merely on semantics, why does the term “non-white” cause uproar, but “Caucasian Only” is perfectly acceptable terminology in casting? Is there an inherent attitude of acceptance that there are just more roles, (read: more opportunity) for white actors?
It is for these reasons that I began to write, for both stage and screen. As a non-white actor, I saw so many stories that were never about me. I couldn’t find myself anywhere mainstream. Upon the suggestion and tutelage of playwright, Josefina Lopez, I began to write. Now, I can’t stop. I’m writing us into lead roles. Because our stories matter, and more than that, our stories are about life, just like everybody else.
I think if you are outside of the entertainment industry, it might be difficult to understand how and why stories are told, and just how many people and hoops there are to jump through in order to get their film made. Let’s put it this way, it’s no easy feat. Last year, a good friend of mine directed a short film with an Asian-American actress as the lead (she wrote the film as well.) The film was reviewed and one particular reviewer (it should be noted that he is a straight white cis-male) voiced that he was confused as to why the lead character was Asian. It had nothing to do with the storytelling and that “there has to be a reason for alternative casting.” Yeah. Let that sink in. Our existence as actors of color is categorized as other-ness and needs explanation. Our existence needs explanation. Herein lies the problem. The ideology that folks of color are NOT the default, that our culture enters the room before we do. That is the sad truth that Hollywood is based upon. THAT is discrimination. Not a Hamilton casting notice calling for actors of color.
This is why it is so important to tell stories in new ways, in ways that include us, as people, as artists, as the center of our own narratives. Until we learn how to tell our own stories, things can’t change. Claiming our spaces and celebrating who we are is not “anti-white,” it’s necessary, especially in an industry that keeps perpetuating the narrative of us in chains, behind bars, cleaning houses, the list goes on and on. We are more than that. We are dreamers, we are writers, WE ARE ENOUGH. In the words of the closing song from Hamilton, “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story.” Let’s do it, let’s tell our stories. Pick up that pen, and write. Use your voice. Re-shape the narrative that is working against us.